The Opportunity

Teneo's San Francisco office is in a building phase. We are assembling a small, senior team of advisors who understand how technology companies actually work: their customers, investors, boards, and regulators, and the internal dynamics their leaders have to navigate. We help these companies through moments of significant transition. The Managing Director will work with the San Francisco Office head to lead the office's Strategy & Communications team, own a portfolio of client relationships, and play a central role in growing the office's business and reputation in the Bay Area. This is a chance to help shape an office and a practice, not just step into one.

We are also looking for someone who believes the communications function itself is changing. Our clients are rethinking what communications means inside their companies: how it connects to strategy, how it is structured and staffed, and how new tools, including AI, are changing the work. We want an MD who can help clients lead that evolution and who is eager to help Teneo do the same.
Who We're Looking For

The strongest candidates will be builders. Many will have held senior in-house roles at technology companies, where they built or rebuilt teams, processes, and systems, and learned to advise across internal silos because they had to operate inside them. We equally value agency and advisory leaders who have built something of their own, such as a practice, an office, or a new offering, and who bring real empathy for the operator's seat. Either way, you understand that good counsel starts with knowing a client's world, not just the outcome they want.
Responsibilities

• Work with the San Francisco Office Head to lead the San Francisco Strategy & Communications team. Set direction, develop talent, provide senior-level oversight across engagements, and help recruit the people who will grow the office.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to founders, CEOs, and senior leaders, influencing client direction and building long-term relationships.
• Drive business development. Originate new client relationships, expand existing ones, and turn the office's network into client work.
• Help clients through moments of transition, including fundraising, IPO readiness, leadership changes, M&A, regulatory scrutiny, crises, and shifts in business model or technology. Translate the realities of a technology business for the audiences that judge it.
• Develop and lead complex, integrated communications programs that use every lever together: earned media, owned and social channels, executive visibility, events, and non-traditional media such as podcasts, newsletters, and online video.
• Advise clients on how their communications function should evolve, including its structure, capabilities, operating model, and use of new tools.
• Build Teneo's presence in the Bay Area through thought leadership, signature events, speaking, and relationships across the technology, investor, and business communities.
• Partner with colleagues across Teneo's segments, including management consulting, investor relations, financial advisory, risk, and executive search, to deliver integrated solutions.
• Help the office experiment with and adopt AI-enabled ways of working, in partnership with Teneo's firmwide AI efforts.
• Make complex decisions affecting colleagues and clients in a timely and transparent way, and foster a culture where quality and client satisfaction come first.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of relevant experience in corporate communications, public relations, media, or a related field.
• A track record of building teams, functions, practices, processes, or systems, ideally including leading an organization through significant transformation.
• Senior in-house communications experience at a technology company is strongly preferred. Agency and advisory leaders with deep technology-client experience are also encouraged to apply.
• Significant experience independently leading large, complex client engagements.
• Experience counseling senior executives and boards, and working alongside external financial and legal advisors.
• Deep familiarity with the technology ecosystem, particularly founders of mid- to late-stage startups, with strong relationships across both traditional and non-traditional media.
• A holistic view of communications as a driver of business outcomes.
• Curiosity about AI and hands-on use of AI tools in your own work.
• Comfort with ambiguity and the pace of building something new.
• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• Available to work from Teneo's San Francisco office at least three days a week.
• Experience in technology, media, or fintech, especially mid- to late-stage startups and newly public companies preferred.

What We Offer

As a Teneo employee, you will enjoy unique benefits including flexible time off policy; medical, dental, and vision coverage; long-term disability, and life insurance; a 401K plan; commuter benefits; team events; snacks; and other perks.

Base Salary Range

$225,000 - $265,000 (compensation for this role will depend on several factors, including a candidate's qualifications, skills, competencies, and experience that may fall outside of the range listed).

Bonus Eligible

Yes

Total Compensation Package

Includes annualized bonus, 401k match, healthcare coverage and a broad range of additional benefits and perks.

Flexible Work Policy:

Teneo believes in in-person collaboration when possible and if you are assigned to the San Francisco office, the company's expectation is for employees to work from the office location a minimum of three days a week.