Senior Vice President, Higher Education

BerlinRosen, an Orchestra company; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 155,000 - 175,000; Full time

Job summary

BerlinRosen, part of Orchestra, seeks a Senior Vice President for the Higher Education team to guide strategic communications for leading colleges and universities. The role partners with senior stakeholders, manages large client programs, and drives new business opportunities in a fast-paced agency environment.

The role emphasizes mentorship, cross‑functional collaboration, and the ability to craft high‑impact messaging across multi-channel campaigns while overseeing budgets and senior staff

Qualifications

• 11+ years of relevant strategic communications experience, including PR agencies or higher education communications.
• Strong leadership and client management skills with a track record in managing high‑profile accounts.
• Experience developing integrated campaigns across earned, paid and social media.

Responsibilities

• Serve as a senior strategic counselor to clients, guiding executive communications and reputation management.
• Lead development and execution of integrated campaigns across public affairs, earned media, social and digital.
• Mentor staff and provide strategic direction and feedback for client work.
• Draft high‑level materials including strategy decks and messaging frameworks.
• Drive new business opportunities and contribute to pitches and proposals.

Skills

Strategic communications

Leadership

Media relations

New business development

Team mentorship

Storytelling

Content strategy

Budget management

Job description

BerlinRosen is part of Orchestra, a strategic communications and marketing company built for today’s complex and fragmented world. From decoding audiences to designing bold strategies, Orchestra integrates people, platforms, and stories that stick to help clients build lasting influence. The company offers programs that span from the highest level strategic business counsel through to tactical execution. Orchestra brings together 700+ people with experience across consumer and lifestyle, technology, nonprofit and philanthropy, real estate, sports, travel, hospitality, and more. Made up of leading firms BerlinRosen, Civitas Public Affairs Group, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward and Small Girls PR. It also launched Brightmode, a talent acquisition firm for communications professionals, and Versus Media Group, a strategy-first political media team. Learn more at www.orchestraco.com.

People of all backgrounds and abilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Orchestra is committed to building and maintaining a diverse staff, and recognizes that its continued success depends on hiring and retaining high‑quality creative professionals with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. Opportunities for advancement exist, and we are committed to helping all staff develop and grow.

About The Higher Education Team

The Higher Education team brings deep expertise in guiding colleges, universities and academic institutions through today’s complex communications landscape. Our work spans paid, earned, social, content and crisis communications, giving us the ability to deliver fully integrated, cross‑channel strategies that drive impact.

We partner with leading institutions spanning the Ivy League, elite R1 research universities and flagship public university systems, helping them elevate their voices, protect their reputations and engage key audiences in a competitive and fast‑changing higher education environment.

About This Role

We are seeking an experienced strategic communicator to join our growing Higher Education team. This senior leader will serve as a trusted advisor to clients, leading complex communications programs and providing strategic counsel to senior stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have experience managing large, high‑profile accounts, navigating complex client environments, leading teams, managing budgets and driving new business opportunities. This is an exciting opportunity for someone who carries a passion for higher education and the role it plays in society, in elevating the stories of colleges, universities and other corollary organizations and in leading on client work to achieve and advance their goals and initiatives.

Role location

This role is preferred to be based in our New York City, NY or Washington, DC offices, with a hybrid schedule of three days per week in office. We will also consider candidates based in our Boston, MA or San Francisco, CA offices.

Accountabilities And Qualifications

As a Senior Vice President on the Higher Education team, you will…

• Serve as a senior strategic counselor to clients, providing executive‑level communications guidance and helping institutions navigate complex reputational, policy and industry challenges
• Lead the development and execution of integrated communications campaigns that leverage public affairs, earned media, social and digital tactics to reach key audiences and achieve client goals
• Directly manage and mentor staff and provide overall strategic direction and feedback for their development and client work
• Hold the pen on drafting high level materials including strategy decks, communications plans, messaging and op‑eds
• Collaborate closely with the management team to develop and inspire our team of strategists to be innovative and creative
• Serve as a key voice in new business development efforts, including identifying opportunities, developing proposals and participating in pitches and client growth conversations
• 11+ years of relevant strategic communications experience, including experience in PR agencies, higher education communications, public affairs, nonprofit, corporate communications, or related environments
• PR agency experience strongly preferred, including demonstrated client management skills and strong business acumen
• Is an avid consumer of news, with a strong news sense and knowledge of the media and experience engaging and maintaining strong relationships with key reporters covering the top issues of the day
• Experience engaging with media for both rapid response and long‑lead stories
• Strong written and oral communications skills
• Experience managing, prepping and staffing high‑touch principals or organizational leaders
• Ability to multi‑task easily, including handling multiple assignments at once, working quickly and meeting deadlines in a fast‑paced environment while paying close attention to details
• Enjoys managing people and has experience in successfully motivating, leading and mentoring a diverse team to meet objectives
• Strong business development skills, including experience growing client relationships, contributing to pitches and identifying new opportunities

WORKING AT BERLINROSEN

Salary range

(commensurate with experience and skills): $155,000-$175,000

Senior Vice Presidents are eligible for end of year bonuses based on firm, team and individual performance.

We're part of Orchestra, the first communications company built for today’s media landscape. Since 2022, it’s acquired nine firms, including: BerlinRosen, Civitas Public Affairs Group, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward and Small Girls PR. It also launched Brightmode, a talent acquisition firm for communication professionals. Learn more at: www.orchestraco.com.

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