Press Assistant or Press Secretary – Senate Banking Committee Majority Staff

United States Senate; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

The United States Senate seeks a communications professional to support the Communications Director and help ensure a well-run press operation. This role spans digital to long-form writing and media relations to help the team work quickly and maintain consistent messaging.

Responsibilities include compiling daily news clips, maintaining press lists, drafting social media content and talking points, and monitoring media to strategically insert the Chairman’s voice.

Qualifications

• Clear and concise writer with ability to understand complex policy issues and translate them into everyday terms.
• Expeditionary spirit: proactive, good attitude, communicative, forward leaning, growth-oriented, and accountable.

Responsibilities

• Compile and send daily news clips for Chairman and committee.
• Maintain and cultivate press lists to identify reporters.
• Keep Master Talking Point Document and shared Communications folder up to date.
• Track media hits and op-ed placements to inform decisions.
• Draft social media content, press releases, and talking points.
• Monitor media and suggest opportunities to include the Chairman’s voice.
• Clip hearings, media hits, and speeches for social media and press.
• Create shareable graphics, videos, and other content.
• Update Senate Banking Committee website with press releases and relevant information.

Skills

Clear writing

Media relations

Social media

Research

Policy translation

Job description

The Senate Banking Committee seeks a communications professional to support the Communications Director and help ensure a successful, well-run press operation. This person supports functions from digital to long form writing to media relations so that the team can work at a quick pace and maintain consistent and targeted messaging.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

Support the Communications Team

• Compile and send daily news clips ensuring the Committee is aware of the media mentions of both the Chairman and the committee, as well as relevant news in the committee’s jurisdiction.
• Maintain and cultivate Press Lists to help the Communications Team identify the right reporters to reach out to.
• Help the Communications Team maintain consistent and targeted messaging by keeping the Master Talking Point Document and the shared Communications folder up to date.
• Keep account of any media hits and op-ed placement to help inform decision making on future media opportunities.
• Compile the communications portion of the fly-out binder for Senior Staff.

Support written messaging:

• Draft social media content, press releases, and talking points.
• Conduct research for op-eds and contribute to the generation and drafting of op-eds across issue areas.

Support press activities:

• Monitor media pertaining to the Committee’s priorities, helping the Communications Team strategize opportunities to include the Chairman’s voice or the committee’s perspective into relevant news stories.
• Assist in story aggregation by identifying reporters and outlets to pitch existing stories to.

Support hearing communications activities:

Support digital activities:

• Draft content for social media platforms with the goal of reaching appropriate and purposefully identified audiences.
• Monitor relevant issue-related content and stakeholders on social media to ensure the Communications Team is up to date on the latest conversations and help advise on whether inserting the Chairman’s voice into a particular news cycle on social media may be relevant.
• Clip all hearings, media hits, and speeches for use in social media and press releases.
• Create shareable graphics, videos, and other content.
• Update the Senate Banking Committee website, to include uploading press releases and ensuring all relevant information is correct.

Other duties in the communications space as assigned.

SKILLS:

• An expeditionary spirit: proactive, good attitude, communicative, forward leaning, growth-oriented, always searching for creative opportunities, helpful to teammates, owns up to mistakes, and is accountable.
• Clear and concise writer with ability to understand complex policy issues and translate them into everyday terms.