UK

United Kingdom · PR and communications · Principal/Manager (12-16 years)

Manager, Media Relations

Here is the whole job, in plain words. What it is, 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.

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  • Experience bandPrincipal/Manager (12-16 years)
  • Direct reports3-8 reports
  • Reports toDirector of Communications
  • UK framework levelUsually a manager, or the deepest specialist in a team

Also advertised as Head of Press · PR Manager · Senior Journalist Liaison Manager

Built on 43,079 real UK job descriptions we analysed · grounded in what real qualifications cover

Two short quizzes about you

1From this job to a course

The qualifications matched to this job

NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism NCTJ Training · Level 5 · covers 3 of 5 standards
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Journalism Pearson Education Ltd · Level 5 · covers 1 of 5 standards
ATHE Level 6 Certificate in Crisis Management and Crisis Communication ATHE Ltd · Level 6 · covers 1 of 5 standards
ATHE Level ATHE Level 6 Diploma in Risk Management for Crowded Places ATHE Ltd · Level 6 · covers 1 of 5 standards
Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Public Services Pearson Education Ltd · Level 5 · covers 1 of 5 standards
Pearson BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Public Services Pearson Education Ltd · Level 4 · covers 1 of 5 standards

Matched from the standards this job is measured against: a suggestion, not an official ruling.

The units you would start with

Introduction to Public Relations for Journalists NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism
Professional Project for Journalism Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Journalism
Crisis Management and Crisis Communication ATHE Level 6 Certificate in Crisis Management and Crisis Communication
Crime and the Media Pearson BTEC Level 5 Higher National Diploma in Public Services

The future skills this job leans on

AI Fluency working with AI as a thinking partner
Data Fluency turning numbers into a decision
AI Governance Fluency using AI responsibly
Your Plan Illustration

Built for Manager, Media Relations

4 units that map to this job, from the qualifications that cover it.

  1. Introduction to Public Relations for Journalists NCTJ Training · covers 3 of 5 standards Level 5
  2. Professional Project for Journalism Pearson Education Ltd · covers 1 of 5 standards Level 5
  3. Crisis Management and Crisis Communication ATHE Ltd · covers 1 of 5 standards Level 6
  4. Crime and the Media Pearson Education Ltd · covers 1 of 5 standards Level 5
These are the real units behind this job, in the order they rank for it. Nothing here is marked done, because this plan has not been started by anyone yet. Yours would fill in as you go.

2AI and this work

Will AI change your work as a Manager, Media Relations?

Nobody can say exactly how. Here is what this job is being asked for next, and where to start.

The new skill this role is being asked for

  • Ethical AI Integration in Communications
Why each one is rising

The future skills this job leans on

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

What happens when you start

Next, a free account. We build your Manager, Media Relations plan as you set up, starting with the free Automation Fluency module. No card.

Your first Future Fluency module is free. After that, your AI tutor is £70 a month.

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Keep this read. One email with what AI is changing in this job, the new skills it asks for and where to start free. Nothing else follows unless you confirm your address.

3What this role really is

A Manager, Media Relations leads a team that manages press coverage and shapes how an organisation is seen publicly.

4What you'd actually use

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

Cision / Muck Rack / Prowly (Media Database & Outreach) Strategist

You'll evaluate and select the best media database platform for the entire organisation, negotiating contracts and driving integration with other systems like our CRM. You'll ensure your team is using it effectively and leverage its data for strategic planning.

Brandwatch / Talkwalker / Meltwater (Media Monitoring & Analytics) Strategist

You'll define the organisation's overall measurement framework, connecting monitoring data to business outcomes (e.g., share price, lead generation). You'll use these tools to identify trends, manage sentiment, and report high-level insights to the C-suite.

PR Newswire / Business Wire (Press Release Distribution) Strategist

You'll manage the enterprise-level relationship and budget with our wire service provider. You'll determine the overall strategy for when and why to use a wire, ensuring optimal reach and impact for major announcements.

Asana / Monday.com / Slack (Collaboration & Project Management) Strategist

You'll implement and standardise PM tool usage across the entire comms function. You'll use data from these tools for resource planning, forecasting team workload, and ensuring efficient campaign execution.

