Director of Public Relations

Level; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Level in Austin, a learning technology company, seeks a Director of Public Relations to own the press function end-to-end in a fast-moving pre-launch environment. You will build an in-house PR capability, manage senior media relationships, and shape Level's narrative for education and general audiences.

You will lead the transition from external agencies, oversee assets, and collaborate with Communications to scale Level’s public profile during launch and beyond.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in public relations or communications, including ownership of earned media strategy.
• Demonstrated track record securing senior and national media placements.
• Experience transitioning PR from agency-led to in-house, building the function from the ground up.
• Experience in the education space (K-12, edtech, education policy) with established relationships.
• Strong writing across formats including press releases, pitches, briefs, FAQs, talking points.
• Calm, organized under pressure; capable of serving as senior contact for reporters.
• Hands-on with media-monitoring/outreach tools; translate outputs into actions.
• High judgment with embargoed/pre-launch information and sensitive scenarios.
• Comfortable in a pre-launch environment with strict confidentiality protocols.

Responsibilities

• Execute Level’s press strategy and senior/national media placements. Drive opportunities to placement.
• Transition PR ownership from external agencies to in-house, absorbing relationships and processes.
• Run day-to-day press function: manage inquiries, draft responses, schedule interviews, and coordinate spokespeople.
• Own and maintain Level's full press toolkit: bios, FAQs, boilerplate, backgrounders, kits.
• Build and maintain relationships with reporters covering education, edtech, and policy.
• Embed with product/research/marketing to surface story-worthy moments and frame narratives.
• Own editorial calendar across PR moments, product launches, marketing campaigns, and partnerships.
• Prepare spokespeople for interviews and panels; advise on media strategy.
• Manage media monitoring, social listening, and competitive intelligence; turn insights into actions.
• Steward embargoed information and maintain confidentiality with leadership.

Skills

PR strategy

Media relations

Writing

Crisis management

Storytelling

Project management

Stakeholder management

Confidentiality

Job description

Level is a learning technology company dedicated to helping students build real academic and life skills with confidence and joy. We combine proven curriculum principles with world class interactive design to make meaningful practice something students want to come back to, not something they struggle through.

We support what teachers, schools, and parents are already doing by increasing student engagement with high quality, standards aligned practice that reinforces classroom learning.

That's why we're building:

For students: Rewarding and motivating learning experiences that meet students where they are to build real academic proficiency.

For educators: Tools that fit naturally into instruction and help students stay engaged while reducing teacher workload.

For parents: Activities that help your kid catch up or get ahead, build confidence, and minimize homework battles, whether learning at school or at home.

We are committed to helping every person maximize their potential and live a life of meaning. It's a difficult problem that requires brilliant people and tremendous effort over time.

Level is seeking a Director of Public Relations to build and ultimately own our press function end-to-end, working in close partnership with the Director of Communications. Level currently contracts with two external PR agencies, and this hire is intended to bring that work in-house over time. The goal is to eliminate Level's reliance on outside PR agencies entirely, and absorb the strategic narrative, senior media relationships, and placement work that agencies currently provide.

You will direct Level's press infrastructure and assets and manage the transition of our current agency engagements to an in-house function. You bring deep U.S. top tier and education-press relationships, relying on your independent editorial judgment to support Level's launch and growth. You will own how Level's narrative is executed through press and earned media, identifying reporters, shaping pitches, securing placements, and the day-to-day judgement calls that go with it. You are a hands-on leader; strategic, organized, and energized by building a communications function in a fast-moving pre-launch environment.

What You Will Do

• Press Strategy & Senior Placements (in-house): Execute Level’s press strategy and execution including senior/national media placements. Make day-to-day calls on which stories and opportunities to pursue and personally drive them to placement.
• Agency Transition & In-House Build-Out: Execute the transition of PR ownership from Level's two current agency partners to an in-house model, absorbing their relationships, institutional knowledge, and functions.
• Press Operations: Run Level's day-to-day press function. This includes managing inbound media inquiries, considering and triaging inbound requests, drafting initial responses/holding lines, scheduling and prepping interviews, managing briefing docs, and coordinating spokespeople.
• Press Asset Development & Stewardship: Own and maintain Level's full press toolkit - fact sheets, FAQs, executive bios, boilerplate, product backgrounders, image and B-roll libraries, press kits, and the Level press page. Ensure assets are accurate, on-brand, and ready to deploy.
• Education Press Relationships: Build and maintain direct, senior-level relationships with reporters, editors, and producers covering K-12, edtech, learning sciences, and education policy at U.S. trade and national outlets.
• Internal Storymining & Narrative Development: Embed across product, research, partnerships, and marketing to surface story-worthy moments. These can include research findings, product milestones, partnership announcements, educator and student stories, shaping how they're framed and pitched.
• Editorial Calendar & Workflow: Own Level's rolling editorial calendar across PR moments, product launches/updates, marketing campaigns, and partnerships. Run weekly comms operations cadences with internal stakeholders.
• Spokesperson Management & Media Training: Prepare and brief Level spokespeople (other than the CEO and president) for interviews, panels, and conference appearances. Develop talking points, anticipate tough questions, run prep sessions, and advise on media strategy and positioning.
• Monitoring & Tooling Ownership: Own media monitoring, social listening, and competitive intelligence, evaluating and managing whatever tools or vendors are needed. Turn insights into actionable recommendations for the Director and Level leadership.
• Confidentiality & Information Governance: Steward sensitive pre-launch information, embargoes, and reactive scenarios day-to-day. Maintain strict confidentiality protocols across internal and external stakeholders,escalate high-stakes or reputationally sensitive calls to the Director of Communications.

Qualifications

Need to Have

• 10+ years of progressive experience in public relations or communications, including experience operating as the primary or sole owner of an organization’s earned media strategy.
• Demonstrated track record independently securing senior and national media placements.
• Experience transitioning a PR function from agency-led to in-house, or building an in-house PR function from the ground up, including standing up the relationships, tools, and processes an agency would otherwise provide.
• Demonstrated experience in the education space; K-12, edtech, education nonprofit or education policy, with established direct, senior-level relationships among education reporters, editors, and producers.
• Strong writing skills across formats including press releases, pitches, briefing docs, FAQs, talking points.
• Calm, organized presence under press pressure; comfortable serving as a senior point of contact for reporters and making judgment calls on inquiry flow against tight deadlines.
• Hands-on proficiency with media-monitoring and outreach tools and the ability to translate tool outputs into actionable recommendations.
• High judgment and discretion; comfortable holding embargoed and pre-launch information and advising leadership on sensitive scenarios.
• Comfortable operating in a pre-launch environment with strict confidentiality protocols.

Nice to Have

• Experience launching or managing PR for a kid-tech product, in a space with heightened scrutiny around child safety, privacy, and parent trust.
• Prior experience leading PR for a high-profile launch, brand reveal, or major announcement at a startup.
• Experience on the client side managing strategic communications agencies, including having led or supported a wind-down or in-sourcing of agency-owned work.
• Relationships with influencers and creators in the parenting, youth-tech, or education-creator space.
• Experience preparing executive spokespeople for interviews and conference appearances.
• Familiarity with podcast and broadcast-booking workflows.
• Working knowledge of education research, policy, or curriculum standards strong enough to translate technical content for general audiences and shape narrative.
• Experience building press infrastructure (e.g., press page, kits, databases) from scratch.
• Experience hiring, managing, or mentoring junior communications staff as a function scales.