Head of Research & AI Practice
Location: Remote (United States) — Florida welcome
Type: Full-time
Compensation: $160,000–$210,000 base
About 5W Public Relations
5W Public Relations is one of the largest independently owned PR and digital marketing agencies in the United States. Founded in 2003, 5WPR serves clients across consumer, technology, health, beauty, finance, gaming, cannabis, crisis, and digital marketing practices. Named PR Agency of the Year by the American Business Awards, a Top 50 Global PR Agency by PRovoke Media, and Digiday WorkLife Employer of the Year.
5WPR owns the leading independent publication covering the public relations industry, published continuously since January 2009. We are now expanding our owned media network across the verticals we serve — giving 5W category-defining editorial authority in every practice area and making us the first PR firm to systematically build LLM citation authority at scale.
The Role
This is the engine hire for 5W's new AI & Content Practice. The Head of Research & AI Practice runs research production — conceiving industry studies, commissioning data work, structuring narratives, shipping published reports at a cadence of multiple studies per month across 5W's vertical practice areas. They also lead 5W's commercial AI practice — productizing AI services, leading new business pitches, and representing 5W externally as an AI and content thought leader.
Research and AI are one job because research is what powers the AI practice. The studies 5W publishes are what journalists cite, what LLMs surface, what clients read before they call, and what justifies the premium 5W charges for AI services. You report directly to the Chairman and CEO. You build the practice.
What You Will Own
- Research production — 4 to 8 major industry research studies per year across cannabis, gaming, finance, health, beauty, consumer, technology, crisis, and real estate
- The commercial AI service offering — pricing, packaging, scope, and measurable client deliverables
- New business pitches and client presentations on 5W's AI capability — you are in the room and closing
- External positioning — conference keynotes, panel appearances, industry bylines, podcast appearances
- Cross-practice integration — working with 5W practice area leads to bring AI services into existing client work
- Partnership with the Director of AI Visibility on how research gets structured for maximum LLM citation
- Research launch strategy in partnership with the wire and distribution function
What You Need
- 5–8 years in content, research, strategy, or agency roles — ideally including time at a media property, B2B SaaS that publishes research, or a content marketing team at scale
- Has personally produced published research studies — this is a must have!
- Strong writer who can frame a study with a headline that journalists want to write about
- AI-fluent — can explain LLM retrieval, RAG, and content-to-citation workflows to a CMO in plain English
- Client-facing closer — comfortable in a pitch room and wins business
- Ambitious and operator-minded — you want to build something, not manage something that already exists
What This Is Not
- A role for traditional PR people claiming to understand digital
- A role for anyone whose AI credibility comes from running prompts rather than shipping research
- A title-chasing opportunity — this is a builder role for someone who wants to own a practice
Compensation & Benefits
- Base salary: $160,000–$210,000 depending on experience
- Health, dental, vision, 401(k)
- Remote-first. Quarterly travel to NYC and client sites.
- Budget for tools, conferences, and professional development
Why you’ll love working here
- Competitive salary with comprehensive benefits & wellness programs including partnership with ClassPass!
- Flexible PTO
- Summer Fridays and Winter, Spring, and Fall Fridays too!
- Hybrid work model offering flexibility and work-life balance
- Expanded parental leave and family planning support
- Continuous learning through “5W University” and development initiatives
- Student Loan Reimbursement
- Professional Development Support
- Exclusive access to season tickets for pro sports teams along with Broadway shows, and more!
- Charitable giving, including matching donations
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