Head of Digital PR

You own Digital PR across the agency, including its commercial performance and the team that delivers it. You hold ultimate accountability for the discipline, driving its operational excellence, market reputation and commercial success across the business. You are accountable for the discipline's full client portfolio through the teams that manage it. You own the function's expertise in digital PR and where it needs to go next.

EquivalentAssociate Director, Digital PR

How this role differs

You become accountable for a capability rather than a collection of accounts. What the function is good at today, and what it needs to be good at in two years, is now your problem to solve.

Both roles own the discipline agency-wide. The Head of owns it including the headcount and the supplier mix. The Associate Director, Digital PR owns it through expertise, standards and external standing, carrying a commercial number without owning the team.

Roles and responsibilities

Set the agency's Digital PR vision, service offering and growth priorities, making sure they reflect client needs and changes in media, search and AI visibility.
Own the department's commercial performance, including revenue, profitability, utilisation and contribution to client retention and growth.
Own the team structure, hiring priorities, resourcing and succession planning, making sure the department has the capabilities to deliver its commitments.
Hold managers accountable for team performance, delivery quality and client outcomes, while developing their leadership and commercial judgement.
Be accountable for the discipline's full client portfolio through the teams that manage it, rather than holding accounts yourself.
Set agency-wide standards for strategy, campaigns and outreach, making sure activity has a clear purpose and supports agreed client KPIs.
Decide which services and methods to develop, scale, improve or stop offering, using evidence of effectiveness, demand and commercial viability.
Work with SEO, Data & Insights and AI visibility leaders to align services, responsibilities and measurement around shared client objectives.
Own the supplier, freelancer and platform mix, including budgets, quality standards and accountability for placement practices and associated risks.
Define the development pathway for the discipline: what good looks like at each level, and how people are trained towards it.
Build the leadership bench beneath you so that the function is not dependent on you being in the room.
Represent the function to clients in pitches and senior conversations, and externally in the industry.
Lead senior recruitment for the function, including roles that do not exist yet.
Support new business where Digital PR is the differentiator.
Plan capability against where media, search and AI visibility are going twelve months out.