Tableau / Google Data Studio (Business Analytics & Reporting) Strategist

You'll integrate PR data with other business data (e.g., sales, marketing) in Tableau Server to present a holistic view of our external impact to the C-suite. You'll define what 'success' looks like in data terms.

Diligent Boards / Nasdaq Boardvantage (Executive & Board Reporting) Advanced

You'll prepare and package high-level media analysis and crisis reports for secure distribution to the board and executive leadership, ensuring they have the critical information they need.

5What 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 choiceComing in Where you are nowThe step above
Team Hiring & Performance No authority. Supports interview process. Recommends candidates, provides performance feedback. Full authority for hiring, performance reviews, and promotions within your team. Consults Director on headcount changes.
Campaign Strategy & Messaging Executes defined tasks within campaign. Proposes pitch angles and media targets. Defines overall media relations strategy and key messages. Aligns with Director and other department heads.
Budget Allocation & Vendor Selection No authority. Uses approved tools/services. Suggests tools or services for specific projects. Full authority for media relations budget up to £1M. Selects and negotiates with PR agencies, media monitoring, and wire services up to £250K.
Crisis Response & Messaging Follows pre-defined protocols, escalates immediately. Drafts holding statements, coordinates information flow. Leads crisis response, approves holding statements, coordinates with Legal and Executive team. Consults Director on major public statements.

6How you'll be judged

The scoreboard, and what is not on it. The hard targets, how often each is actually looked at, and the quiet signals that never reach a dashboard.

Share of Voice (SOV) Improvement
The percentage of media conversation about our brand compared to our top three competitors.
Target · Increase company SOV by 15% year-over-year.

If our SOV was 20% last year, you'd aim for 23% this year, showing we're getting more attention than our rivals.

Tier 1 & 2 Placement Volume
Number of secured placements in our most influential and relevant media outlets (e.g., Financial Times, BBC News, TechCrunch).
Target · Secure an average of 10-15 Tier 1/2 placements per quarter across the team.

Your team secures 12 features in target Tier 1/2 publications in Q2, including a major piece in The Guardian and a segment on Sky News.

Key Message Pull-Through Rate
The percentage of our core strategic messages that actually appear in the final published articles.
Target · Achieve >85% key message pull-through in all secured coverage.

After a product launch, 9 out of 10 articles mention our key differentiator and the intended customer benefit, hitting 90% pull-through.

Team Productivity & Efficiency
Overall output of the team, including pitches sent, journalist interactions, and successful placements, balanced against resource allocation.
Target · Maintain a consistent 20% pitch-to-placement conversion rate across the team, while managing budget within ±5%.

Your team sends 500 pitches in a month, resulting in 100 positive responses and 20 placements, all while staying within the allocated £10K monthly budget.

Journalist Relationship Quality
The strength and depth of relationships your team builds with key journalists, leading to proactive outreach from media.
  • Journalists proactively reaching out to your team for comments or stories
  • being invited to exclusive briefings
  • team members being cited as trusted sources
  • positive feedback from journalists on collaboration.
Strategic Narrative Alignment
How well the media coverage reflects our company's strategic priorities and desired brand positioning.
  • Media coverage consistently echoing our company's vision and values
  • internal stakeholders (e.g., CEO, Product Lead) confirming that coverage aligns with their goals
  • successful framing of complex topics in simple, compelling ways.
Team Development & Morale
The growth and engagement of your direct reports, ensuring they feel supported and are developing their skills.
  • Regular 1:1s with clear development plans
  • positive feedback in internal engagement surveys
  • successful promotions of team members
  • team members feeling empowered to take initiative and suggest new approaches.
Crisis Preparedness & Response
The ability to anticipate, plan for, and effectively manage potential reputational threats or negative media situations.
  • Well-documented crisis communication plans in place
  • successful navigation of minor media issues with minimal negative impact
  • quick and coordinated responses to unexpected media inquiries
  • post-crisis reviews identifying lessons learned and improvements.

7Would you like it

Both sides. What people enjoy, and what grinds them down.

What people enjoy
Shaping the Narrative

You'll get a real buzz from seeing your team's work result in a well-placed article that perfectly captures our company's message. You'll enjoy the challenge of taking complex ideas and turning them into compelling, newsworthy stories.

