Press Office Assistant (Undergraduate Placement Year 2027-28)

Kia UK; Walton-on-Thames; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

24 days annual leave + Bank Holidays

Hybrid working (2 days a week remote)

Employee car scheme

Onsite chef (free lunch every day)

Private medical care & annual health

Private dental care

Income protection, critical illness &

Pension with employer contribution

Social events & weekly sports clubs

Charity partnerships

Job summary

Kia UK is seeking a proactive PR enthusiast to manage projects, engage with UK media, and help craft press material from a central team in Walton-on-Thames. The role supports the Head of PR and broader Press Office, offering exposure to national media events and cross-functional collaboration across Kia Europe.

Ideal candidates are pursuing or have completed a relevant PR/Journalism/Media/Communication course, with a passion for storytelling and quick adaptability to new media challenges.

Qualifications

• Interest in PR, journalism or media/writing.
• Willingness to travel across the UK and Europe for events and projects.
• Studying for or recently finished a relevant course (e.g. PR/Journ/Media/Communication).

Responsibilities

• Run your own PR projects and develop the media exposure they receive.
• Represent the Kia UK brand in front of the UK media, including major product launches.
• Assist with press releases and pull content from across the business.
• Support the Head of PR and wider Press Office to deliver best-in-class service to UK media.

Skills

Media relations

Public speaking

Press release drafting

Event coordination

Passion for PR

Job description

Welcome to Kia UK!

About Us

Kia UK is a leading automotive brand offering one of the industry’s largest range of models across multiple vehicle segments, contributing to it being the fourth most popular UK car brand in 2025. With more than 190 Kia dealerships across the country, Kia is now widely known for its advanced electrified products offering the technology of tomorrow, today.

Kia UK has consistently grown for over 30 years, supported by bold design, quality products and ever-evolving customer service. By 2027, the brand aims to offer no less than nine fully electric vehicles in the UK, a positive step towards becoming a leading global sustainable mobility solutions provider.

People are central to Kia UK and every day is an opportunity to learn something new and to grow personally and professionally. This was recognised with Kia UK named as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces™ 2024, 2025 and 2026 by Great Place To Work®, and also ranked in the 2025 & 2026 Best Workplaces™ for Women, Development, Wellbeing, and Manufacturing, Production & Transportation. Kia employees reported positively on areas such as working atmosphere, trust in management, corporate strategy, pride in working for the company, benefits, facilities and much more!

What will I be doing?

• Running your own PR projects, then developing the media exposure these projects receive

• Representing the brand in front of the UK media (including major product launches)

• Contributing to press releases, pulling content from across the entire business

• Supporting our Head of PR, PR Manager, PR Operations Manager and wider Press Office team to achieve a best-in-class service to the UK media. We’re consistently rated the no.1 automotive press office in the UK

• Monitoring media coverage and reporting back to the Head of PR, as well as general reporting within Kia UK and to Kia Europe

• Supporting the PR Operations Manager and Events Coordinator in the creation and management of media events

• Networking with UK journalist at events, industry organised gatherings and other opportunities

• Working with our agencies to ensure support us effectively

• Deal with a wide range of media enquiries and liaise with all business departments and suppliers

• Simple financial handling to ensure our projects and events go ahead as planned

• If you want, we can arrange for you to do some work experience at one of the UK’s leading automotive magazines – no pressure!

Am I right for this?

We don’t want to discourage anybody from applying for this role by making a long list of requirements, but to summarise: we want someone who is genuinely passionate about PR so ideally studying for/just finished a relevant course (e.g. PR / Journalism / Writing / Media / Communication).

This role will encourage you to act quickly, test your flexibility, and motivate you to constantly adapt to new things (exactly what the media expects from us). You can get a huge amount of experience, knowledge and skills out of a year with us, so we’d love to welcome someone with big dreams that we can support.

We recognise that there may be a number of ways to meet our requirements. We are looking for the best candidate for the job and encourage you to apply even if your experience or qualifications don’t exactly match what we’ve outlined in the role description. If you think you could be a good fit for this role, we’d love to hear from you.

Please note: for this role you will require a driving license as you’ll be required to travel across the country and Europe for events and projects.

The Benefits

• 24 days annual leave + Bank Holidays

• Hybrid working (2 days a week remote working)

• Employee car scheme

• Onsite chef (free lunch every day)

• Private medical care & annual health check

• Private dental care

• Income protection, critical illness protection & life assurance

• Pension with significant employer contribution

• Social events (Christmas Ball, Staff Summer Event and other socials) and weekly sports clubs

• Opportunity to get involved with our charity partners

The Location

The Kia UK Head Office is based in Walton-on-Thames, just a 5 minute walk from the station. We also have plenty of on-site parking for drivers, including EV charging ports.

There is step-free access throughout the building, but please let us know if you require any additional accessibility support and we will cater to your needs as best we can.

Interview Process

Step 1: CV review

Step 2: Video Interview

Step 3: Assessment Centre at our Head Office in Walton-On-Thames

We are committed to providing an inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We understand that every candidate is unique, and we welcome the opportunity to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that all individuals can fully participate in our interview process. If you require any adjustments or support to facilitate your interview, please do not hesitate to reach out to ([e-mail]). We are happy to discuss your needs and make arrangements that support your participation to best showcase your skills and qualifications.

At Kia, we are committed to employing the best-qualified people and provide equal opportunity for the advancement of employees including promotion and training and thereby not discriminating against any person because of gender, race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, religion, belief or disability.