United Kingdom · Public Relations Communications · Entry Level (0-2 years)

Media Coordinator

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, a real day, what you decide, how you're judged, how people get here and where they go next. Then the part no course gives you: twelve AI tutors who learn your work.

Experience bandEntry Level (0-2 years)
Direct reportsNo direct reports
Reports toMedia Strategist
UK framework levelUsually someone starting out, or keeping a process running

Also advertised as PR Assistant · Communications Assistant · Junior Media Relations Specialist

Built on an analysis of 43,079 real UK job descriptions · grounded in qualifications employers recognise

Start with a free Future Fluency check, tuned to Media Coordinator

Ten quick questions, one per Future Fluency, asked against this role rather than a generic one. About five minutes, and no card.

Start the check, free

1What this role really is

This isn't about leading big campaigns just yet; it's about getting stuck in and learning the ropes. You'll be the engine room for our media team, making sure everyone else has what they need to do their best work. Think of it as your apprenticeship in the world of PR – you'll be building the foundations for a solid career here.

2What you'd actually use

The tools this job runs on, and how well you'd need to know each one.

Cision / MeltwaterBasic

Pulling pre-defined reports, running basic keyword searches for monitoring, and tagging coverage for sentiment.

Muck Rack / Cision ConnectBasic

Building targeted media lists from existing templates, logging simple outreach activities, and updating journalist profiles.

Google AnalyticsBasic

Identifying referral traffic from specific articles and tracking basic on-site engagement metrics like bounce rate or time on page.

Asana / Monday.comBasic

Updating tasks, tracking your personal deadlines, and attaching media clips to completed campaign items.

PowerPoint / Google SlidesBasic

Populating pre-designed templates with data and media clips for weekly or monthly internal reports.

3What you get to decide, and how that grows

Power in a job isn't your title. It's what you're allowed to decide. Here's how it grows as you move up.

The choice	Coming in	Where you are now	The step above
Media List Creation	Builds lists based on specific criteria provided by Strategist; all lists reviewed before use.	Identifies target journalists and publications independently; seeks approval for new strategic targets.	Defines target media strategy for campaigns; approves all final lists before outreach.
Pitch Messaging	Drafts pitches using templates and pre-approved key messages; all drafts require full review.	Develops pitch angles and messages for specific journalists/campaigns; seeks feedback from senior team.	Designs core messaging architecture for campaigns; provides final approval on all outbound pitches.
Crisis Response	Monitors for potential crisis mentions and immediately flags to Strategist; no direct action.	Helps draft holding statements and Q&As under supervision; supports media monitoring during crisis.	Leads crisis comms 'war room'; drafts and approves holding statements; advises spokespeople.
Tool Selection/Usage	Uses specified media monitoring and database tools as instructed.	Explores new features within existing tools; proposes more efficient ways to use them.	Evaluates and recommends new PR tech tools; leads implementation and training.

4How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, honestly: the hard targets, how often each one is actually looked at, and the quiet human signals that never make it onto a dashboard.

Media List Accuracy

How accurate your journalist contact lists are, checking for correct names, publications, and contact details.

Target · 98% accuracy on all new lists built

You build a list of 50 journalists for a new tech client. If 49 contacts are correct and up-to-date, that's 98% accuracy. We're looking for minimal bounce-backs or 'wrong person' replies.

Coverage Monitoring Completeness

Making sure all relevant media mentions for our clients are captured and tagged correctly in our monitoring tools.

Target · 100% capture rate of agreed keywords; 95% correct tagging

If a client gets 10 pieces of coverage in a day, you should find all 10. If one is missed, or a positive article is tagged as neutral, that's a miss. It's about being thorough.

Pitch Draft Turnaround Time

How quickly you can produce a first draft of a media pitch or press release, working from a template and provided information.

Target · First draft within 2 hours of receiving brief

Your Strategist gives you the key messages for a new product launch. You're expected to have a coherent, templated pitch draft ready for their review within two hours, not five.

Database Hygiene & Updates

Keeping our media database (like Muck Rack or Cision) clean, up-to-date, and free of redundant entries.

Target · Zero duplicate entries created; 100% of journalist updates actioned within 24 hours

A journalist moves publications. You update their profile within a day. If you accidentally add the same journalist twice, that's a database hygiene issue. Small things, but they add up.

Proactive Support & Initiative

Looking for ways to help the team without being asked, or spotting potential issues before they become problems.

You'll suggest improvements to a media list template. You'll flag a potential negative story you spotted in your monitoring before it blows up. You'll offer to help a team member who's swamped, even if it's not 'your' task.