Seeing a feature story in a major industry publication that your team secured, knowing it will influence hundreds of potential customers or partners.

Team Growth & Success

You'll find genuine satisfaction in mentoring your team, helping them refine their pitching skills, navigate tricky journalist interactions, and celebrate their individual wins. Their development is your success.

A junior team member successfully landing their first Tier 1 placement after weeks of coaching and support from you.

Strategic Impact

You're driven by the idea that your team's work directly contributes to the company's reputation and business goals. You'll enjoy connecting media outcomes to broader strategic objectives, showing tangible value.

Presenting quarterly to senior leadership, demonstrating how earned media has positively impacted brand perception scores or website traffic.

What frustrates people
  • The 'Just Checking In' Treadmill: The soul-crushing cycle of following up on pitches only to be ignored, knowing that persistence and being annoying are separated by a razor-thin line, and your team experiences it daily.
  • The Unrealistic Stakeholder: Internal clients (e.g., a product manager) who are convinced their minor feature update is a front-page story for The New York Times and won't take no for an answer, expecting you to perform miracles.
  • The Ghosting Journalist: Your team spends hours crafting the perfect pitch for a journalist who shows strong initial interest, requests more info, and then vanishes without a trace, leaving you to manage team morale.
  • The Last-Minute 'Urgent' Request: Leadership demanding you 'get some press' on a non-story by EOD, completely derailing your strategic, planned work and your team's focus.
  • The Measurement Battle: Constantly having to defend your team's value and budget to marketing colleagues whose metrics (clicks, conversions) are more direct and easier to track in a spreadsheet.
  • The Story Hijack: A journalist takes your team's pitch but frames it in a negative light or uses your spokesperson's quote out of context, forcing you into damage control mode and managing the fallout.
What this role does not give you
  • A predictable, routine work schedule – expect the unexpected.
  • Guaranteed success for every initiative – rejection is part of the game.
  • Complete control over external narratives – journalists have their own agendas.
  • A quiet, solitary work environment – it's all about communication and collaboration.

8Who you work with

This role directly impacts our company's public perception, brand reputation, and market standing. By securing positive and strategic media coverage, you'll help drive brand awareness, build credibility, and support lead generation efforts. You'll also play a critical part in managing potential reputational risks, ensuring our narrative remains strong even during challenging times.

Inside the business
  • Director of Communications
  • Head of Marketing
  • Product Leadership
  • Sales Leadership
  • Legal Team
  • Executive Leadership (for approvals and strategy alignment)
Outside the business
  • Tier 1 & 2 Journalists and Editors
  • Industry Analysts
  • PR Agencies (if used)
  • Wire Services

9What you need before you start

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

  • Proven track record of successfully managing and leading a small team in a fast-paced media relations or PR agency environment.
  • Extensive experience (10+ years) in securing Tier 1 and Tier 2 media placements for complex topics, demonstrating a strong network of journalist contacts.
  • Demonstrable experience in developing and implementing comprehensive media relations strategies that have delivered measurable business impact.
  • Expertise in crisis communications, including developing protocols, managing media inquiries during sensitive times, and executive counsel.
  • Strong analytical skills, including the ability to interpret media monitoring data and translate it into strategic insights for leadership.
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with a portfolio of successful press releases, pitches, and media training materials.

10What to practise next

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

Advanced PR Analytics & Predictive Modelling

Moving beyond basic coverage reports, we'll need to predict media trends, forecast campaign impact, and attribute PR's influence on business outcomes more precisely. This means integrating PR data with sales, marketing, and web analytics to build more sophisticated models and demonstrate ROI.

Multi-Touch Attribution for PR · Sentiment Trend Forecasting · Econometric Modelling for Reputation · Automated Dashboard Development

  • This month: Take an online course on advanced Google Analytics or Tableau for marketing/PR professionals.
  • Next quarter: Work with our Data Science team (if we have one) to understand how they build predictive models.
  • Month 3-6: Design and implement one new, integrated PR dashboard that combines media coverage with web traffic and sentiment data.
  • Month 6-12: Explore tools or methodologies for attributing PR's impact on lead generation or sales pipeline.

Quick win: Start by identifying one key business metric (e.g., website traffic) and try to correlate it with your team's top media placements using existing analytics tools.

