Senior Director, Influencer, Communications + Cultural Strategy

The Job

Senior Director, influencer, communications + cultural strategy is a senior brand leadership role responsible for architecting and leading amika's influence ecosystem - spanning creators, VIPs, stylists, professional advocates, media, and cultural voices to drive brand equity, cultural relevance, earned authority, consumer trust, and measurable business impact.

This leader will define and scale a modern, insight‑led communications, influence, and advocacy strategy that connects brand strategy, earned media, organic storytelling, paid influencer programming, creator partnerships, advocacy, cultural initiatives, events, and market execution into one cohesive influence engine. The ideal candidate is a strategic operator, cultural translator, and communications leader with deep beauty expertise, strong commercial instincts, a sophisticated understanding of the creator economy and paid influencer market, and the ability to build and mentor a high‑performing team of six, manage complex agency partnerships, and develop playbooks that drive brand love, advocacy, demand, and growth.

Brooklyn, NY - 2 days a week onsite (must be based in + have the right to work in the US)

• Architect and lead amika's influence ecosystem—spanning organic advocacy, earned media, brand storytelling, and paid influencer programming—to drive brand equity, cultural relevance, and measurable business impact.
• Define the annual communications, influencer, and advocacy roadmap, ensuring alignment to brand priorities, product launches, retail moments, professional initiatives, international market needs, and cultural opportunities.
• Continuously benchmark amika against leading beauty, hair care, and lifestyle brands to identify white space, emerging platforms, talent opportunities, cultural shifts, competitive threats, and new models of advocacy.

• Build and evolve a multi-tiered advocacy ecosystem spanning VIP, macro, mid-tier, creator, stylist, micro, emerging, professional, and organic brand advocates.
• Translate beauty, haircare, fashion, entertainment, wellness, professional, and digital culture signals into actionable brand opportunities, storytelling territories, creator partnerships, and campaign ideas.
• Identify breakthrough cultural partnerships, creator-led campaigns, VIP moments, editorial opportunities, stylist advocacy programs, and experiential concepts that generate earned conversation and brand heat.

• Lead earned storytelling strategies that reinforce brand equity, deepen consumer trust, drive cultural relevance, and generate meaningful awareness, engagement, advocacy, and brand love.
• Serve as the senior internal authority on influence, communications, advocacy, earned storytelling, creator culture, cultural relevance, and reputation.
• Act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on brand reputation, issues management, creator risk, corporate/product communications, competitive positioning, and cultural opportunities.

• Lead influencer, PR, earned media, and advocacy strategy across 360 go-to-market plans, from strategic development through activation, optimization, reporting, and post-campaign learnings.
• Own strategic leadership of paid influencer agency programming, including creator selection, briefing, content strategy, usage rights, approvals, and performance learnings. Coordinate with the paid media lead on investment strategy and channel amplification.
• Partner closely with social, integrated media, brand marketing, creative, professional marketing, international, retail marketing, and sales teams to ensure influence and communications strategies connect to broader brand and business priorities.

• Lead annual influencer, press, stylist, and advocacy event strategy, including tentpole activations, immersive brand experiences, launch moments, and always-on relationship-building programs.
• In partnership with brand management and cross-functional stakeholders, identify and negotiate larger-scale brand collaborations, cultural partnerships, and advocacy programs that fuel…