Learning & Adaptability

How quickly you pick up new tools, processes, and media landscape knowledge, and how well you take feedback.

You'll only need to be shown how to use a new monitoring filter once or twice. You'll actively ask questions when you don't understand something. You'll apply feedback from a previous task to the next one without being reminded.

Attention to Detail

The ability to spot small errors, inconsistencies, or omissions in your own work and the work you review.

You'll catch a typo in a draft press release. You'll notice a journalist's beat has changed. You'll double-check that all attachments are included in an email before sending. It's about being meticulous.

Team Collaboration & Communication

Working well with others, communicating clearly, and being a reliable team member.

You'll keep your Strategist updated on your progress without them having to chase you. You'll offer help to colleagues. You'll contribute positively in team meetings, even if it's just asking a thoughtful question.

5Would you like it

The honest version. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy

Learning & Development

You'll actively seek out new information, ask questions about processes, and volunteer for tasks that push you slightly outside your comfort zone. You'll see every piece of feedback as a chance to improve.

After a media monitoring session, you might ask your Strategist, 'Why do we use these specific keywords for this client, and how do we decide when to add new ones?'

Contributing to a Team

You'll enjoy being part of a close-knit team, supporting your colleagues, and seeing your work contribute to a shared goal. You'll feel a sense of satisfaction when a campaign you helped with gets great results.

You'll feel genuinely pleased when a press release you helped draft gets picked up by a major publication, even if your name isn't on it.

Seeing Your Work Published

There's a real buzz when you spot a story in the news that you know you played a part in. You'll enjoy tracking coverage and seeing the impact of our efforts in the real world.

You'll get a kick out of finding a client's quote in The Times, knowing you helped build the media list that made it happen.

What frustrates people

Building a perfect media list, only to find out the client changed their mind on the target audience.
Spending ages monitoring for coverage, only to find a competitor got a big story that you somehow missed (it happens!).
Drafting a pitch that gets heavily edited by your Strategist – it's part of learning, but can feel a bit disheartening.
Dealing with the sheer volume of information in media monitoring; it can be a bit like drinking from a firehose.

What this role does not give you

Direct ownership of major campaigns from start to finish.
Significant budget responsibility or strategic decision-making autonomy.
Extensive direct interaction with top-tier journalists (that comes later).
A quiet, predictable 9-to-5. PR is rarely that.

6Who you work with

Your work is the bedrock for our media outreach. Accurate lists mean we reach the right people, timely monitoring means we never miss a beat, and well-organised admin means our campaigns don't fall apart. Essentially, you help us keep our promises to clients and maintain our reputation as a slick, organised agency.

Inside the business

Media Strategists (your direct team)
Account Managers (who manage client relationships)
Content Team (who write the articles and releases)

Outside the business

Journalists (indirectly, through list building and monitoring)
Media Monitoring Vendors (like Cision or Meltwater)

7What you need before you start

Not a wish list. The things you would be expected to already have.

Ability to follow detailed instructions accurately and consistently.
Demonstrated strong organisational skills and attention to detail.
Good written and verbal communication skills in British English.
Basic proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) or Google Workspace equivalents.
A genuine interest in news, current affairs, and how media shapes public opinion.

8What to practise next

Where the job is going, and what to do about it starting this week.

Advanced Media Monitoring & Analysis

As you gain experience, you won't just be finding coverage; you'll be starting to spot patterns, identify emerging trends, and understand the bigger picture of our clients' media presence.

Boolean Search Mastery · Sentiment Nuance · Competitor Benchmarking · Trend Spotting

This quarter: Take an online tutorial on advanced Boolean search operators.
Next quarter: Start regularly comparing client coverage to 1-2 key competitors, looking for differences.
Month 6: Propose a new keyword or search query to your Strategist based on a trend you've spotted.
Ongoing: Read industry reports on media trends and discuss them with your team.

Quick win: When you're doing your daily monitoring, take an extra 10 minutes to look for broader themes in the news, not just client mentions. Make a note of anything interesting.

9Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up

Regularly read industry publications (e.g., PRWeek, Campaign, The Drum) to stay on top of trends.
Attend industry webinars or online courses on media relations or digital PR.
Join relevant professional groups on LinkedIn to see what people are discussing.
Volunteer for a local charity's PR efforts to gain more practical experience.

10How the AI economy is changing work like this

Before we ask anything of you, here's what we can already say about AI and work of this kind:

The new skill this role is being asked for: Basic AI Prompting for Text Generation

AI tools are getting better at drafting text, and knowing how to 'talk' to them effectively will save you loads of time. It's already here, but it'll become even more common for drafting pitches or summaries.

