Public Relations Specialist (Publicist)

About the position

Reporting to the Director of Public Relations (with indirect reporting into the Chief Communications and Community Officer and the Head of Public Relations), the Public Relations Specialist supports the department’s strategic public relations efforts to tell the whole NYRR story, increase New York Road Runners’ brand awareness, and execute event PR efforts at running events ranging from the TCS New York City Marathon to weekly races to youth and community programming. The Public Relations Specialist will take ownership of year-round initiatives and assume project lead for various adult/youth/community races/events. As lead/support, they will develop strategy and execute media outreach, draft media materials, and facilitate media (proactive and reactive) engagement. The perfect person for this role is a proactive communicator, self-starter, strategist, and creative problem-solver with strong writing, media relations, project management, and campaign execution skills.

Responsibilities

• Lead, support, develop, and execute PR strategy for New York Road Runners, its events, initiatives, partnerships, etc.
• Oversee media outreach for runner stories and weekly races throughout the year as assigned; work events on weekends as needed.
• Write press releases, media alerts, bios, fact sheets, talking points, reports and other media materials.
• Serve as a media contact, monitor media inquiries and facilitate responses, as needed.
• Oversee media contact lists, monitoring and organizing weekly press clippings and providing content updates to NYRR’s online media center.

Requirements

• 3-5 years of experience in the Media and Public Relations industry preferred.
• Experience developing PR plans for programs, events and/or initiatives.
• Experience pitching and cultivating relationships with journalists a plus.
• Experience on-site at events working with media and social teams to ensure coverage preferred.
• Experience with non-profit, community or events-based organizations a plus.
• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college in English, Public Relations, communications, journalism or related field preferred.

Nice-to-haves

• Passion for New York Road Runners’ mission is a plus.

Benefits

• Salary: $72,000/year