Managing Director, Cultural Mobilization

Bully Pulpit International is an outcomes agency made up of strategists, data scientists, and artists. We come from politics, brands, and government and we communicate without barriers and measure what matters. We have more than 400 team members in six countries and thirteen offices - Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, D.C., London, Los Angeles, New York, Oslo, San Francisco, and Zürich. We apply our unique expertise across strategic communications, public affairs, research, and digital marketing to create sophisticated and customized strategies that make change possible for both American and European clients.

• Starting Salary Range: $225,000 (+annual qualitative & quantitative portfolio bonus)
• Preferred to work from our LA office at least 3 days a week

The Impact You Will Make

We are seeking a Managing Director, Cultural Mobilization to build and lead this new practice. This person will be the architect of BPI's cultural mobilization capability combining cultural intelligence, strategic relationship-building, and senior advisory to help clients understand culture, build credibility within it, and engage in ways that drive real-world impact. They will bring and cultivate relationships across entertainment, sports, media, and other cultural institutions, working with everyone from showrunners and creators to studio executives, journalists and other cultural gatekeepers. This practice complements BPI's paid and earned creator programs by focusing on cultural strategy, long-term relationship building, and strategic activations and campaigns.

This is a practice-building role as we develop this specialty team within BPI. This team will serve BPI's diverse client roster, from major corporations to leading philanthropic and advocacy groups, driving impact across industry transformation, public policy, and brand reputation. Initially, the Managing Director will focus on developing strategy, building relationships within the industry and the field, originating opportunities that meet client needs, and enabling execution through BPI's client teams and a curated network of contractors and specialists rather than building a large in-house team. As demand grows, they will have the opportunity to design, hire, and lead a dedicated Cultural Mobilization team.

Responsibilities

What the Day-to-Day Looks Like

Build & Manage the Practice

• Define and evolve the Cultural Mobilization practice, defining and scaling its operating model, service offerings, methodologies, and intellectual property.
• Establish and evolve service offerings and associated deliverables that enable the Practice and the firm to stay competitive, unique, and deliver for its clients.
• Recruit, develop, and lead the team as the practice grows, while representing BPI externally through speaking, publishing, industry engagement, and business development.
• Present to senior clients, including CCOs, heads of corporate affairs, and heads of philanthropic organizations, to demonstrate our deep expertise, establish BPI as first chair, and ensure our work successfully drives maximum impact.
• Develop and execute a marketing and visibility strategy to elevate the practice's profile, positioning BPI as a thought leader in cultural mobilization and driving awareness among prospective clients.

Cultural Intelligence & Opportunity Identification

• Build BPI's cultural intelligence capability, identifying the narratives, communities, creators, platforms, and moments that shape public attitudes and behavior across entertainment, sports, gaming, podcasts, digital media, and beyond.
• Identify and leverage cultural mapping tools to understand where target audiences spend their time, who they trust, and which stories, communities, and cultural moments present the greatest opportunity for client engagement.
• Identify emerging cultural trends, opportunities, and reputational risks before they become obvious, translating them into actionable recommendations for clients and internal teams.
• Partner with Insights team to produce cultural intelligence briefings, trend analyses, and strategic insights that strengthen client strategy and establish BPI's point of view in the marketplace.

Cultural Lobbying & Strategic Relationships

• Lead BPI's "cultural lobbying" practice by building sustained, trusted relationships with the people who shape culture, including showrunners, television writers, talent, agents, producers, executives, creators, and cultural institutions so that clients have credibility and access long before a specific opportunity or ask arises.
• Develop and steward a network of advisors, partners, and cultural experts spanning entertainment, sports, music, gaming, live events, and other sectors that influence public conversation.
• Cultivate the relationships, partnerships, and institutional knowledge that give BPI and its clients early access to emerging ideas, influential voices, and cultural moments.
• Position BPI as a trusted thought partner within the cultural ecosystem by building long-term relationships that create value for both clients and creative communities.

Client Cultural Strategy & Advisory

• Partner with senior client leaders to identify where culture can accelerate their priorities, translating business, advocacy, and policy objectives into cultural strategies grounded in storytelling, entertainment, partnerships, and shared experiences.
• Advise clients on how to build credibility, relationships, and influence within culture, integrating cultural mobilization with earned, owned, paid, and public affairs strategies into one cohesive approach.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to CEOs, foundation presidents, communications executives, advocacy leaders, and campaign teams on high-stakes cultural strategy, narrative development, and relationship-building.

Activation & Delivery

• Translate strategy into action by partnering with BPI's client teams and a curated network of specialists to deliver high-impact cultural engagements.
• Design the approach, assemble the right collaborators, and stay closely involved in flagship work to ensure execution reflects the quality and strategic intent of the practice.
• Build, manage, and continuously expand a trusted network of contractors, advisors, and subject-matter experts, bringing together the right expertise for each client engagement.
• Equip BPI's client teams with the tools, guidance, and support they need to confidently deliver cultural mobilization work while developing repeatable methodologies, playbooks, and measurement frameworks that allow the practice to scale.