SVP or EVP, Crisis Communications (Contract)

Title: Senior Vice President or Executive Vice President, Crisis Communications
Role Type: Contract (October 2025 - March 2026)
Location: New York, N.Y. (Hybrid)

ABOUT ORCHESTRA

Orchestra is a full-service marketing-communications firm that offers clients across sectors unparalleled strategy, storytelling, and data science expertise. Its growing team of 700+ storytellers and strategists is shaping what's next in communications, with experience that spans consumer, technology, climate and sustainability, education, healthcare, philanthropy, real estate, travel, hospitality and arts and culture, to name a few. Since 2022, Orchestra has acquired nine firms, including: BerlinRosen, Civitas, Derris, Glen Echo Group, Inkhouse, M18, Message Lab, Onward and Small Girls PR. It also launched Brightmode, a talent acquisition firm for communications professionals.

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 CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

BerlinRosen’s Crisis Communications team combines traditional crisis communications helping institutions, companies, nonprofits and high net-worth individuals defend themselves from reputational threats by shaping the narrative swirling around them with advocacy for some of the most important causes of our day—defending civil rights, combating gender and race discrimination, advocating for gun violence prevention. The team serves as high-level strategic partners, helping clients identify a desired outcome and then chart a course to reach it, whether via stakeholder communications, media strategy, leveraging of owned channels or, most often, a combination of those tactics and more.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

BerlinRosen is seeking an experienced communications strategist to join us as a Senior Vice President or Executive Vice President. This is a temporary contract position, running from early October to mid March, to provide dedicated support for our clients during a colleague’s parental leave.

In this role, you will counsel clients across our practice through comprehensive communications strategies that advance client goals, mentor and manage staff on client work, and support business development. As a core leader of the team, you should thrive in a fast-paced environment, demonstrate thoughtfulness in creating a collaborative culture, and have expertise on team capacity planning and business development.

A key focus of this role will be guiding corporate clients through a variety of reputational challenges and scenario planning exercises, often in close collaboration with clients’ legal counsel. Given the fill-in nature of this role, having the ability to onboard quickly to complex matters and several years of experience providing high-level guidance with confidence are both critical.

Role location: This role is based in our New York, N.Y. office on a hybrid basis. The Legal & Crisis team is in-office at least 3 days per week.

ACCOUNTABILITIES & QUALIFICATIONS

As a Senior Vice President or Executive Vice President on the Crisis Communications team, you will...

• Partner with the Managing Director to drive business growth of the practice and the firm as a whole
• Bring in substantial new business
• Provide the highest level of client service and excellence in communications strategy
• Serve as a senior leader in the practice and the firm as a whole, increasing the agency’s strategic communications and digital fluency and capabilities
• Drive an integrated communications approach for clients across owned, earned, paid media and other channels and drive overall cross-functional collaboration inside the team and across the firm
• Practice and ensure excellent team management, positive morale and strong team culture, with a demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
• Understand capabilities and skill sets of team members, foster and manage opportunities for professional growth and identify needs for additional firm or practice-wide trainings
• Evaluate and stay on top of industry trends and leverage audience-first channel strategies
• Measure ROI for projects or clients, streamlining approaches as needed to ensure we are investing in the appropriate tools and resources
• Work with peers to identify opportunities for firm thought leadership (i.e., speaking on panels, writing blogs, attending conferences)

Essential skills:

• Has 10+ years of senior-level experience in strategic communications in relevant spaces (crisis communications, reputation management; high-profile legal matters)
• PR agency experience strongly preferred, including strong client management experience and general business acumen
• Highest level of experience developing successful integrated communications strategies to achieve organizational goals
• A track record of business development, sales, client development and/or a deep network to leverage for business development and partnerships
• Deep experience managing a team of communications strategists to develop and execute initiatives and a track record of fostering positive relationships with direct reports and promoting positive team morale
• Extensive team management experience, and a commitment to staff development, professional growth and mobility and building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive team
• Extensive and up-to-date technical knowledge of the full range of digital marketing and communications services
• Excellent written and verbal communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex concepts clearly and effectively to internal and external audiences
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously

WORKING AT ORCHESTRA

Salary range (commensurate with experience and skills):

• Senior Vice President: $170,000-$185,000 annually, prorated for contract term
• Executive Vice President: $200,000-$225,000 annually, prorated for contract term

Benefits:

• Medical, dental and vision insurance for employees and dependents
• Pre-tax Health Savings Account Savings Plan (HSA-SP) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• 401K with a 4% employer match and no vesting period
• Generous paid time off (FTO)
• Pre-tax commuter benefits
• Mobile phone reimbursement for data and minutes
• Employer-funded life insurance
• Discounted annual bikeshare membership
• Corporate discounts through Tickets at Work

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