11Staying current once you are in

What people here do to keep up
  • Regularly attending industry conferences and webinars (e.g., PRWeek, Communicate magazine events) to stay on top of trends and network.
  • Subscribing to key industry publications and newsletters (e.g., PRovoke Media, The Holmes Report) to keep your finger on the pulse.
  • Actively participating in professional organisations like the CIPR or PRCA, potentially joining committees or special interest groups.
  • Seeking out mentorship from senior leaders in the communications field, both inside and outside our organisation.
  • Taking courses on advanced analytics, data visualisation, or AI in communications to enhance your strategic capabilities.

12The rising capability

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.

Ethical AI Integration in Communications

AI is becoming indispensable for drafting content, analysing sentiment, and personalising outreach. However, the ethical implications—like deepfakes, bias in algorithms, and maintaining authentic human connection—are becoming critical. As a manager, you'll need to navigate this, ensuring your team uses AI responsibly and transparently.

  • AI Content Verification
  • Bias Detection in AI Analysis
  • Transparency in AI Use
  • Maintaining Human Authenticity

13What you’ll use

What you’ll use

Skills this role draws on

Technical

  • Advanced Media Relations Strategy
  • Complex Narrative Development & Message Framing
  • Crisis Communications Leadership (The 'Golden Hour' Protocol)
  • Strategic Coverage Analysis & Measurement (AMEC Framework)
  • Executive Spokesperson Media Training

14The pathway

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. 1

    Senior Journalist Liaison Specialist (Internal Promotion)

    3-5 years as a Senior Specialist

    Skills to master

    • Leading major campaigns, mentoring junior staff, developing deep journalist relationships, demonstrating strong crisis communication instincts, and showing strategic thinking beyond individual placements.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Consistently securing Tier 1 media placements for complex stories.
    • Successfully mentoring 1-2 junior team members to achieve their goals.
    • Proactively identifying and capitalising on newsworthy opportunities.
    • Taking initiative to improve team processes or introduce new tools.
    • Demonstrating sound judgment during sensitive media situations.
  2. 2

    PR Account Manager / Senior Account Manager (Agency Side)

    5-8 years at an agency, with client management experience

    Skills to master

    • Managing multiple client accounts, leading account teams, developing and executing diverse PR strategies, budget management, and client relationship building. You'd need to show you can translate agency experience to an in-house setting.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully managing a portfolio of 3+ clients with strong retention rates.
    • Leading and developing a team of 3-5 PR professionals.
    • Consistently exceeding client KPIs for media coverage and impact.
    • Demonstrating strong strategic thinking in client proposals and campaign planning.
    • Experience managing budgets and justifying ROI to clients.
  3. 3

    Communications Manager (Other Industry)

    5-8 years in a similar in-house role in a different sector

    Skills to master

    • Adapting your media relations expertise to a new industry, quickly understanding our company's products and market, and building new journalist relationships. You'd need to show transferable leadership and strategic skills.

    You're ready to move on when

    • Successfully led media relations for a complex organisation or product line.
    • Managed a team of communications professionals.
    • Developed and implemented effective communications strategies.
    • Proven ability to quickly learn and adapt to new industry nuances.
    • Strong network of media contacts, even if not directly in our sector.

15Where this role leads

The long view: This role can lead to running larger communications teams, or into senior roles such as Head of Corporate Communications or Chief Communications Officer.

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 Manager, Media Relations is actually changing.

Where it leads

Roles this leads to

How you would learn this

One to one, on the work you already do

A tutor sets the task against your own job and marks the reasoning, at your pace. There is no cohort to fall behind.

A lesson from Introduction to Public Relations for Journalists, worked against Manager, Media Relations.

Introduction to Public Relations for Journalists Level 5

Applied to your work in Manager, Media Relations

The objective of this unit is to enable learners to formulate and deliver basic Public Relations (PR) campaigns, utilising professional tools and techniques. Learners will be able to produce accurate and effective news releases suitable for publication in various media outlets, tailored to specific target audiences.

How the thinking builds
  1. 1 Remember
  2. 2 Understand
  3. 3 Apply
  4. 4 Analyse
  5. 5 Evaluate
  6. 6 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.

It is £70 a month, billed monthly. Your free first module is Future Fluency, and you can cancel any time.

