PR & partnerships officer

Full time – based out of either our London SE1 or Dorset SP8 office, with opportunities for hybrid & flexible working
THE ROLE
We are looking for an experienced PR professional to join our busy team as we move our PR activity in-house. A brand new role for the Guild, one that’s come about as the result of some incredibly successful campaigns and business growth, you will be a key part of the marketing & communications team, helping to plan and execute all PR initiatives. Initially focusing on our two awards schemes: Great Taste and World Cheese, there will also be a strong emphasis on building and maintaining the overall brand identity and positioning of the Guild of Fine Food. In addition, you will be responsible for some media and industry partnerships, ensuring that our partners receive the material they need to spread the message of the Guild of Fine Food’s activities far and wide and helping to grow our sponsor relationships.
Reporting to the operations & marketing director, you will work closely with our marketing officer, data & circulation lead, operations & events team and freelance social media, as well as our sales and editorial teams. The communications side of the team are mainly London-based at the moment and so whilst most of the team are office-based in either London or Dorset, if you would like a more hybrid arrangement to be considered, you would ideally need to be able to come to the London office on a weekly basis, as well as be willing to travel to Dorset on occasion to keep in touch with the wider team.
You will be joining the Guild at an exciting time, as we develop and grow our wide range of activities that support the independent food and drink sector. Specifically, you will have responsibility for:
Coordinating and delivering the PR plan across the Guild’s activities
Writing press releases, particularly around our two international awards schemes: Great Taste and World Cheese Awards, including coordinating translations
Reacting to press enquiries, ensuring that PR messages and imagery/video content shared accurately portrays the brand integrity of the Guild
Building relationships with journalists for the overall benefit of all the Guild’s activities, and to assist with recruiting new judges for the awards schemes
Creating and maintaining international and UK-based media lists
Working with wider communications & data team to identify trends and opportunities for further press outreach with the aim of reaching the right audience to grow our following in the UK and internationally
Working with wider team to establish opportunities for the Guild at external events and platforms, to build brand awareness and identity
Acting as a point of contact and ensure fulfilment of various media and industry partnerships, including supporting on sponsorship relationships
Working with commercial and marketing teams to identify suitable future sponsors & partners and build on these relationships
Attending Guild events to host journalists and react to enquiries
Coordinating press office at the World Cheese Awards, including managing broadcasters and TV channels representatives to ensure every presenter get the content they require during a busy show
Monitoring coverage and alerts and feedback highlights and statistics to internal and external stakeholders, including the wider Guild team, sponsors and potential entrants
Supporting the wider marketing team by feeding in to website, newsletter and social media content plans
In the majority this is a desk-based role, however due to the nature of the role and the Guild’s activities, there will also be significant face-to-face contact, including liaising with journalists, partners, sponsors and other attendees and clients at our own events, meetings and external events.
YOUR BACKGROUND
We’re a small and growing business with a brilliant team (meet them here!) who work across a broad range of activities. We’re looking for a self-motivated team player with a proven PR track record, a self-starter who is looking for an opportunity to get stuck into a small company with a wide international reach. This is a great opportunity to carve out a new role in the food and drink industry and build on previous results and established activities. You’ll be acting as one of our brand guardians, be organised and just as comfortable writing a press release and getting stuck into the detail of a media list, as working a room to establish new media contacts.
If you have some of the following skills and experience – or have the ability and willingness to learn – we’d love to hear from you:
Useful experience
Planning and implementing successful trade and consumer PR campaigns, ideally internationally
Writing press releases, liaising with translators, sending out targeted releases and following up on data, comment and image enquiries
Ability to spot PR opportunities and identify which media contact to take them to
Building media lists using both list software and in-house contacts
Using monitoring software and creating reports
Understanding of press and content licensing restrictions
Establishing relationships with journalists – in person, on the phone, and by email
Attending events to build media or commercial relationships and host media and partner attendees
Managing content demands at busy events, particularly from broadcasters and TV crews
Working with marketing and social media colleagues to support overall brand messages, understanding the difference between platforms in terms of audience and format
Ability to identify potential sponsors and partners, and work with colleagues to successfully deliver for wider stakeholders
Not essential, but a general understanding of email marketing platforms, photographic/creative briefs and social media content, in order to be able to support wider marketing team colleagues and fulfil PR requirements, would be very useful
An understanding of the food and drink industry – particularly the independent sector
Skills
Excellent use of the English language and strong writing skills
Strong attention to detail
Strong people and networking skills
Excellent data & digital competency – particularly key software (Excel, Word, Outlook), CRM systems and experience with PR list and monitoring systems
An ability to understand a tone of voice and house style
Creative with a strong sense of effective design and building brand identity
Able to work on multiple projects at once, work efficiently and forward plan
You’ll have the ability to look at what can be improved, where can we make things look better, sound better or better deliver for our customers, attendees or sponsors
A team player, problem solver with ‘can do’ attitude, able to work with variety of different team members and on a variety of tasks
A love of and interest in good food & drink is definitely a bonus – you will be exposed to a lot!
If coming from an agency background, this position might suit someone at Senior Account Manager level looking to move in-house.
If you’re a self-starter with PR experience and interest in independent food & drink, please apply to Christabel Cairns.
Closing date: 15 March 2024 (please note we may start interviewing before the closing date and if a suitable candidate is found then the position may close early – so please get in touch with us as soon as possible if this position is of interest to you).