Media Relations Specialist – Junior

W2 Communications; Washington, Northern (District of Columbia, KY); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

W2 Communications is seeking a skilled Media Relations Specialist to support a government agency’s communications operations from the Washington, DC area. You will manage media presence across traditional and digital platforms, with onsite performance and potential hybrid flexibility based on contract.

Responsibilities include developing outreach plans, producing clips, analyzing coverage, and preparing media materials, with a focus on federal agency communications and cybersecurity press

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or related field or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 3 years in public and/or media relations; 1 year in technology-related B2G or government communications.
• Proven ability to craft, pitch, and place stories in external media outlets.
• Proficiency with media monitoring and analytics platforms (e.g., Critical Mention, Muck Rack).
• Strong writing skills for press releases, pitches, memos, talking points, and fact sheets.
• Ability to work efficiently in a fast-paced environment, both independently and with teams.
• Proactive work ethic with strong attention to detail.

Responsibilities

• Develop media engagement outreach plans for campaigns and events, including identifying outlets and reporters and crafting pitches.
• Produce media clips and analyze coverage to assess outreach effectiveness.
• Conduct weekly social media and topic analyses to support strategy and content development.
• Prepare monthly media analyses covering national highlights, audience trends, and regional insights.
• Assist in creating media kits, press releases, fact sheets, and media inquiries responses.
• Support local and regional media list development and maintenance.
• Maintain media databases and utilize monitoring tools like Critical Mention and Muck Rack.
• Support executive leadership with media training and strategic communications counsel.

Skills

Media relations

Press writing

Media analytics

Pitches & placements

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience in Communications/PR/Journalism

Tools

Critical Mention

Muck Rack

SharePoint

Job description

We are seeking a skilled and driven Media Relations Specialist to support communications operations for a government agency. In this role, you will work alongside a team of dedicated communications professionals to manage and advance the agency’s media presence across traditional and digital platforms.

This position is based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Candidates must be available for onsite work at agency facilities as required by the program. Flexibility for a hybrid schedule may be available depending on contract requirements.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop media engagement outreach plans for campaigns, announcements, and events, including identifying target media outlets and reporters and crafting media pitches and supporting products.
• Produce media clips and ad hoc analysis of print and online coverage to assess the effectiveness of agency outreach efforts.
• Conduct weekly social media analysis and ad hoc topic analysis to support the development of strategies, infographics, and content that enhances public awareness of the agency’s programs.
• Prepare monthly media analysis reports covering national media highlights, evolution of media coverage by audience size, social media engagement, outreach campaign rollups, regional highlights, top feature outlets, and national topic breakdowns.
• Assist in the preparation of media kits, press releases, fact sheets, and query responses for media inquiries or proactive outreach related to agency initiatives, programs, and services.
• Support the development and maintenance of local and regional media lists for targeted outreach activities.
• Maintain media database records and leverage industry-leading monitoring tools such as Critical Mention and Muck Rack.
• Support executive leadership with media training, briefing preparation, and strategic communications counsel.

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in public and/or media relations, with minimum 1 year of experience in technology-related B2G (business-to-government) or government agency communications. Knowledge of the cybersecurity press corps.
• Demonstrated experience crafting, pitching, and placing stories in external media outlets.
• Proficiency with media monitoring and analytics platforms (e.g., Critical Mention, Muck Rack).
• Strong writing skills, including press releases, media pitches, background memos, talking points, and fact sheets.
• Ability to work efficiently and accurately in a fast-paced environment, both independently and collaboratively.
• Proactive work ethic with strong attention to detail.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Prior experience supporting federal agency communications.
• SharePoint skills for database and records management.
• Background in coordinating regional media outreach programs.
• Experience with podcast outreach and emerging media formats.

Contract Contingency Notice: Employment in this position is contingent upon award of the applicable government contract. Candidates who receive a conditional offer of employment will be notified of final hiring decisions following contract award.