Director, External Communications & Thought Leadership

dentsu; Little Rock (AR); On-site; USD 113,000 - 148,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, vision, and dental insurance

Life insurance

Short-term and long-term disability

401k

Flexible paid time off

At least 15 paid holidays per year

Paid sick and safe leave

Paid parental leave

Job summary

Merkle, part of the dentsu network, seeks a strategic, hands-on Director of External Communications to lead PR and earned media strategy across the Americas, strengthening Merkle’s reputation in business transformation.

The candidate will shape strategy, develop narratives, advise executives, and personally execute high-impact communications, reporting to the VP, Marketing Strategy, with a dotted-line to the VP, Communications, dentsu Americas.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience in public relations or external communications, preferably within B2B technology, consulting, or professional services.
• Proven ability to develop and execute proactive PR strategies, supported by established media relationships across business, technology, and marketing publications.
• Exceptional editorial judgment, writing, and ghostwriting capabilities, including executive bylines, opinion pieces, and contributed content.
• Experience advising senior executives and translating complex business and technology topics into compelling external narratives.
• Strong executive presence and ability to lead initiatives, manage competing priorities, and collaborate across matrixed organizations.

Responsibilities

• Own and execute Merkle’s Americas external communications strategy, developing a proactive PR agenda aligned to business priorities, market positioning, and the broader dentsu communications framework.
• Identify and prioritize external communications opportunities across Merkle’s solutions, industries, clients, and partnerships, collaborating with marketing and business leaders to bring them to market.
• Coordinate with dentsu Communications on messaging, approvals, and reputation management, and collaborate with global communications and Analyst Relations teams to maintain alignment.
• Build and leverage relationships with influential journalists, editors, and publications covering customer experience, digital transformation, enterprise technology, AI, and related industries.
• Develop and pitch timely stories, executive perspectives, and company announcements to secure meaningful earned media coverage.
• Lead media engagement for company news, launches, and client successes, including press materials, interview coordination, and spokesperson preparation.
• Shape external narratives from Merkle’s research, expertise, and business priorities in partnership with Thought Leadership and Content Strategy teams.
• Author and ghostwrite executive bylines, opinion pieces, contributed articles, and commentary, translating complex topics into compelling perspectives for business audiences.
• Build executive visibility through media interviews, speaking opportunities, and thought leadership placements.
• Manage the day-to-day PR program, coordinating editorial resources, and prioritizing initiatives and investments.
• Measure effectiveness through quality of earned coverage, share of voice, message pull-through, and executive visibility, using insights to refine the program.

Skills

Public relations

Media relations

Editorial writing

Executive advisory

Leadership

Job description

Merkle, part of the dentsu network, seeks a strategic, hands-on Director of External Communications to lead PR and earned media strategy across the Americas, strengthening Merkle’s reputation in business transformation.

The candidate will shape strategy, develop narratives, advise executives, and personally execute high-impact communications, reporting to the VP, Marketing Strategy, with a dotted-line to the VP, Communications, dentsu Americas.