Senior Press Officer

Co-Op Company; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 33,000 - 38,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus

28 days holiday

Pension with up to 10% employer

onsite gym access (Manchester HQ)

30% discount on Co-op products

14% pay advance stream (Stream)

Virtual healthcare and mental health支持

24/7 colleague support service

Training and career progression

Job summary

Co-op in Manchester is seeking a Senior Press Officer to shape and share the story across Funeralcare, Legal Services and Insurance. You’ll run PR campaigns, manage media relations and support the press office under a busy media environment.

You’ll write press releases and media briefings, identify opportunities, and collaborate with internal teams to protect and promote the brand. Hybrid working policy supports flexible home and office days in line with policy.

Qualifications

• Excellent communication and PR editorial writing skills.
• A strong sense of what makes news and the ability to create a PR hook for a story.
• Experience in a busy press office, managing media enquiries and providing PR advice to protect, promote and enhance the brand.
• Strong media relations skills with journalists, agencies and external partners.
• Experience managing PR agencies and external partners.
• Creativity and proactive PR opportunity seeking.
• Confidence to engage internal partners across the business.

Responsibilities

• Help create, develop and deliver agreed PR plans and campaigns.
• Identify and land news stories and create media opportunities across Co-op’s Funeralcare, Legal Services and Insurance businesses.
• Produce press releases, statements, and media briefings.
• Build and maintain journalist networks and monitor industry news.
• Coordinate PR activities across the team and support in reputational management.

Skills

Excellent communication

PR editorial writing

Media relations

Crisis/reputation management

Stakeholder engagement

News instincts

Team coordination

Job description

Senior Press Officer

£33,440 to £38,000 plus benefits (Work level 6A)

Manchester city centre, in this role you’ll work in a hybrid way splitting your time between home and the offices (find out more about our hybrid working policy at jobs.coop.co.uk/hybrid-working-policy).

We’re looking for a Senior Press Officer to join us and help us share the word about the amazing things we do at Co-op, specifically across our Funeralcare, Legal Services and Insurance businesses. If you have strong PR experience, great communications skills and the creativity we’re looking for, this could be the role for you.

Why this job matters

You’ll develop and deliver a variety of PR campaigns, making sure our products and services get the media coverage they deserve across national, regional and trade media. You’ll also support the day-to-day management of our busy press office and help manage media issues, playing an important role in protecting and promoting our reputation.

What you’ll do

• Help create, develop and deliver agreed PR plans and campaigns
• Use your news instincts to identify and land news story and create media opportunities across Co-op’s Funeralcare, Legal Services and Insurance businesses
• Produce innovative and impactful written copy, including press releases, statements, and media briefings
• Build and maintain a strong network of relevant journalist contacts, and stay up to date with latest industry news and developments
• Build and maintain a strong network of internal contacts across the business areas to ensure PR is front of mind where relevant.
• Provide reputational oversight and management of key specific areas including planned and unplanned reputational and crisis management
• Support in the coordination of activity across the team

What you’ll bring

• Excellent communication and PR editorial writing skills
• A strong sense of what makes news and an ability to create a PR hook for a story
• Experience of working in a busy press office function, managing a range of media enquiries and provide PR advice to help protect, promote and enhance the brand
• Strong media relations skills, with the ability to build effective relationships with journalists, agencies, and other external partners
• Experience of managing PR agencies and external partners
• Lots of creativity and the ability to proactively seek out PR opportunities
• Confidence to initiate contact with internal partners and build relationships with colleagues across the business

Why Co-op?

At Co-op, we’re owned by our members. And because we’re owned by you, we can do right by you. So when you join us, you’re not just taking a job, you’re joining a movement. We’re an organisation that puts people and communities first, and we’re powered by purpose. We want this to be a place where you can thrive, so you’ll also receive:

• An annual bonus (based on personal and business performance)
• 28 days holiday (rising to 32 with service) plus bank holidays
• A pension with up to 10% employer contributions
• Access to a subsidised onsite gym (at our Manchester HQ)
• 30% discount on Co-op products and 10% off other brands
• Stream – early access to a percentage of your pay as you earn it
• Virtual healthcare including GP appointments, mental health support, nutrition and fitness advice
• 24/7 colleague support service
• Training and support for your development and career progression
• Cycle-to-work scheme

A place you’ll belong

We’re building diverse and inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve. We welcome applications from everyone and are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can feel like they belong, supported by our inclusive policies and the ways we work.

We’re proud to be part of the Disability Confident scheme and offer interviews to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria for a job. If you need any adjustments during the recruitment process, we’ll support you.

Learn more about our recruitment process at jobs.coop.co.uk/apply-process and our inclusion commitments at jobs.coop.co.uk/diversity-inclusion

Please note that we may close applications for this role early.