PR Manager – Special PR

PR Manager – Special PR
Auckland | Full-time | In office

Special PR is looking for a PR Manager to join our growing team, working across some of New Zealand’s most recognised brands to create PR campaigns, stories and ideas that earn attention.

At Special, creative thinking is part of our always on. It’s one of the things that makes us different, and we’re looking for someone who brings that mindset to everything they do - whether that’s finding an unexpected media angle, spotting a cultural opportunity, turning a brief into an earned idea, or finding a smarter way to solve a client challenge.

This is a role for someone with 3+ years’ experience in PR, communications or a related agency environment who already understands how to turn an idea into a story, build strong media relationships and keep multiple projects moving.

You’ll be a confident publicist, strong writer, organised operator and, importantly, a creative thinker. You’ll know what makes a journalist pay attention, be comfortable pitching across different media, and be excited by the challenge of finding ideas that feel fresh, interesting and culturally relevant.

One day you could be developing an unexpected media angle and pitching it to a national journalist, the next writing a release, briefing a spokesperson, shaping a reactive idea, managing an influencer campaign or jumping into a thought-provoking brainstorm for a major brand.

You’ll be curious, proactive and someone who genuinely loves making great work famous.

What you'll do:
Working closely with our PR Directors and wider Special team, you’ll help lead the day-to-day delivery of PR campaigns from brief through to execution.

Your role will include:

• Developing creative earned ideas that help brands show up in interesting, relevant and unexpected ways
• Finding strong and distinctive media angles from client briefs, business stories, data, cultural moments and the news cycle
• Contributing actively to brainstorms and creative development across PR, experiential, social and integrated campaigns
• Turning broad briefs or business challenges into ideas that have the potential to earn attention
• Writing high-quality media materials including releases, pitches, opinion pieces, briefing documents and supporting content
• Pitching stories to journalists, editors, producers, broadcasters and other media contacts
• Building and maintaining strong relationships across New Zealand media
• Monitoring news, culture, trends and emerging conversations to identify proactive and reactive opportunities
• Managing day-to-day client communications and helping keep projects moving
• Supporting the development of PR strategies and campaign responses
• Managing influencer and creator activity, including identification, briefing, coordination and delivery
• Supporting spokesperson preparation and media briefing
• Managing project timelines, deliverables, reporting and budgets
• Working collaboratively across PR, creative, strategy, social and experiential teams
• Supporting more junior team members and sharing your knowledge as you grow

What you'll bring:
We’re looking for someone who already has solid PR experience and is ready for greater ownership and responsibility.

Ideally, you’ll have:

• 3+ years’ experience working in PR, communications, media or a related agency environment
• A strong creative instinct and the ability to look at a brief, story or problem and find an interesting way into it
• The confidence to contribute ideas, challenge the obvious answer and build on other people’s thinking
• Curiosity about culture, trends, brands, media and what people are talking about
• Strong knowledge of the New Zealand media landscape across news, business, lifestyle, broadcast, digital and emerging platforms
• Existing media relationships and the confidence to build new ones
• Proven experience pitching stories and securing earned media coverage
• Excellent writing and editing skills, with a strong instinct for what makes something newsworthy
• Experience managing multiple clients, campaigns or projects at once
• Confidence communicating directly with clients and senior stakeholders
• Experience working with influencers and creators, or a strong understanding of the influencer landscape
• Strong organisational and project management skills
• Strong attention to detail and pride in producing high-quality work
• The ability to stay calm, prioritise and find solutions when things change
• A proactive attitude and willingness to get stuck into whatever is needed to make the work successful

A relevant qualification in communications, journalism, marketing or PR would be useful, but hands-on industry experience, creative thinking and strong PR instincts matter more to us.

About Special PR
Special PR is part of Special Group, an independent creative company working with some of New Zealand’s most recognised brands.

We combine PR thinking with creativity, strategy, influence and brand experience to create work that earns attention and gets people talking.

Creativity is at the heart of Special. Regardless of role or discipline, we expect everyone here to contribute ideas, think differently and help make the work better.

Our ambition is simple: to make work that makes a difference - to brands, culture, consumers and careers.

If you know a great story when you see one, love coming up with ideas and want to make ambitious work with ambitious brands, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply now or email [email protected] for more info.