We'll only ever tell you what we can actually back up. No hype, no scare tactics.

The rising capability

Zavmo analysis

What's rising in its place

This is where the work is heading, and the higher pay with it. Get fluent here and the shift stops being a threat and starts being your edge.

Basic AI Prompting for Text Generation

AI tools are getting better at drafting text, and knowing how to 'talk' to them effectively will save you loads of time. It's already here, but it'll become even more common for drafting pitches or summaries.

Clear Instructions
Context Provision
Iterative Refinement
Output Validation

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

PESO Model Understanding
Message Mapping Basics
Tier-Based Media Targeting (Concept)
Narrative Recognition

The pathway

How you actually get there, here

How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.

1
PR/Communications Internship
6-12 months
Skills to master
- Basic media monitoring, media list creation, administrative support, understanding agency workflow.
You're ready to move on when
- Successfully managed multiple small tasks simultaneously.
- Received positive feedback on accuracy and reliability.
- Demonstrated a proactive attitude and eagerness to learn.
2
Journalism/Media Studies Graduate
0-1 year post-graduation
Skills to master
- Understanding news cycles, research skills, basic writing for different audiences, adapting academic knowledge to practical PR.
You're ready to move on when
- Strong portfolio of written work (articles, essays).
- Demonstrated understanding of media ethics and practices.
- Ability to work to tight deadlines.
3
Administrative Assistant (with comms interest)
1-2 years
Skills to master
- Organisational skills, scheduling, data management, professional communication, attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.
You're ready to move on when
- Excellent track record in administrative support.
- Expressed clear interest in moving into PR/Comms.
- Taken initiative to learn about the industry in their own time.

11Where this role leads

The long view:Your journey starts here. We're committed to helping you grow, learn, and build a fantastic career in public relations. If you're eager, meticulous, and ready to get stuck in, we think you'll thrive.

Pay & demand

Typical pay £37,563 a year Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 (provisional), under the Open Government Licence v3.0

The figure is the median for full-time employees in the ONS occupation this job title codes to (Public relations professionals), from the April 2025 survey — about six months old when published, as ASHE always is. It is that occupation's middle, not this role's. Half earn more.

The ten Future Fluencies

Zavmo analysis

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

A qualification proves you can do the job as it's defined today. These ten are what decide whether you're still the obvious person for it in five years. They're the capabilities employers are now writing into senior roles faster than people are learning them. Zavmo weaves them through whatever you study, so you come out with both: the credential and the fluency.

The highlighted ones are the Fluencies your role leans on hardest, from how Media Coordinator is actually changing. In about two minutes, the free confidence check asks where you stand on each of the ten. That's the whole check, and it's what makes the plan yours rather than generic.

12The team that's yours

No two people are taught the same way. This is one-to-one, not one-to-many.

Zavmo is a hyper-personalised AI learning platform. Twelve virtual tutors, each with a different way of teaching, and one orchestration agent that picks the right one for the moment. So every single lesson is shaped around you, your role, and the way you learn. Not a course everyone sits through. A conversation built for you, and no one else.

…and nine more, matched to you after your first chat. Meet all twelve

Start free and meet yours

13What it feels like

A conversation, not a course

Because your tutor knows your role, your projects and your last session, learning sounds like this. And it's different for every single person:

Contribute to the production and distribution of publicity material for a live eventLevel 3

Applied to your work in Media Coordinator

By completing this unit, learners will be able to contribute to the production and distribution of publicity material for a live event, including collating information, assisting with production, and supporting marketing efforts.

How the thinking builds

Remember
Understand
Apply
Analyse
Evaluate
Create

An illustration of a Zavmo lesson, built from this role’s own route. The unit, its objective and every criterion above are the awarding body’s own words, not an example.

One to one, not one to many

No two people run this the same way

A course is written once and handed to everyone. This is assembled around you, and keeps changing as it learns you. Five things it reads, and what each one changes.

Your actual work Every lesson is taught against a live piece of your own work, not a worked example from a textbook.
What you already know The first conversation finds your starting point, so you skip what you can already do and spend the time on what you cannot.
The conditions you learn under Not a learning-styles quiz. The evidence does not support those. The dimensions the research does back, read once and used to shape the plan.
How far you got last time It picks up mid-thought. The tutor knows what you said, what you struggled with, and what it asked you to try.
Which tutor suits the moment Twelve of them, each for a different kind of thinking. The one who walks you through a first idea is not the one who stress-tests it.

