Senior Vice President- VIP, Talent & Events

Who We Are:

PURPLE is a global lifestyle communications agency with offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.  For more than two decades, PURPLE has been the leader in culturally connected, results driven brand communications. With the original founding team still leading the business, we bring together our cross-generational and diverse personal networks globally to connect people and brands, build strategy and drive commercial success. 

Our in-house talent pride themselves on their international networks, working collaboratively across luxury and creative industries to deliver game-changing earned media campaigns that are always bespoke, non-traditional and often provocative. Understanding the world of luxury and the ever evolving possibilities to lead in the space, we offer connected services across Communications, Events, Social Media, Partnerships, and VIP & Talent.

PURPLE doesn’t follow the cultural zeitgeist, we create it.

Who You Are:

PURPLE are seeking an experienced, well-connected, organised and efficient team player to lead our London-based VIP, Talent & Events department. As a senior leader within the agency, this individual must have a proven track record of planning and executing VIP and Talent strategy for Clients to drive brand awareness, engagement and visibility globally.

The role requires a strong communicator and leader with the ability to think of the broader picture across the business. We need a connector who is on the pulse of Global Talent; holding key relationships across VIP/Celebrity players, identifying emerging talent, in tune with current and future trends, and with the ability to take a Client brief and deliver the agreed ROI. This individual will have experience working with brands and clients across luxury fashion, beauty and lifestyle building talent strategy and forging cultural and creative connections.

The role requires an individual who can build relationships with clients and be the most senior and trusted strategist and expert voice within the division. This individual will also serve as a mentor, manager, and lead example for the VIP, Talent and Events team on building strategy, client management, driving for results and supporting team development.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the VIP, Talent & Events team to build strategy and execute effective and successful client work, projects and events that meet the brief and deliver the desired results. Work with Company Directors to set the vision for the department and team. Oversee all VIP clients and lead on client services for the department ensuring talent placement and coverage targets are met. Respond to client event briefs with event strategy, creative ideation (if needed), guest list strategy, and front of house approach. Manage VIP & Talent contacts database. Connected and on the pulse of the talent landscape; identifying new and emerging talent, building relationships, recognising cultural trends and opportunities. Develop and manage talent relationships. Identify talent partnership opportunities for VIP Clients and outreach to secure. Negotiate and secure talent paid commercial partnerships on behalf of Clients. Experience with talent contracts and agreements an asset. Identify and negotiate sponsorship and partnership opportunities for events Work closely with press/communications to facilitate event and diary press coverage opportunities. Track ROI, coverage and performance for Clients with a focus on brand engagement metrics, sentiment and share of voice. Proactively work alongside the Business Development team on inbound leads and managing the pipeline to ensure new business goals are met. Support the Business Development team to manage contracts and renewals. Work cross-functionally across the business especially with US VIP team. Team management and mentoring ensuring support is given and deliverables are being met. Responsibility for forecasting, forward projects and tracking to department budget. Expectation to attend required events and client meetings, as needed.

What We Are Looking For:

• Extensive experience within a VIP / Talent management role either in-house or agency with a focus on both organic and paid placements, guest-list strategy and VIP/Celebrity relationships.
• Advantageous to also have experience with event management (light-touch event design, production and logistics) and securing sponsorship and partnerships for events.
• Hyper-connected and networked.
• Strong understanding of the talent landscape across fashion, entertainment, music, sport and culture. Strong understanding of social media platforms and content creators.
• 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Comfortable and calm in a fast-paced environment.
• Tapped into culture and in tune with trends and movements; within the premium and luxury brand space and lifestyle.
• A high level of written, verbal, and numerical communication skills, presenting pitches, client strategies and producing documents to the relevant external and internal stakeholders.
• Confidence and out-of-box thinking, challenging the status quo, to bring innovate ideas.
• Hugely organised, efficient, able to work to tight deadlines and deliver quality results.
• Ability to work to a deadline and manage a team to deliver on-time results.
• Experience in effective negotiations as well as legal knowledge within the talent commercial space an asset.
• Strong project management skills with demonstrable ability to manage and deliver multiple concurrent projects.
• Works well within a collaborative and goal-oriented team culture.
• Proficiency in PowerPoint, Apple Keynote and Excel.