See Your Progress Grow Illustration
Manager, Media Relations
  • Advanced Media Relations Strategy
  • Complex Narrative Development & Message Framing
  • Crisis Communications Leadership (The 'Golden Hour' Protocol)
  • Strategic Coverage Analysis & Measurement (AMEC Framework)
  • Executive Spokesperson Media Training
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.

16The 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

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

  1. Director of Communications

    3-5 years in the Manager role

    Level 6

    • Integrated Communications Strategy Designing and executing holistic communication plans across all channels, ensuring consistent messaging.
    • Reputation Risk Management Proactively identifying and mitigating broader reputational risks at the business unit level.
    • Investor Relations Communications Working closely with Finance on investor communications, earnings calls, and financial reporting.
    • M&A Communications Leading communications for mergers, acquisitions, or divestitures.
Working with AI on the job

Working with AI

Where AI is starting to help

Let's be real, managing a media relations team means you're constantly juggling. You're trying to hit targets, develop your team, and still keep an eye on the big picture. What if you could give your team back hours every week, letting them focus on building those crucial journalist relationships and crafting truly compelling stories, rather than getting bogged down in repetitive tasks? That's where AI comes in.

For a Manager, Media Relations, AI isn't just a gimmick; it's a strategic tool. It helps you understand the media landscape faster, makes your team more efficient, and frees you up to focus on the high-level strategy and team development that only a human can do. Think of it as an extra pair of hands for your entire function, helping your team punch above its weight.

Automated List Building & Personalisation

Imagine AI scanning the web to identify the most relevant journalists covering a specific topic right now, not just who covered it last year. It can auto-populate a media list for your team and even draft highly personalised opening lines for pitches based on a journalist's recent articles. This means your team spends less time digging and more time connecting.

Accelerated Coverage Analysis & Reporting

Instead of your team manually sifting through hundreds of articles, AI can instantly analyse all coverage for sentiment (positive, neutral, negative), key message pull-through, and emerging narrative themes. It then generates an executive summary in minutes, giving you and leadership a fast, clear picture of campaign performance. No more late nights compiling reports.

Pre-Pitch Intelligence Briefings

Before your team even thinks about pitching, use an AI assistant to generate a one-page briefing on a target journalist. It can summarise their last 10 articles, their preferred communication style based on their social media, and even suggest the perfect angle for your story. This ensures every pitch is hyper-targeted and increases success rates.

First-Draft & Follow-Up Generation

AI can create solid first drafts of press releases, media alerts, or even tricky internal comms based on a few bullet points. It also generates polite, context-aware follow-up email variations, saving your team from sending the same 'just checking in' message repeatedly. This frees up creative energy for refining the core message.

Common questions

Common questions

How do you become a Manager, Media Relations?

Common routes in include Senior Journalist Liaison Specialist (Internal Promotion) (3-5 years as a Senior Specialist), PR Account Manager / Senior Account Manager (Agency Side) (5-8 years at an agency, with client management experience) and Communications Manager (Other Industry) (5-8 years in a similar in-house role in a different sector). Times vary with prior experience.

Where can a Manager, Media Relations progress to?

This role can lead on to Director of Communications (3-5 years in the Manager role), depending on the skills you build.

What new skills matter most for a Manager, Media Relations?

Increasingly, Ethical AI Integration in Communications. These are the skills our record of this role lists as growing.

Free tools

Want a read on where you stand?

Three free tools, no account needed. Each one ends with a role, a level and a way in.

Read the Zavmo manifesto to understand how you will be taught Meet your tutors

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17Where to go from here

Other roles at Level 5

Same depth of qualification, different job. Useful if the work appeals but this particular role does not.
This job at other levels
More jobs in PR and communications

Stay in the field you know and move sideways rather than up.
If you leave this industry

The skills built here, strategic communications, team leadership, crisis management and media relations, apply across most industries, including technology, finance, healthcare and non-profit work. Shaping narratives and managing reputations matters in any sector.

This role profile is © 2026 Growth Engineering Technologies Ltd. Built from UK occupational standards and regulated qualification data, and written for Zavmo.

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. Start my free Automation Fluency module What happens next: a free account, then we build your plan as you set up. 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.