Press and Media Manager in London

Location: This role is based in the London office 1 day a week, with the rest of the working week being based from home.

Salary: £40,400 per annum rising to £43,700 after 1 year of service

Responsible to: Head of Marketing and Sales

Contract type: Full Time (37 hours per week), Permanent

Closing date: 29th July 2026, Midday

Interviews: We will be interviewing on a rolling basis. Please apply as soon as possible.

Who we are

Futures For All is the largest social mobility charity in the UK. We help to level the playing field between state and independent schools by giving all young people access to the same prestigious networks available to the top fee-paying schools. We believe that by inspiring young people to explore their ambitions through our speaker programme, facilitating access to multi-day experiences of the world of work, and supporting young people to successfully seize opportunities available to them, then we can make a profound difference to the lives of young people, their future happiness and prosperity. By 2028, our ambition is that every young person in the UK has access to high quality work experience. Yet today, less than half of young people leave secondary school having had any work experience whatsoever.

Role Summary

We're looking for a Press and Media Manager to help us tell the story of our work and grow our profile across local, regional, and national media. This is a press-led role, with the majority of time focused on proactive and reactive media work, alongside supporting wider marketing activity where it strengthens campaigns and storytelling. You'll own and drive our day-to-day media presence, ensuring communications activity directly supports our core goal: increasing the number and diversity of employers offering work experience across the UK. You'll take the lead on media work - pitching stories, building journalist relationships, drafting press releases, and developing thought leadership content including blogs, op-eds, and features. For major set-piece moments (around six per year), you'll work alongside an external PR agency to help secure national coverage. You’ll also work closely with CEO Nick Brook, and will have the opportunity to work alongside founder Robert Peston and Chair Andrew Law at key moments. An early and significant focus will be the launch of our inaugural State of Work Experience report in autumn 2026, a major annual publication designed to shape the national conversation on work experience, skills and opportunity. This isn't about publicity for its own sake. Your work will be measured by how effectively it contributes to employer and partnership growth, amplifies the voices of young people we support, and positions Futures for All as a leader in the work experience and social mobility space.

What success looks like in this role

• Regular, high-quality media coverage across local, regional, and national outlets
• Strong relationships with key journalists and media contacts
• Clear contribution of media activity to employer sign-ups and partnerships
• Consistent, high-quality storytelling across press and campaign activity

Key Duties / Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day media activity: identifying stories, writing press releases, pitching to journalists, and responding to media enquiries
• Build and maintain relationships with journalists, editors, and bloggers across local, regional, trade, and national outlets
• Identify newsworthy angles and develop stories aligned to organisational priorities
• Create compelling press and thought leadership content, including blog posts, op-eds, case studies, and feature articles
• Monitor media coverage and maintain a media mentions log; report on reach and impact
• Coordinate with our contracted PR agency on major campaigns and set-piece moments
• Brief spokespeople and prepare key messages for interviews
• Provide occasional out-of-hours support for press activity where required
• Occasional travel across the UK for key events

• Work closely with colleagues to align press activity with marketing campaigns aimed at growing employer sign-ups and regional partnerships
• Support and contribute to the creation of marketing materials, email campaigns, and social media content where it aligns with press and campaign activity
• Contribute to the development of an integrated communications calendar

• Maintain and grow our media contacts database
• Stay informed on education, employment, and social mobility trends
• Champion our brand voice and ensure consistency across all external communications
• Ensure safeguarding best practice is embedded across communications activity
• Support wider communications activity as required

Skills / Experience / Knowledge:

• Demonstrable experience in a press, PR, or communications role — in-house, agency, or journalism
• Excellent writing skills with the ability to craft clear, engaging copy for different audiences and formats
• Good understanding of the UK media landscape
• Highly organised, able to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines
• Genuine interest in social mobility, education, or youth employment
• Comfortable working both independently and as part of a small team
• Ability to identify newsworthy angles and translate organisational priorities into compelling stories
• Confident pitching stories and building relationships with journalists
• Experience of proactively securing media coverage (print, broadcast, or online)

• Experience working in the charity or education sector
• Experience working with external PR agencies
• Existing media contacts (education, business, or regional press)
• Experience working in a small, fast-paced organisation
• Skills in social media or content creation (e.g. Canva, video editing)
• Familiarity with marketing principles and campaign delivery

Diversity at our core

Futures For All is committed to an inclusive and accessible recruitment process and encouraging equality and diversity among our workforces. We acknowledge that some candidates may require additional support to overcome barriers experienced during the application process. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your application or interview, please reach out to us via hr@futuresforall.org.

The Application Process:

Please apply as soon as possible by clicking the 'apply for this job' button in the top right-hand corner of the job advert. Once clicked, you will be asked to complete your application by submitting your CV and a cover letter. The cover letter is an opportunity for you to share the skills and knowledge you have to be successful in this role. Appointees are subject to a DBS check. You must have the right to work in the UK to apply.

The deadline to submit your application is 29th July 2026, Midday. Please note that we reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. We will be interviewing on a rolling basis. Please apply as soon as possible.

Futures For All is committed to safeguarding the young people we work with and expects all staff members to share this commitment. Appointees are subject to a DBS check. Having a criminal record will not automatically exclude applicants. You are also required to have the Right to Work in the UK for this role.

Benefits offered at Futures For All

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Morning of your birthday off
• £500 a year professional development fund
• Option to purchase additional annual leave yearly
• 'Winter shutdown' gifted so no need to use annual leave between Christmas and New Year's Eve.
• Early bank holiday finish - we finish at 3:30pm on a Friday before all bank holidays
• 22.2 hours of volunteering days to use each year
• Home office set up support
• Enhanced sick pay
• Enhanced family friendly leave
• Employee Assistance Programme

Futures For All Values

• PASSION: We are committed to levelling the playing field for young people across the UK, creating social mobility and tackling disadvantages.
• AGILITY: We challenge our ideas of what is possible in order to better meet the needs of those we support. We are human, make mistakes, learn, evolve and adapt.
• INTEGRITY: We act with empathy and bring our authentic selves to work every day. We value and respect the talent, time and intentions of those we work with.
• COLLABORATION: We are one team with one mission and only by working together can we deliver better outcomes for young people. We support each other unconditionally and feel motivation in shared success as well as individual progress.
• DIVERSITY: We know it takes people with different ideas, strengths, identities, interests, and cultural backgrounds to make our organisation succeed. We encourage constructive debate and critical friendship.