£32,000 - £34,000 • Comic Relief • London
Purpose of job:
As a PR Officer, you will play an important role in planning and delivering creative national and regional PR strategies for Comic Relief’s partnerships and fundraising campaign while leading the efficient running of Comic Relief’s busy Press Office.
You will work across a broad and exciting range of projects and strategic campaigns throughout the year that combine the worlds of entertainment, sport, and charity. This will include Red Nose Day, Sport Relief and winter fundraising initiatives, bespoke events and activations, as well as working with some of Comic Relief’s high-profile partners and well-known brands. These wide ranging, creative and exciting campaigns will drive income, awareness, and brand consideration at a time when the charity gets set to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2025.
You will need to have a good understanding of the UK media landscape; feel confident in approaching journalists with new ideas; have experience of gaining media coverage at both a national and regional level; and experience of monitoring PR coverage and campaigns.
Running Comic Relief’s busy Press Office alongside proactive PR campaigns is a responsibility shared by every member of the PR team. You will be required to take a leading role in the efficient running of the Press Office, which can include handling media enquiries as well as contributing and editing internal comms updates.
We are looking for an enthusiastic, highly organised communicator, brimming with ideas and initiative, who is used to working as part of a small but busy team.
Key responsibilities:
- Assist the planning and delivery of creative national and regional PR strategies that feed into, and support, the charity’s strategic objectives to drive income and raise awareness of the positive impact of Comic Relief and the work of its funded partners in the UK and around the world
- Help to develop new ideas, content, and stories to secure media coverage for national and regional digital platforms, print and broadcast media
- Set up media interviews, write briefing materials and attend interviews when required (this may require travel around the UK on occasion)
- Own projects from planning through to evaluation with support of your line manager
- Establish, develop and maintain strong and collaborative relationships with key internal and external stakeholders. This could include internal colleagues, partners, journalists, producers, talent publicists and colleagues from organisations that receive funding from Comic Relief
- Work closely with external partners and organisations where appropriate to help maximise their involvement with Comic Relief – this might be PR agencies or partner PR/Media teams
- Draft and edit high quality, compelling written materials and ensure sign off on all materials, including press releases, interview briefing documents, lines against enquiry and spokespeople quotes
- Work with Comic Relief funded partners, and the people they support, to show the positive impact donations make. This may involve setting up and managing visits with journalists, influencers, and celebrity supporters
- Take a leading role in the day-to-day running of an efficient Press Office alongside the wider team. This includes responding to media enquiries, ensuring a smooth process from start to finish by working with teams across the organisation to draft responses; uploading press releases to the website; drafting internal updates; using our media database platform to create targeted media lists; using CRM systems to support relationship management
- Implement and lead all Press Office processes including the morning press update for internal stakeholders; monitoring our general media enquiries inbox and phone; using our media monitoring platforms to monitor, save and evaluate coverage; compiling coverage reports
- Be flexible and support the PR team with ad hoc tasks as directed, such as delivering PR events; attending shoots to gather media assets; researching and pitching stories to media
Person specification:
Essential criteria:
- Demonstrable experience of working in PR / Media roles
- Experience as a PR Officer or similar in house or an Account Executive or similar in a PR agency
- Proven experience of working on national and regional PR campaigns
- An ability to develop and deliver fresh creative ideas that generate media coverage
- Strong organisational skills
- Excellent writer with attention to detail
- Good media relations and confidence approaching journalists with ideas
- Good experience managing and prioritising multiple projects to strict deadlines even when faced with challenges
- Good understanding of the changing PR landscape across national and regional UK media
- Excellent communication skills
- A commitment to Comic Relief and its core values and a strong team player
Desirable criteria:
- Understanding of PR evaluation methods
- Experience of working with talent/influencers
- Good negotiator with strong influencing skills