Senior Public Relations Manager

Senior Public Relations Manager

Location: Remote – New England area – Must be willing to travel when needed.

Make an impact with the research organization that leads the search to cure diseases that affect us all – Cancer, Parkinson’s, Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s & more. Lead PR strategies, plans and media outreach efforts to effectively promote client’s reputation, mission, strategic priorities, research and offerings to national and trade media.

The ideal PR Manager candidate will have:

• Excellent writing skills and be able to craft press releases, pitches, media advisories, talking points and other materials
• A history of successful proactive pitching with robust media coverage, and will bring established media relationships to client, preferably in the biomedical research, life sciences, pharma, health care, and/or technology space
• Excellent experience identifying and securing editorial and speaking opportunities
• Strong interpersonal skills to cultivate relationships with media and respond to their requests and to form collaborative relationships with internal subject matter experts along with external collaborators
• Proven experience with issues management and crisis communications
• Solid experience managing teams and mentoring colleagues
• An aptitude for assessing PR plan effectiveness, incorporating media tracking and monitoring

Educational Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Communications, Marketing, Journalism or English.

Degree & Specialization Requirements

• Copy-editing certification preferred, but not mandatory.
• Project management certification a plus.

Experience Requirements

• A minimum of 10+ years of public relations experience, preferably in the biomedical, life sciences and/or pharmaceutical industry.
• History of solid relationships with national and trade media.
• Proven track record of national and trade media outreach and developing and executing successful media strategies. International media outreach experience preferred, but not required.
• Excellent written, verbal and editing skills, with the ability to translate complex science into public-facing messages.
• Strong managerial experience, including leading a team and mentoring colleagues in PR and media relations.
• A results-driven performer, this individual will also demonstrate the ability to manage cross-functional relationships, have an entrepreneurial spirit and willingness to roll-up their sleeves to help the broader Strategic Communications group and overall team.
• Excellent interpersonal, communications, and negotiation skills coupled with the ability to build networks and influence and motivate others toward accomplishing individual and group objectives.
• Ability to formulate, implement and evaluate complex plans and strategies and flawlessly execute against them.
• Must be a self-motivated, team-oriented, and enthusiastic problem-solver and solutions-builder who thrives on being engaged at all levels of a project.
• Experience managing multiple projects with internal and external stakeholders under tight deadlines.
• Familiarity with Meltwater or similar media database/monitoring and tracking platform.
• Must be able to work with researchers and scientists to develop engaging content, ensuring quality and technical accuracy.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel and Outlook) required.

Supervisory Requirements

• This is a supervisor role; experience managing teams and mentoring colleagues required.

Key Responsibilities and Essential Functions

• Media Relations Strategy, Management and Execution – Lead media outreach efforts including identifying, pitching, fielding inbound queries and managing relationships with national, trade and international media for client’s areas of focus and subject matter expertise; develop strong positive relationships with key media; raise client’s profile in key outlets; organize media visits and manage reporters on campus; promote through media briefings, news releases, conferences, roundtables and articles; identify and lead senior management and research team opportunities around press interviews, speaking engagements, etc.; develop and manage written materials that are on-message, on-brand, and tied to PR plan goals.
• PR Program and Team Management – Develop, manage and assess strategic PR plans and initiatives in alignment with goals and messaging priorities; lead a team of communications professionals responsible for local and national PR and reputation-building; lead engagement with external PR representation, tracking KPIs and pursuing continuous improvement opportunities; develop thought leadership platforms that position as an influencer; ensure that timelines, milestones, budgets and deliverables are established, met and fulfill the needs of stakeholders.
• Writing – Create strategic communications for news media including press releases and pitches, media advisories, articles, bylines and contributed pieces, briefing documents for interviews and speaking engagements, and other content, as needed.
• Crisis Communications – Assist with the development and implementation of The client’s crisis communications planning, management and execution, including participation in crisis exercises. Assist with issues management needs and crisis communications activities. Train communications professionals in crisis management to build team bench strength.
• Creative Collaboration – Collaborate with and become a trusted advisor to teams across including research, editorial, senior management, marketing, external and government affairs, and others; communicate clearly and effectively within a cross-functional team environment; build new and strengthen client’s existing relationships with collaborators and other external institutions and organizations.
• Other duties, as assigned – This may include media tracking and monitoring using Meltwater and Google; providing summary reports and overview documents; lead and contribute to projects that align with the Strategic Communications team overall, and other projects, as needed.

Planet Technology