Senior Manager, Influencer & Advocacy

company
“A perfume is a world you can return to over and over again — a keyhole into far-off places, both material and imaginary.”

D.S. & Durga is a Brooklyn-based fragrance house on a quest to create transportive perfumes inspired by music, myth, and the mundane. Founded in 2009 by husband-and-wife team David (D.S.) and Kavi (Durga) Moltz, the brand is known for its uniquely distinguished perfumes, candles, and aromatic products.

David — an indie musician with a rare gift for perfume composition — creates all D.S. & Durga scents and their immersive environments. Kavi, an architect and designer, shapes the brand’s packaging, visual identity, and retail experience. Together they build worlds through fragrance: blending music, design, specificity, and a touch of surrealism to create original olfactive compositions that resonate with a cult-like global following.

Today, D.S. & Durga is sold in over 600 doors across 40 countries, with five freestanding stores in New York and Los Angeles. In 2024, the founders partnered with Manzanita Capital to accelerate the brand’s next phase of growth. With its distinctive approach to crafting accords that evoke lifelike objects, places, and characters, the brand is poised for significant expansion globally.

About Manzanita Capital
Manzanita is the family office of the Fisher family, investing in premium and luxury niche brands with strong growth potential. Their mission is to help entrepreneurs scale while protecting the creative integrity that defines iconic brands. Manzanita brings global reach and deep expertise across key markets, with notable investments including Diptyque, (MALIN+GOETZ), Susanne Kaufmann, and Space NK. In 2022, they exited Byredo in a landmark sale to Puig for a reported $1B.

role & responsibilites
D.S & Durga is entering an exciting new phase of growth, expanding its reach and cultural influence within modern fragrance. As the brand evolves its communications model, earned storytelling is shifting form traditional press to a dynamic ecosystem of creators, tastemakers, and media voices who reflect the brand's creative world.

The Senior Manager, Influencer & Advocacy will architect and execute this transformation- leading influencer and advocacy strategy while also managing the brand's PR agency, LEDE, to ensure a unified, modern earned-media approach. Reporting to the Head of Marketing, this role is highly entrepreneurial: a self starter who balances creative vision with analytical rigor and builds structure and community around a brand that thrives on orginality.

Influencer & Advocacy Strategy

• Build and own D.S. & Durga’s influencer and advocacy framework across organic and paid tiers — micro, macro, VIP, and cultural tastemakers.
• Translate the brand’s creative world into authentic creator storytelling that generates earned reach and drives desirability.
• Define influencer tiering, investment levels, and KPIs (EMV, engagement, conversion).
• Establish a cadence of “always-on” advocacy, complemented by launch and seasonal campaigns.

PR & Communications Leadership

• Oversee day-to-day relationship with LEDE, the brand’s PR partner — guiding a transition from traditional editorial pitching to a creator-first, storytelling-driven model.
• Set joint priorities and KPIs with LEDE around earned media, creator coverage, and press placement quality.
• Align PR and influencer calendars to ensure consistent narratives across launches, retail moments, and brand milestones.
• Provide strategic input on messaging, media lists, event execution, and press materials.

Creator Network & Community Building

• Identify and nurture relationships with influencers, artists, and cultural voices aligned with D.S. & Durga’s aesthetic and values.
• Manage day-to-day outreach, seeding, product gifting, and logistics (Archive or similar platform).
• Cultivate a DSD Advocacy Community — a network of brand friends and micro-creators engaged year-round through exclusive previews, briefs, and events.
• Foster long-term relationships that evolve beyond transactional campaigns.

Campaign Activation & Integration

• Partner with Marketing, Social, and Creative to design 360° activations around launches, retail events, and collaborations.
• Brief and oversee creators and agency partners, ensuring brand alignment and exceptional content quality.
• Secure usage rights and integrate top-performing content into paid amplification when relevant.
• Coordinate closely with Retail Marketing and Operations to synchronize influencer support with in-store activities.

Measurement & Optimization

• Define and track influencer and PR KPIs across campaigns and always-on programs (EMV, reach, share of voice, engagement).
• Produce regular reporting and actionable insights to guide strategy and budget allocation.
• Manage agency budgets, forecasting, and contract renewals with accountability for ROI.
• Continuously analyze the competitive landscape to identify white-space opportunities.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Culture

• Work closely with the Social Media Manager to ensure cohesive storytelling across earned and owned platforms.
• Serve as the internal champion for influencer and media integration across all functions — from Creative to Retail.
• Partner with the Head of Marketing to align influencer, PR, and social strategies with brand campaigns and launches.
• Embody and express the D.S. & Durga ethos in every partnership, ensuring cultural fit, creative integrity, and excellence in execution.

Professional Qualifications

• 6–8 years of experience in influencer marketing, PR, or communications within beauty, fragrance, or luxury lifestyle brands.
• Demonstrated ability to design and execute integrated influencer and earned-media strategies that deliver measurable business results.
• Proven success managing external agencies and cross-functional teams; able to influence without direct authority.
• Deep understanding of the creator economy and the evolving media landscape, with experience across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and emerging platforms.
• Strong analytical skills with comfort in EMV, engagement, and ROI reporting; ability to translate insights into clear strategic recommendations.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills; credible and persuasive with executives, partners, and creators.
• Experience balancing creative storytelling with commercial discipline—equally fluent in brand tone and performance metrics.
• Familiarity with influencer-management and social-listening tools (e.g., Archive, Traackr, Dash Hudson, Sprout, or similar).
• Track record of thriving in fast-paced, founder-led environments; agile, resourceful, and collaborative.

Personal Characteristics

• Creative storyteller with commercial intuition—sees how art, culture, and commerce intersect.
• Hands-on self-starter who builds systems from scratch and executes with excellence.
• Strategic yet pragmatic—able to think long-term while delivering immediate results.
• Collaborative communicator who builds trust across Marketing, Creative, PR, and Retail partners.
• Analytical and data-driven, comfortable owning KPIs and drawing insight from metrics.
• Culturally attuned and curious, with a natural connection to tastemakers and creative communities.
• Organized and detail-oriented, managing multiple campaigns and relationships with precision.
• Resilient and entrepreneurial, energized by building new capabilities and shaping a brand’s next chapter.
• Passionate advocate for D.S. & Durga’s values—imaginative, authentic, and independent.

Additional Information
Reports To: Head of Marketing
Location: Brooklyn, NY (Hybrid – 3 days per week in office)
Team: Solo contributor (with potential intern and/or agency support)
Travel: Up to 10% (events, retailer activations, creator meetings)
Salary Band: $100,000-$115,000