Public Relations Account Executive

Job content

About this role

We’re looking for someone extraordinary to become ‘employee #2’ in a fast-growing public relations agency. As a result of several major client wins over the last 12 months, the agency is making its first hire to expand the team and start the next phase of growth.

We’re looking for a highly intelligent, inquisitive and high-energy public relations professional who has experience delivering healthcare or engineering communications, ideally in an agency environment. This role is extremely dynamic and offers exposure to all elements of the business, but the focus will be on securing top tier media coverage for clients across national, trade and regional media outlets and creating outstanding specialist and technical content.

You will be working directly with the founder day-to-day, which will give you the opportunity to shape the role as it evolves and make an enormous impact on the business and its growth. We want to become a world-renowned agency, so if the idea of getting onboard at the very beginning and playing a crucial role in building a company excites you, we want you to apply.

About Tarleton

Tarleton is a specialist public relations agency focused on the life sciences and engineering sectors. We work with organisations with innovative products, unique technology or IP assets and help them to improve the way they communicate.

Our clients include some of the most innovative early-stage companies pushing the boundaries of health and scientific innovation, as well as larger companies developing cutting edge advanced materials and manufacturing techniques.

We are building a culture of excellence and client centricity. We want to hire exceptionally talented, inquisitive people who can help clients build outstanding companies. To do this, we will reward talent properly and create a friendly working environment that is both challenging and interesting.

What you’ll be doing

Media relations

• Monitoring media developments to proactively identify opportunities for clients to raise their profile, influence the agenda and position their organisations as authoritative leaders in their field.
• Developing and maintaining relationships with journalists, editors, and producers and using these to pitch story ideas and press releases that secure coverage across print, digital, and broadcast platforms in national, specialist and regional media outlets.
• Creating press releases, thought leadership and op-ed articles that are well researched, timely and tailored to target outlets.

Content creation

• Creating engaging specialist and technical multi-format content including white papers, thought leadership, blogs, social media content and more that align with the brand messaging and positioning of our clients.
• Creating social media content and managing channels and analytics reporting on behalf of clients.

Account management

• Conducting high quality, value-add market research to help the agency deliver excellent outcomes for clients.
• Measuring and evaluating the performance of PR activity and making strategic and tactical recommendations to clients.
• Maintaining strong client relationships built on trust and competence.

Agency growth

• Playing a critical role in helping to build the agency by developing an annual marketing strategy, contributing ideas and grasping opportunities to work across marketing, business development and events.

Requirements

Attitude and outlook

• You thrive in a start-up culture and enjoy working in a (very) small team. We are growing quickly but you will be the second in a team of two! Start-ups are agile, fast paced and slightly scatty – you need to be comfortable with getting stuck in to anything.
• You want to be excellent and take pride in delivering exceptional work that impresses every time. Attention to detail is important to you and you take the attitude ‘if I’m doing a job, I want to do it well’.
• You are curious and are someone who enjoys learning, personal development and asking ‘why’. You’ll be the type of person who reads the news for fun (sometimes!), enjoys geeky discussions and likes learning about new technologies. If you’re interested in the world around you, this role will suit you down to the ground!
• You are a problem solverand think outside the box. You will have a positive, enthusiastic and resilient personality and be someone who is keen to find solutions to barriers and setbacks.

These are the most important qualities we hire on - demonstrate these in your application!

Essential

• You will have up to two years’ experience working in public relations or communications, ideally in an agency setting.
• You will be able to demonstrate good working knowledge of the life sciences and/or engineering sectors and have an ability to learn quickly.
• You will be able to evidence a track record of securing coverage in national or trade media outlets and be comfortable pitching complex and technical stories. You will have built relationships with some journalists already and be able to bring these with you.
• You will have experience of drafting specialist short and long form content, including thought leadership, white papers, blogs or similar content.
• You will have experience of developing engaging content for social media channels including Twitter (X) and LinkedIn and will be confident managing these strategically to influence audiences.
• You will be familiar with best practice for measuring and evaluating communications activity and have a track record of doing this.
• You will be commercially savvy, politically aware and adapt at understanding current affairs and how it impacts the sectors we serve.

If you do not meet all of these criteria but feel you could still make a strong application, please still consider applying.

Desirable

• International experience; written or spoken German a distinct advantage.
• Experience of managing and improving SEO.
• Experience of setting up, managing and evaluating PPC campaigns.
• Graphic design skills – using Adobe or similar tools.
• Experience of creating video or podcast content.
• International experience or a second language.

Benefits

Most agencies have a high turnover because staff are overworked, given repetitive tasks and impossible deadlines, and because career progression only means changes to your title, not your day. This model is broken, so we’re doing it differently.

We don’t believe in hiding the salary behind a ‘competitive’ veil, nor do we believe a pension is a benefit – it’s a basic requirement. A team are an agency’s biggest asset, so our benefit package is designed to make sure you are happy and well at work:

• Up to £25,000 salary DOE + generous performance linked bonus
• Uncapped commission on new business
• 28 days holiday (including bank holidays)
• Birthday Celebration – day off and £100 meal allowance
• Payday Celebration – finish at 3pm on the last day of every month
• Christmas shut down – discretionary one-week additional paid holiday at Christmas without needing to use your standard holiday allowance

In addition to this package are features that set us apart, but we don’t think deserve to be called ‘benefits’!

• A development plan: co-authored by both of us and designed to help you achieve your personal and career goals.
• Flexibility: as in any agency, sometimes we will need you to show flexibility to meet deadlines or to help clients with urgent priorities, but this flexibility is a two-way street!
• Impact: you’re not going to be handed the boring tasks or asked to make the tea. We want your ideas, energy and for you to make an impact on the business. Think we should be doing something differently? Let’s try it!

Applications will be reviewed on an ongoing basis. For questions about the role, please email thomas@tarletoncomms.com.

No recruitment agencies, please.