Senior Public Relations Officer

Purpose of job:

As a Senior PR Officer, you will play an important role in planning and delivering creative national and regional PR strategies to promote fundraising and partnership activities for Comic Relief's Red Nose Day 2026 campaign, that inspire people to get involved and demonstrate the life changing work donations make possible.

Collaborating with the wider comms team and colleagues across the organisation, you will work across a broad and exciting range of projects that creatively combine the world of entertainment and charity. You will lead PR activity that aligns with, and feeds into, cross-organisation communications strategies that drive income, awareness, and brand consideration.

You will have a thorough understanding of the UK media landscape, with proven success in securing high-quality print, online, and broadcast coverage at both regional and national levels. Strong existing media relationships, the ability to build new connections quickly, and exceptional influencing and interpersonal skills are essential.

Running Comic Relief's busy Press Office alongside PR campaigns is a responsibility shared by all team members. You will be required to take an active role in managing media enquiries in a timely and accurate manner, media monitoring and evaluation, and join the on-call rota for out-of-hours and weekend support.

This role offers an exciting opportunity to be at the forefront of Comic Relief's next Red Nose Day campaign to engage the public and inspire support for our mission to create a just world, free from poverty.

This role may require occasional UK wide travel to manage media opportunities.

Interview will be held on Friday 7th 2025.

Key responsibilities:

• Develop and deliver creative, national and regional PR strategies that feed into the charity's strategic objectives by promoting fundraising activities for Red Nose Day 2026 and raising awareness of the positive impact donations have in the UK and around the world
• Draft press releases, statements, briefing documents, quotes, and other media materials as required, ensuring editorial excellence and high-quality output
• Collaborate with colleagues across fundraising, talent, production, marketing, social and digital to develop new ideas, content, and stories for broadcast, print and online media
• Establish and build strong, collaborative relationships with all relevant internal and external stakeholders. This may include partners, PR agencies, media, and will involve being the PR lead in cross-organisation working groups
• Set up and facilitate media interviews with a range of spokespeople, drafting briefing materials and attending interviews when required (this might require UK wide travel on occasion). This includes Comic Relief colleagues, celebrity supporters, fundraisers, and people supported by organisations funded by Comic Relief
• Work closely with internal teams and Comic Relief's funded partners to tell stories that demonstrate the positive impact donations have in the UK and across the world. This may involve setting up and managing project visits with journalists, influencers, and high-profile supporters, leading briefings, and overseeing logistics and safeguarding protocols
• Understand Comic Relief's safeguarding principles and adhere to guidelines in practice
• Take an active role in the day-to-day running of the Press Office - this includes responding to media enquiries, ensuring a smooth process from start to finish, working with teams across the organisation to draft responses, contributing to the morning press update, and producing coverage reports using our media monitoring platform
• Join the on-call rota alongside other members of the team for out-of-hours and weekend cover
• Monitor the press regularly to identify appropriate opportunities and potential threats to the promotion of the work of Comic Relief. Work to protect and enhance Comic Relief's reputation and work closely with internal and external stakeholders if issues arise. Draft lines against enquiry and press statements, working with colleagues across the organisation to gather relevant info and ensure sign off
• Be flexible and support the wider PR team during the busy campaign period with ad hoc tasks as required, such as attending shoots to gather media assets, research, attending creative ideas sessions, and pitching ideas to media

Person specification

Essential Skills and Competencies:

• Proven experience of planning, implementing, leading and evaluating successful PR campaigns that get quality coverage
• Strong, collaborative, relationship building skills both internally and externally
• An ability to develop and deliver fresh creative ideas that generate media coverage
• Strong organisational skills
• Good experience managing and prioritising multiple projects to strict deadlines even when faced with challenges
• Excellent writing and communication skills
• Good negotiator with strong influencing skills
• Strong understanding of PR evaluation methods
• Passionate and strong understanding of our business mission

Desirable Skills and Competencies:

• Experience of working with talent/influencers
• Extensive black book of media contacts
• Experience of setting up and managing media visits with journalists