Senior PR Executive, travel/tourism

Our client is a well known travel company in need of an experienced, commercial and driven Senior PR Executive to join their London based team.  It's an easy commute via public transport, with lots of options for tubes/trains/buses

This role would be ideal for someone with travel/tourism experience, but also an option for someone with great  luxury consumer experience and a real passion for travel too.  They are open to people from either an in house or an agency background.

This is a full on PR Manager role.  Reporting to the Head of PR, you will be responsible for executing the managing the PR.  You will need to be commercial and operational.  You will need excellent written skills too.  A calm approach, with great interpersonal skills and a sense of humour under pressure are a must.  You'll work alongside a PR Assistant in this fast paced, never a dull moment culture.

The purpose of the role is to work on public relations and external affairs campaigns.

Key Tasks, including but not limited to:

• Developing Annual  and Quarterly PR Plans with Head of PR (to include one overarching theme plus 4 quarterly creative campaigns)
• Executing quarterly PR plans, e.g. creating brief, liaising with Operations to identify crew member/ship/topic, etc.
• Managing PR support for trade shows and consumer events, including input into brand activation, coordinating media meetings and co-hosting events
• Drafting media materials including releases, Q&As, keep media kit up-to-date and developing  new factsheets
• Attending media meetings
• Managing ad-hoc and special projects
• Managing the UK Press Office – ensuring all enquiries are handled in a timely manner and to maintain the company reputation for having an efficient and exceptionally helpful press office
• Support the PR assistant in developing and maintaining knowledge banks, story libraries, archiving quotes etc

Sponsors/Partners and CSR Responsibilities:

• Supporting Viking’s Corporate Social Responsibility  by providing PR support for charity partnerships
• Support Head of PR in managing sponsorships and partnerships working closely with events team

General Responsibilities (applies to all PR Team members):

• Act at ‘Brand guardians’
• Supporting all PR planning
• Supporting both consumer and trade PR activities
• Facilitating an effective UK Press Office including, handling incoming media enquiries, responding to media enquiries to prescribed deadlines.
• Ensuring proactive media outreach, including drafting and distribute media releases, pitching for forward features and creative campaigns
• Supporting group and individual press trips, including identifying opportunities and new angles for a fresh perspective, pitching to established and new contacts and negotiating coverage, overseeing all arrangements, following up, tracking coverage (includes placement of features on celebrities)
• Maximising opportunities around UK based ship visits
• Attending networking events and co-hosting events (including some evenings and weekends)
• Accompanying journalists on press trips abroad (one to two per year)
• Building database of media contacts
• Selling-in/pitching stories and managing media giveaways
• Monitoring media for positive/adverse press coverage
• Maximising social media coverage from media familiarisations, events, etc.
• Ensuring content is shared across all available channels
• Monitoring competitors and adding information to PR Team Knowledge Bank.
• Monitoring issues and trends which may affect the business

In return you will receive a basic salary in the region of £28k.  Benefits include:

• 20 days holiday per annum plus 8 paid bank holidays
• Salary sacrifice scheme – opportunity to purchase an additional 5 days/one week and have the cost spread across 12 months.
• Contributory pension scheme.
• Private health insurance

Non-contractual benefits include:

• Newly refurbished offices 
• Cakes on your birthday.
• Present on the anniversary of joining each year.
• Potential to travel – escorting press trips and to events.
• Opportunity to attend events sponsored by the company
• Training and development opportunities.
• Social events.
• Friends and family rates on selected holidays