Director of Media Relations

Haus Comms; Chicago (IL); Remote; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Remote-first flexibility

Healthcare

401(k) with company match

Bonus eligibility

Company-provided computer

Phone stipend

Ownership potential

Autonomy

Low bureaucracy

Job summary

Haus is a boutique, founder-led PR agency, offering a hands-on role with direct work alongside founders and clients. This Media Relations Director role emphasizes pitching, relationship-building with national lifestyle, culture and food media, and developing earned media strategies to drive meaningful coverage.

The position supports flexible remote work with occasional travel to key cities, and opportunities to grow ownership as Haus expands.

Qualifications

• 6-8 years of PR/media relations experience, ideally at an agency.
• Demonstrable network of media contacts across lifestyle, entertainment, culture, trends, fashion, beauty, wellness, travel, home.
• Strong pitcher and doer with tenacity and creative angle finding.
• Curious about clients' businesses and able to spot newsworthy stories.
• Collaborative and able to work with founders in a flat, entrepreneurial environment.

Responsibilities

• Own media relations across a consumer client roster, with focus on lifestyle and food & beverage.
• Build relationships with reporters, editors, producers, freelancers and creators.
• Develop and execute proactive and reactive media strategies for meaningful coverage.
• Draft pitches, alerts, releases, talking points and other materials.
• Support launches, events and ongoing news engines for clients.
• Collaborate with founders and Haus team on strategy and execution.
• Mentor and manage junior team members as Haus grows.

Skills

Media relations

Pitching

Writing

Networking

Client communication

Independence

Job description

NYC or Chicago preferred | Remote-friendly

Who We Are

Haus is a boutique, founder-led PR agency with a very simple philosophy: know the media, know the culture and make things happen. We're high-touch, highly collaborative and, admittedly, chronically online and deeply invested in knowing what's happening in culture before everyone else does. We're also nimble by design, without layers of bureaucracy. You work directly with founders, clients and media, have real ownership over your work, and get to see the impact of what you do. Our clients span consumer brands, with a particularly strong roster of food and beverage / CPG, and we're looking to expand our team to support existing and new clients.

The Role

We're looking for a Media Relations Director with 6-8 years of PR experience who genuinely loves media relations. And when we say media relations, we mean actual relationships with reporters. Not just a really good media list. In particular, we’re looking for experts in consumer lifestyle and emerging media: entertainment, celebrity, culture, trends, fashion, wellness, travel, home and beyond. Food and beverage media experience is a major plus, since the majority of our clients are in that space. This is a doer role. You should want to pitch, pick up the phone, find the right reporter, rewrite the pitch when it's not landing, figure out a different angle and keep going until you get results.

What You'll Do

• Own media relations across a roster of consumer clients, with a particular focus on lifestyle and food & beverage.
• Build and maintain relationships with reporters, editors, producers, freelancers and creators across national, lifestyle, culture and food media.
• Develop and execute proactive and reactive media strategies that generate meaningful coverage.
• Pitch constantly: news, trends, products, experts, data, partnerships, cultural moments and whatever else might get a reporter's attention.
• Evaluate ideas through an earned-media lens and identify what will actually make a reporter care.
• Stay deeply plugged into the news cycle, social media, cultural moments, emerging trends and, yes, whatever everyone is talking about on the internet that day.
• Draft pitches, media alerts, press releases, talking points and other media materials.
• Support client launches, events, announcements and ongoing news engines.
• Serve as a media relations expert and trusted partner to clients, including joining client calls and helping guide earned media strategy.
• Track, report on and communicate media results and learnings.
• Contribute to new business when opportunities arise, and pursue as much of it as you're interested in.
• Collaborate closely with the founders and broader Haus team on client strategy and execution.
• Help mentor and manage junior team members as Haus grows.

What We're Looking For

• 6-8 years of PR/media relations experience, ideally at an agency.
• A strong, demonstrable network of media contacts, including existing relationships with national lifestyle, entertainment, culture, trends, fashion, beauty, wellness, travel, home media. Food and beverage media experience is a major plus.
• A true pitcher and doer. You're happiest when you're in the weeds getting coverage.
• Tenacity. If the first pitch doesn't work, you don't just shrug and move on. You figure out what might and are resourceful enough to find a new angle when the obvious one isn't landing.
• Curious about clients' businesses and able to quickly understand what makes a story interesting.
• Someone who can look at an idea and say, 'Cool, but will a reporter actually care?'
• Easy to get along with, collaborative and low ego.
• Comfortable working independently in a very flat, entrepreneurial environment.
• Confident in communicating directly with clients.
• An excellent writer and communicator.
• Able to juggle multiple clients, deadlines and priorities without losing the plot.

What We Bring

We're small, which means you'll actually get to do the work. You'll work directly with the founders and have meaningful exposure to clients, media and strategy. You'll have a lot of autonomy, a flexible remote environment and the opportunity to help shape how Haus grows.

A few other things we offer:

• Remote-first flexibility. NYC or Chicago preferred, but open to the right person anywhere in the U.S.
• Periodic travel to NYC, Chicago and/or client events, approximately quarterly.
• Healthcare.
• 401(k) with company match.
• Bonus eligibility.
• Company-provided computer.
• $100/month phone stipend.
• Potential opportunity for ownership as Haus continues to grow.
• Lots of autonomy and very little bureaucracy.
• A genuinely fun team that takes the work seriously without taking ourselves too seriously.

Compensation: $120,000-$150,000, commensurate with experience.