Communications Director Jobs

Role Overview

The arrival of electrification, autonomy and software-enabled vehicles has created unimaginable possibilities in the automotive sector – new technologies, new products, new services. The pace of change is rapid, and presents an exciting challenge – it’s an opportunity to shape the future of transportation. If you would like to play a part in this transformation, please read on.

We’re looking for a Communications Director to join the team at Imagination Detroit, delivering world-class work for Ford Motor Company - somebody who is in equal parts passionate about communications, strategy and automotive.

You will specialize in going deep into the client’s brief and helping our team to deliver world-class creative solutions by way of response. This means being a best-in-class strategic thinker and a specialist in automotive communications - product launches, technology and software, media relations, investor comms, manufacturing and employee engagement.

The successful candidate will love finding new ways to engage with audiences on these topics and will build trust with our clients as a leading thinker in this space. They will also be a passionate storyteller, who can write compelling, emotive copy to bring to life their strategic thinking.

Detailed Responsibilities

• To come to work each day to support Imagination doing epic sh*t that no other agency is doing!
• Build a deep understanding of Ford’s businesses (now and near-future)
• Demonstrable examples of producing world-class content in the experience channel (e.g., auto show stands, branded experiences, product launches, automotive reveals, media drive programs, corporate announcements)
• The simple story (expressed in a simple, powerful way)
• Self-starting, pro-active and highly motivated to succeed, with a commitment to quality and detail
• We believe bravery tames the unknown... so we demand ambition, confident that together we can meet ‘never been done before challenges’.
• Lead the team on strategy and communications - often across several projects at once
• Minimum 10 years’ experience of experience in communications or strategy, either agency-side or for an automotive business
• Help create big, conceptual ideas and deliver them across a variety of platforms - ideas that nail:
• Drives results – achieves high levels of customer satisfaction.
• Must be able to travel domestically & internationally for periods up to two weeks at a time
• Amplification and multichannel rollout (owned, earned, paid)
• Thinks strategically – knowledge of Imagination’s and Client’s practices
• Leads by behavior and attitude, not through position or tenure
• Passionate and obsessed with brands, cultural trends and design innovation – learns, uses and shares fresh inspiration with the team
• Outstanding presentation skills, with the ability to bring ideas to life and sell them to clients and colleagues with conviction and clarity
• ROI and performance metrics – owning all aspects of the reporting and strategic conclusion.
• A creative background is preferable, be it in visual communication or copy writing – you will be working with, and inspiring many creative specialists
• Key audiences and insights
• Present our proposals alongside Creative and Account Management colleagues, achieving client buy-in
• Support our creative and production teams throughout the lifecycle of the project to ensure the work stays on brief and nails the objectives
• The problem
• Thrive in the cut and thrust of the pitch process, taking a lead role in winning new work for the agency
• Take ownership over ROI and metrics, generating reports, installing measurement tools into project deliveries and ensuring that projects deliver against KPI’s
• Inspires creativity and innovation – imagines creative solutions
• Calm in a crisis, with a problem-solving mindset and a conviction that “nothing is impossible”
• Work with the client to originate tight, detailed briefs that enable original, on-message creative thinking
• Extensive knowledge and experience in the automotive sector are essential. Additional marketing or communications experience in other sectors is desirable (especially the technology sector)
• Use the power of storytelling to bring automotive news to life, leaving no stone unturned in pursuit of a new angle on a story, getting to the heart of the human truth above beyond the facts
• Relentlessly curious – acting as a conduit for bringing new ideas and information into the agency
• We believe respect builds stronger teams and continued success... so we recognize the uniqueness and unique potential in each individual, we are accountable to each other, we play as a team.
• We believe curiosity is the root of original insights and ideas... so we look at the world with fresh eyes, we experiment, invent and up-end conventions.
• We believe rigor results in better choices... so we ask precise, provocative questions.
• Write message frameworks, message houses, manifestos and campaign narratives
• Build excellent working relationships with clients all the way up to the C Suite, becoming a trusted partner