Public Relations Account Manager

If you are interested in this opportunity please send a CV and cover letter to REJ @ ruth.emblin-james@89up.org - applications sent without a cover letter will not be considered.

About 89up

89up is the global agency for not for profits and good causes. Our mission is clear: to help our incredible clients tackle the world’s greatest challenges, with a focus on climate action, social justice, economic fairness and helping to deliver the UN sustainable development goals. We work with organisations across the UK, Europe, US, and beyond. Across the agency we deliver public relations, creative campaigns, website development, advocacy, insights, and mobilisation. Our insight-led approach builds award-winning campaigns that drive meaningful change.

About the role

We’re looking for an Account Manager to join our award winning PR team. You’ll be working closely with a fantastic team of former journalists, podcasters, civil society campaigners, and long-term agency hacks. We work in the news cycle, and influence it daily. We think hard about where our audiences are, and what they read, and tailor our stories accordingly. Traditional media still holds a core place in society when it comes to influencing policymakers and the wider public. It is our job to make our causes accessible and interesting enough for journalists to want to cover them.

Your day to day will be focused on helping our amazing clients get their subjects in the media; that may mean trawling through a research report to spot the killer insight that will form the basis of your story, driving a sell-in of a larger news story, drafting and placing a convincing opinion piece, or being on the phone with journalists to understand what they will be covering next week, and how your clients can seize the opportunity.

As an account lead at the mid level, you will be working closely with the seniors to execute the strategic direction on all of your accounts. You will be responsible for driving forward the projects, including managing timelines and handling communications with the client, as well as supporting junior staff to deliver their best work.

We’re looking for someone who has a minimum of four years experience working in a communications agency, in-house in a PR role or relevant sector, and has a past as a professional journalist. You’ll have your finger on the pulse of current affairs, have a steady habit of reading, watching and listening to a wide range of media, and enjoy working with a spirit of curiosity, creativity and enthusiasm. Our work is challenging and rewarding, and you’ll get to work on high-profile campaigns that shift the political dial, mobilise communities, and influence decision-makers.

What you’ll do

• Lead media relations: You'll manage media relations and cultivate strong personal connections with journalists, bloggers, and influencers across international, national and trade media. You’ll stay abreast of the media landscape and political events, and use all of this to generate story ideas daily.
• Craft media stories: The stories are not always right in front of us. You will be reading through assets such as academic research reports, polling data, or case studies, or doing your own research to build out a story. You will turn this into beautifully crafted press releases, pitches, quotes, and media briefings.
• Drive campaign execution and manage projects end-to-end: You'll plan, coordinate, and execute client campaigns (e.g., sell-ins, launches, press trips, events) to a high standard. You'll take full responsibility for project timelines and deadlines, implementing and improving task and time management processes.
• Work in an integrated way with other parts of the agency: We rarely have pure PR projects - most often, we work collaboratively across teams to bring cutting-edge digital strategy, public affairs and media work together to shift public and political opinion. You’ll be up for stretching and learning across all communications disciplines, while bringing PR skills to the table.
• Support strategic campaigns development: While you will always have a senior on your accounts, there will be lots room for you to be part of the strategy creation at the beginning of campaigns, and throughout the execution of them. Gathering and distilling insights, including through audience research, polling, focus groups and social listening, will help you to track trends, decode public sentiment, and craft winning strategies that cut through the noise.
• Mentor and guide junior team members: You'll manage your team and resources, providing mentorship and guidance to junior staff and ensuring e.g. the consistent high quality of their written copy through practice, guidance, and editing.
• Foster client relationships: You'll cultivate positive client relationships through excellent client handling, consistently exceeding their expectations. You'll provide regular progress reports to clients, ensuring KPIs are met through proactive and reactive strategies, and that account outputs are delivered on time and within budget. You will be able to make sound judgement calls to provide smart strategic counsel - and as you grow, you’ll become a trusted PR advisor to your clients.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a proactive individual who is excited about a career in strategic communications and media relations. We will provide training in specific skills, but we are looking for candidates with these core skills:

• 3+ years of experience in a PR role or journalism: You will know how to turn any topic into a pitch that makes journalists bite, and you have a track record of landing top tier coverage. You already have a book of contacts, and you’ll know how to expand this further. Alternatively, you may be a long-time professional journalist looking to move into PR.
• Ability to tackle complex subject matters: You’re not afraid to get in the weeds of anything from climate finance to electric heating sources. You have experience turning complex topics into compelling narratives, sourcing the right spokespeople, and landing media coverage.
• Strong political instincts: You have hands-on experience navigating politically sensitive campaigns or issues. You understand how to tailor narratives for different audiences and have helped win over sceptical or resistant stakeholders. You follow international politics and know how to spot opportunities — and risks — in the news cycle.
• Thinking outside the box: You’ve brought original thinking to tricky briefs, whether by reframing a narrative, finding a fresh hook, or pushing for a bolder approach. You’ve trusted your instincts — and persuaded clients or colleagues to do the same — with proven results.
• Excellent stakeholder management: You're personable and have a natural ability to build strong relationships with clients and external partners. You'll have proven experience in managing diverse stakeholders.
• A team player: You will be a confident self-starter who is able to drive progress on projects, and able to get the best out of working with collaboratively team members who bring a wide variety of their own unique skillsets, managing both up and down.
• Commercial understanding: You understand the needs for projects to not only be well executed, but also commercially viable. You have some experience managing budgets, tracking time for a full team, or ensuring financial targets are met - and you’re keen to grow your commercial skills even further.

What we offer

• Hybrid working with 3 office days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday as core days. You may need to come into the office on Mondays and Fridays for important meetings)
• 24 days holiday (a max of 4 days are taken for closure over Christmas (plus an additional day off on your birthday)
• A competitive base salary with performance-linked discretionary bonuses twice yearly
• Enhanced maternity/paternity pay
• Pension company contributions
• Gold-plated sickness benefits and life insurance
• Online GP, private counselling, eyecare vouchers, wellbeing service
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• A commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Clear career progression pathways and opportunities to develop in a fast-growth agency
• Formal mentoring and training schemes to support your success
• A dynamic work environment where your contributions are heard and counted, not lost in the noise and tangle of a large corporate business

This is an opportunity to work on some of the most pressing issues of our time, with people who are committed to making a difference. If you’re passionate about politics, media, and driving change, we want to hear from you.