Senior Account Executive, Financial Services Communications

DJE Holdings; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 83,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

medical and dental insurance

vision

401K

life insurance

disability insurance

paid time off

travel assistance

wellness programming

Job summary

Edelman Smithfield in Chicago is seeking a strategic Senior Account Executive with financial services communications expertise to join our team. You will lead client service, drive project execution, manage media relations, and develop high-impact strategic messaging for diverse financial clients.

The role requires strong relationships with reporters, deep industry knowledge, and the ability to translate complex financial topics into clear narratives for media, investors, and other stakeholders.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in political science, business, journalism, communications, or equivalent work experience.
• 2+ years in corporate communications, financial services, or public relations, preferably in an agency.

Responsibilities

• Lead communications strategies for financial services clients, ensuring tailored messaging and engagement.
• Serve as a client contact, ensuring consistent and high-quality communication.
• Assist in the creation and execution of communications plans and strategies, aligning with client objectives.
• Develop a deep understanding of clients’ businesses, key stakeholders, and industry landscapes, and apply this knowledge to provide strategic recommendations.
• Support senior leadership in identifying and mitigating challenges, ensuring client satisfaction.
• Work with leadership to develop media engagement strategies, maintaining and leveraging relationships with key financial journalists, producers, and influencers.
• Craft compelling thought leadership content, including op-eds, speeches, corporate messaging, and media materials.
• Provide proactive and reactive media counsel to clients, ensuring message alignment and positioning.
• Translate complex financial and regulatory topics into clear, compelling narratives for media, investors, and other key stakeholders.
• Contribute to multiple projects from inception to completion, ensuring timeliness, quality, and budget adherence.
• Oversee the work of junior team members, providing mentorship, feedback, and guidance.
• Collaborate with internal teams to develop integrated communications campaigns.
• Contribute to new business development, supporting proposal development, pitch preparation, and research efforts.

Skills

Media relations

Verbal communication

Written communication

Project management

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor’s degree in political science, business, journalism, or communications

Job description

We are in relentless pursuit of an equitable and inspiring workplace that is respectful of all, reflects and represents the world in which we live, and fosters trust, collaboration and belonging. Consistent with this approach, we hire the best qualified candidates for all positions.

About Our Team

Edelman Smithfield is a global financial communications firm with the power and scope of Edelman, the world’s largest integrated communications company. We specialize in financial markets and strategic situations, serving clients in the United States, Canada, EMEA, APAC, and beyond. Edelman Smithfield offers a deep and talented bench of approximately 250 financial market specialists across more than 25 cities and 15 countries.Edelman Smithfield advises senior leaders and management teams navigating complex matters that impact reputation and valuation and has deep expertise in serving and communicating to the financial markets.

Edelman Smithfield offers a deep and talented bench of approximately 250 financial market specialists across more than 25 cities and 15 countries.Edelman Smithfield advises senior leaders and management teams navigating complex matters that impact reputation and valuation and has deep expertise in serving and communicating to the financial markets.

We are seeking a strategic, detail-oriented, and deeply knowledgeable Senior Account Executive with experience in financial services communications to join our team. This person will play a critical role in client service, project execution, media relations, and strategic communications, ensuring high-impact results for our clients. This individual should have strong relationships with key reporters, a deep understanding of industry dynamics, and a natural curiosity about the stakeholders and evolving landscape of private capital firms, hedge funds, asset and wealth managers, investment and commercial banks, fintech companies, real estate investors, insurers and other institutional market participants.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead communications strategies for financial services clients, ensuring tailored messaging and engagement.
• Serve as a client contact, ensuring consistent and high-quality communication.
• Assist in the creation and execution of communications plans and strategies, aligning with client objectives.
• Develop a deep understanding of clients’ businesses, key stakeholders, and industry landscapes, and apply this knowledge to provide strategic recommendations.
• Support senior leadership in identifying and mitigating challenges, ensuring client satisfaction.
• Work with leadership to develop media engagement strategies, maintaining and leveraging relationships with key financial journalists, producers, and influencers.
• Craft compelling thought leadership content, including op-eds, speeches, corporate messaging, and media materials.
• Provide proactive and reactive media counsel to clients, ensuring message alignment and positioning.
• Translate complex financial and regulatory topics into clear, compelling narratives for media, investors, and other key stakeholders.
• Contribute to multiple projects from inception to completion, ensuring timeliness, quality, and budget adherence.
• Oversee the work of junior team members, providing mentorship, feedback, and guidance.
• Collaborate with internal teams to develop integrated communications campaigns.
• Contribute to new business development, supporting proposal development, pitch preparation, and research efforts.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in political science, business, journalism, communications, or equivalent work experience.
• At least 2+ years of experience in corporate communications, financial services, or public relations, preferably in an agency setting.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in financial communications, with a strong understanding of financial institutions, hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, and alternative assets.
• Strong media relations expertise, with established journalist relationships and a demonstrated ability to secure high-impact media coverage.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to develop strategic messaging and thought leadership content.
• Strong project management skills, with a proactive, detail-oriented, and results-driven mindset.
• Ability to work effectively in fast-paced, high-pressure environments, managing multiple priorities simultaneously.

$70,000 - $83,000 a year

An employee’s pay position within the salary range will be based on several factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, skills, seniority, geographic location, performance, travel requirements, revenue-based metrics, any contractual agreements, and business or organizational needs. The range listed is just one component of DJEH’s total compensation package for employees.

Other rewards may include annual bonuses, a Paid Time Off policy, and region-specific benefits.

DJEF offers a wide range of benefits

• medical and dental insurance
• vision
• 401K
• life insurance
• disability insurance
• paid time off
• travel assistance
• wellness programing

DJEF is proud to be an equal opportunity employer and believes in diversity, equity, and inclusion. We seek applications from all qualified candidates without regard to race, color, gender, sex, age, religion, physical or mental disability, military and veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law. If you require a reasonable accommodation in any part of the employment process, please let us know.

It started with one man’s passion to make an impact through stories… 70 years later, we are the world’s largest communications firm, which fosters an environment where people feel empowered to take the kind of bold action that makes careers, reshapes industries, and creates the unexpected.

We are one global team, over 6,000 strong across 60 offices, grounded by our shared values. We promise an experience where our employees see that boldness is possibility, empathy is progress, and curiosity is momentum.

Since Dan Edelman founded the firm in 1952, we have remained an independent, family-run business, and our culture is one that brings understanding, collaboration, and respect to our work and to each other.

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) transform our colleagues, our clients, and our communities, and propel us forward as a company. At Edelman, we are in relentless pursuit of a fair and inspiring workplace that is respectful to all, reflects and represents the world in which we live, and fosters trust and collaboration. Each day and on each project, we strive to ensure that our colleagues feel a sense of true inclusion and belonging and can bring their best to their work— taking action and shaping impactful moments and movements within our company, on behalf of our clients, and within communities around the globe.

The relentless pursuit of excellence The freedom to be constantly curious The courage to do the right thing The commitment to positively impact society.

We grow our people We invite and celebrate differences Our reputation is our brand We’re global, yet local We offer more than just a career – we offer a place to grow, make a meaningful impact, and help drive change alongside some of the brightest minds in the industry.

Our culture is built on trust, innovation, and inclusivity, where unique perspectives are not only welcomed, but celebrated.

At Edelman, your ambitions are supported, your voice matters and your work contributes to shaping the future of communications and clients’ business.