Public Relations Manager

About Niche

Niche is the leader in school search. Our mission is to make researching and enrolling in schools easy, transparent, and free. With in-depth profiles on every school and college in America, 140 million reviews and ratings, and powerful search tools, we help millions of people find the right school for them. We also help thousands of schools recruit more best-fit students, by highlighting what makes them great and making it easier to visit and apply.

Niche is all about finding where you belong, and that mission inspires how we operate every day. We want Niche to be a place where people truly enjoy working and can thrive professionally.

About The Role

We are looking for a highly motivated and results-driven Public Relations Manager to become an integral part of our communications/marketing team. Reporting to the Director of Public Relations, this role has a unique opportunity to help drive brand awareness and corporate reputation for a rapidly growing edtech company. You'll be tasked with fostering relationships with key media, identifying compelling storytelling opportunities for both B2C and B2B audiences, orchestrating seasonal campaigns, including our highly anticipated annual rankings announcements, and enhancing our media measurement and reporting practices. The ideal candidate will have in-house experience and excel in cross-functional collaboration to lead the tactical execution of various PR initiatives.

What You Will Do

During the first month, you will:

• Meet and collaborate with various team members to get a clear understanding of their responsibilities, as well as our users, partners, products, competitive landscape, value proposition and marketing strategy
• Gain a deep understanding of our current media monitoring and reporting process and begin to take ownership
• Learn the ins and outs of our seasonal rankings campaigns: best places to live, best schools and best colleges
• Start seeking out opportunistic media through HARO and other media sourcing requests

Within three months, you will:

• Establish strong working relationships with data team members to build cross-functional cohesion
• Stay updated on the ever-evolving media landscape to proactively flag opportunities for new media approaches and angles
• Assume primary responsibility for Niche's news engine, including maintaining media lists, drafting pitches, and press releases
• Begin to identify opportunities to optimize the media monitoring, reporting and analytics process, with support from Director of PR

Within six months, you will:

• Partner with the Director of PR to help shape and fine tune the company's PR strategy and roadmap, including goals, tactics, results analysis, timelines, etc.
• Support efforts to build and enhance Niche's reputation through award submissions, executive visibility opportunities, and employer branding efforts
• Take ownership of media outreach execution for our rankings announcements
• Deepen relationships across various organizational departments, including data teams, creative, partnerships, and content, becoming a trusted partner and advisor on PR strategies

What We Are Looking For

• 3-5 years of PR and communications experience, ideally working in-house
• Strong written communication skills—ability to craft on-brand messaging and convey our value proposition to different audiences through concise storytelling, press releases, talking points, etc.
• Media relations whiz with proven track record of building relationships with journalists and generating impactful media coverage – from trades to local press and consumer outlets; existing relationships with education, personal finance, and or workforce development media is a plus but not required
• Bachelor's degree in public relations, communications, journalism, marketing or a related field is preferred but not required
• Experience working with PR software like Cision or Muck Rack
• Self-directed with proven ability to get things done in a fast-paced, dynamic business environment
• Able to effectively navigate and partner with internal stakeholders across departments to support key PR campaigns and initiatives

Are you excited about the position and its responsibilities, but hesitant because your experience doesn't align 100% with the posted requirements? We believe you are more than a resume, so go for it! You won't want to miss the opportunity to play a part in helping students find where they belong.

Compensation

Our national target base salary range is $63,000-$78,000, plus participation in our Annual Bonus and Stock Option Program. Base compensation will be commensurate with experience and skills.

At Niche, our Total Rewards Philosophy is centered around creating a workplace environment that attracts, motivates, and retains top talent by providing a comprehensive and competitive rewards package. This philosophy is built on the principles of performance-based compensation, best-in-class benefits and work-life balance, and employee well-being.

Why Niche?

• We are a fully flexible workforce empowering our employees to choose to work remotely, in our Pittsburgh office or whatever combination suits you
• Full time, salaried position with competitive compensation in a fast-growing company
• Best-in-class 100% paid employee health plan, including vision and dental and supplemental coverage
• Flexible Paid Time Off Policy
• Stipend that allows you to build your work from home office in a style and function that suits your personal preferences
• Parental leave for all employees (12 weeks fully paid) in addition to short term disability for birthing parents
• Meaningful 401(k) with employer match
• Your ideas and work will make an immediate impact on our company and millions of users
• You will join a team that cares about you, our mission, our work - and celebrates our wins together!

Niche will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future for this opening.

We are currently hiring in states where we currently have employees: AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MO, NE, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, TN, TX, VA, WA, DC, WV.

Candidates only. No recruiters or agencies, please. Sorry, we do not offer relocation assistance.

Niche is an equal opportunity employer committed to fostering an inclusive, innovative environment with the best employees. Therefore, we provide employment opportunities without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable law.

All interviews are being held remotely. If there are preparations we can make to help ensure you have a comfortable and positive interview experience, please let us know.