See how you learn, free. Eight questions, no sign-up. A directional taster; the diagnostic inside Zavmo goes deeper and keeps adapting.

DemonstrateIllustration

Evidenced on your work in Media Coordinator

You do not finish by watching something. You finish by showing it on the work you already do, against the measures this job is judged on.

Media List AccuracyHow accurate your journalist contact lists are, checking for correct names, publications, and contact details.You build a list of 50 journalists for a new tech client. If 49 contacts are correct and up-to-date, that's 98% accuracy. We're looking for minimal bounce-backs or 'wrong person' replies.98% accuracy on all new lists built
Coverage Monitoring CompletenessMaking sure all relevant media mentions for our clients are captured and tagged correctly in our monitoring tools.If a client gets 10 pieces of coverage in a day, you should find all 10. If one is missed, or a positive article is tagged as neutral, that's a miss. It's about being thorough.100% capture rate of agreed keywords; 95% correct tagging
Pitch Draft Turnaround TimeHow quickly you can produce a first draft of a media pitch or press release, working from a template and provided information.Your Strategist gives you the key messages for a new product launch. You're expected to have a coherent, templated pitch draft ready for their review within two hours, not five.First draft within 2 hours of receiving brief
Database Hygiene & UpdatesKeeping our media database (like Muck Rack or Cision) clean, up-to-date, and free of redundant entries.A journalist moves publications. You update their profile within a day. If you accidentally add the same journalist twice, that's a database hygiene issue. Small things, but they add up.Zero duplicate entries created; 100% of journalist updates actioned within 24 hours

These are this job's own measures, with its own targets. Nothing is marked evidenced, because nobody has started this yet. Yours would fill in from the work you bring.

Your passport

This isn't a certificate you file away. It's a passport to the life you're designing.

Every credit you earn and every fluency you build adds up: evidence where it counts, carried with you. Zavmo keeps the map: where you are, where you're heading, and the next step, at your pace, around your life. From Media Coordinator to Media Strategist (Level 002), and whatever you decide comes after.

Level 2 · in progressAI Fluency→ Media Strategist (Level 002)→ your design

Where this takes you

Your journey starts here. We're committed to helping you grow, learn, and build a fantastic career in public relations. If you're eager, meticulous, and ready to get stuck in, we think you'll thrive.

See Your Progress GrowIllustration

Media Coordinator

PESO Model Understanding
Message Mapping Basics
Tier-Based Media Targeting (Concept)
Narrative Recognition

This is your Mind Palace on learn.zavmo.ai. Every skill above comes from this role's own record, not an example borrowed from another job. A node lights up when you evidence it, and what you build stays yours between jobs. That is the part a course cannot do.

14The detail, folded away

Everything else the record holds

The career branches in full, how AI is already showing up in the day-to-day, and the questions people ask about this job. Here when you want them, out of the way while you decide.

Where it leads next, rung by rung

Where it leads

The career path, and where it branches

Media Coordinator is a start, not a ceiling. Each step below asks for new skills and hands back more autonomy.

Media Strategist (Level 002)
2-3 years in the Media Coordinator role
1 level
- Owning complete media campaigns from pitch to placement.
- Building relationships with Tier 2/3 journalists directly.
- Writing full press releases and media alerts from scratch.
- Basic social media listening and content strategy input.

Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, some parts of PR can be a bit of a grind. But what if you could cut down on the repetitive stuff and focus more on the interesting bits? That's where AI comes in. We're not talking about robots taking over, but smart tools that make your day-to-day work smoother and quicker.

Even at an entry level, AI can really boost your productivity. You'll use these tools to speed up tasks that usually take ages, giving you more time to learn the strategic side of things and get a deeper understanding of the media landscape. It's about working smarter, not just harder.

Drafting Support

Use generative AI (like ChatGPT or Claude) to create first drafts of media pitches, social media posts, or even internal summaries based on your notes and templates. It'll give you a solid starting point, saving you from staring at a blank page.

Smart Media Monitoring

Our AI-powered listening tools can help you quickly sort through vast amounts of news. They'll highlight key trends, identify sentiment, and even spot emerging narratives that might be relevant to our clients, cutting down your manual sifting time.

Automated Summaries

Feed long articles or reports into an AI tool, and it can give you a concise summary in seconds. This is brilliant for quickly understanding complex topics or briefing your Strategist without having to read every single word yourself.

Basic Data Analysis

AI can help you quickly pull out key insights from media coverage data. For example, it can identify the most frequent keywords in articles about a competitor or show you which publications are covering a specific topic most often, helping you refine your media lists.

