Job Title: Public Relations Officer (US media), TopCashback
Salary: dependent on experience
Employment: permanent (full time, 40 hours per week: 9am to 6pm, Monday to Friday – though ad hoc out-of-hours duties will be necessary to accommodate media requests)
Job type: in-house
Primary discipline: consumer; personal finance and lifestyle
Secondary applicable sectors: technology, celebrity and trade
Reporting to: the Global Head of Communications & Public Relations
Location: Montclair, New Jersey, (plus some travel around the tri-state area, on an ad hoc basis for meetings and seminars)
The Company
TopCashback is the United States of America’s most generous free cashback, coupon, app and all-round money-saving resource, with sister websites in the UK, China and India. Celebrating its UK site’s 11th birthday this summer, it’s USA site’s fifth anniversary this autumn and having established its first American office in New Jersey two years ago, which propelled it to reach a membership of 1.4 million consumers to date; TopCashback has seen very exciting growth and desires to recruit a PR Officer for its US website (TopCashback.com) to provide additional in-house public relations strategy, execution and support in order to inform the American media - and in turn educate American consumers - about its innovative online and offline money-saving prowess.
The PR department
The TopCashback public relations department does not exist only to captain the management of the company’s reputation or simply garner outstanding, consistent and meaningful press coverage that in turn enhances consumer awareness about the website; it is also here to interrupt the media with inventive ideas, stories and challenges via every available channel. We do not simply follow the news agenda; we create it.
Armed with a pioneering spirit, the gang is a smooth production belt of passionate, solid, creative and excitable people who want to make a difference in the world. The PR department consists of three teams covering markets in the UK, the USA and Asia.
The applicant
TopCashback is looking for an accomplished public relations person with significant traditional media experience within the retail, personal finance and consumer world – and an overflowing book of press and broadcast contacts - to join its Global Head of Communications and Public Relations in its Montclair, NJ, office. They will have a solid understanding of, and interest in, the affiliate marketing industry and consumer money-saving arena.
Candidates should also have some managerial experience, exhibiting leadership flair particularly when it comes to proactivity, mentoring and effortlessly handling multiple deadlines between them and their line manager alongside juggling a number of tasks between them and the colleagues whom they work alongside (or one day supervise).
TopCashback’s company motto is, “do as you would be done by” and its public relations team’s motto is, “work hard, play harder”. If you believe in both these notions, are skilled at your craft, have a spring in your step, carry a charming personality and want a work life that means you look forward to Mondays, we would love to hear from you.
The role
The successful candidate for this dynamic in-house position will play a key part in creating, shaping and managing TopCashback's exciting US public relations activity within traditional media. They will be primarily responsible for the continued success of the US team’s preliminary work and for developing and implementing further public relations strategies and campaigns.
Fundamentally the role will involve building and enhancing TopCashback's communications activity with members, journalists, influencers, producers, broadcasters and other external audiences. Evening and weekend work will sometimes be necessary to accommodate press calls and meet deadlines.
Although this position will not have direct line management duties initially, a measure of the Public Relations Officer’s success in the role will be them creating the need for the business to grow the US PR team, where those roles would then report to them.
Where campaigns, projects or long-term tasks require the use of external resources, the Public Relations Officer will lead the pitch-and-selection process and be the first point of call for the external partners. They will also play a key role in recruitment within the US public relations team.
Key duties will be to: establish and maintain media contacts; answer media inquiries and requests (directly and using HARO), liaising with other departments where appropriate; monitor press coverage; keep up-to-date with competitor activity; contribute ideas for PR campaigns, create surveys on media-juicy topics, recruit respondents and analyze results; write and distribute (through Gorkana) news alerts and press releases; recruit, manage and place case studies; pitch and sell-in information to the media; write blog/content swap/news assignments; organise and attend media events; help to create and monitor a longitudinal study of TopCashback, consumer and business data, noticing trends and anomalies and understanding what external factors could have attributed to them and vice versa, to be converted into a quarterly media report; mentor less-senior team members when applicable; and general admin, research and other ad hoc tasks as requested by the Global Head of Communications & Public Relations.
Infrequent ad hoc duties or consultation may be required for TopCashback’s 11-year-old UK, China and Indian websites (TopCashback.co.uk, TopCashback.cn and TopCashback.in), as will support for the business’s presence in future countries and being the primary caretaker for additional markets’ public relations teams’ personnel whom are located in the New Jersey office (for example if we build a Spanish-speaking US markets team or a Spanish-speaking South American markets team).
Essential skills applicants must have:
* at least four solid years’ experience in consumer and personal finance public relations within traditional media: in-house or agency-side
* at least 18 months’ experience of managing a team of at least two people, overseeing performance needs and career development
* an everyday passion for money-saving and consumer empowerment
* a solid understanding of how the public relations industry fits in with social and traditional media in the USA
* proven experience in the creation, development and implementation of new public relations strategies
* the ability to identify public relations opportunities on a reactive and proactive basis
* a creative flair, generating new ideas and commanding the ability to think outside-the-box
* superb communications skills: speaking with conviction in addition to being articulate and enthusiastic in verbal, written and face-to-face dealings
* a good understanding of the importance around tailored media communications
* impressive writing ability and be confident in press release creation
* experience in media sell-ins, maintaining media lists and understanding the demands of the media
* Meticulous attention to detail and a natural sense to prioritise tasks
* outstanding organization skills
* an outgoing and friendly personality, yet calm and polite manner
* a proactive approach with excellent levels of self-motivation
* a determination to achieve results
* A superb knowledge of the internet; from retail, to handy day-to-day tools, to using it to support in-house data and research
* solid mathematic and analytical skills, with the ability to unpick results and improve strategies
* superb communication skills: being articulate and enthusiastic in verbal, written and face-to-face dealings
The perks:
* an attractive salary, which is reviewed annually
* 28 PTO days per year, including eight public holidays, which we insist you use
* free parking during office hours
* the opportunity to be nominated for the company’s monthly employee bonus scheme
* a portion of the business’s ‘tip jar’ each December
* Public Relations Society of America membership, training tools and attendance at its key events
* subsidized medical insurance
* twice yearly company socials and regular office socials
* unrivalled opportunities for career progression, within the USA and internationally
How to Apply
If you think you have what it takes to join the TopCashback PR Team, please send the following information to jobs@topcashback.com
* A cover letter describing why you are ideal for both the role and being an employee of TopCashback (please remember to include your desired salary)
* An email subject line that simply says: Public Relations Officer (US media)
* Your resume or CV