Common questions

How do you become a Media Coordinator?

Common routes in include PR/Communications Internship (6-12 months), Journalism/Media Studies Graduate (0-1 year post-graduation) and Administrative Assistant (with comms interest) (1-2 years). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Media Coordinator progress to?

This role can lead on to Media Strategist (Level 002) (2-3 years in the Media Coordinator role), depending on the skills you build.

What level is a Media Coordinator in the UK?

This role aligns to RQF Level 2 on the UK framework, a guide to the depth of qualification it maps to, not a hard entry bar.

What new skills matter most for a Media Coordinator?

Increasingly, Basic AI Prompting for Text Generation. These are the areas where the higher-paid, future-proof work is heading.

The honest bit

You’ve started things before

Most of them were built for a room full of people who aren’t you. A cohort moves on whether or not your week allowed it, and by the third week the thing you’re behind on becomes the reason you stop opening it.

There’s no cohort here, and no timetable to fall behind. Before anything starts, Zavmo asks when you’re sharpest and how long you can realistically sit down for, then builds the sessions around those answers. A bad fortnight changes your pace. It doesn’t put you behind.

And you only pay once you start learning. Searching and planning are free, and you can cancel any time — so the cost of finding out is an afternoon, not a year.

What it costs

Less than one coaching session. Every month.

A single career-coaching hour costs more than a month of this, and it ends when the hour does. Zavmo doesn't. It's £70 a month, about £2.30 a day, for a companion that knows a Media Coordinator, works on the job you actually do, and keeps going at your pace rather than a timetable's.

Searching and planning stay free. You only pay when you start learning.
Your credits are yours. Regulated, and they don't vanish when a subscription ends.
Cancel any time and billing stops. No notice period, no minimum term.

Your path, personalised

You have the map. Walking it is the part we do together.

This route runs to 10 national skill standards. That is a real journey.

Zavmo shapes a learning experience as unique as you are. It fits how you learn, your pace and the work you already do. Every step stays benchmarked to recognised national standards. That’s the plan for becoming a Media Coordinator: personal to you, and it still counts. The first steps are free.

Independent research finds well-designed intelligent tutoring performs nearly as well as one-to-one human tutoring: VanLehn (2011), Educational Psychologist.

A private tutor in the UK averages £35–40 an hour . Zavmo is £70/month.

A Zavmo curriculum screen: a three-month plan of nine units, ninety credits, each one an Ofqual-regulated unit the learner can tick or untick before starting. — A real plan on learn.zavmo.ai: Ofqual-regulated units, credits, and a three-month run at your own pace.

Start free No commitment. See your first steps free.

15Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 2

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.

Other roles in Public Relations Communications

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.

If you leave this industry

The skills you'll gain in this role are highly transferable. You could move into in-house PR for a specific company, specialise in a niche like tech PR or financial comms, or even transition into broader marketing or content roles. The media world is vast, and your foundational skills will open many doors.

Not sure this is the right direction?

Work out what you actually want from work first, then come back and see which roles fit it. Takes about ten minutes.

You're not behind. You're right on time. The shift is only just beginning. Your role won't look the same in two years. Be the one who leads the change, not the one it happens to. Build my plan, free Here's the first ten minutes: a 2-minute confidence check → your personalised roadmap → meet the tutors matched to you. No card, cancel any time. No card. Build your plan, see your roadmap and meet the twelve tutors matched to you. All free. When you're ready to start learning, it's £70 a month, billed monthly. Cancel any time and billing stops.

Media Coordinator

What's rising in its place

Basic AI Prompting for Text Generation

Skills this role draws on

Technical

How you actually get there, here

PR/Communications Internship

Journalism/Media Studies Graduate

Administrative Assistant (with comms interest)

The credential is what you can do today. These are what keep you valuable.

Roles this leads to

No two people are taught the same way. This is one-to-one, not one-to-many.

A conversation, not a course

No two people run this the same way

This isn't a certificate you file away. It's a passport to the life you're designing.

Your journey starts here. We're committed to helping you grow, learn, and build a fantastic career in public relations. If you're eager, meticulous, and ready to get stuck in, we think you'll thrive.

Everything else the record holds

The career path, and where it branches

Media Strategist (Level 002)

Where AI is starting to help

Drafting Support

Smart Media Monitoring

Automated Summaries

Basic Data Analysis

Common questions

You’ve started things before

Less than one coaching session. Every month.

You have the map. Walking it is the part we do together.