Public Relations Specialist

Kimberly-Clark; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Kimberly-Clark is seeking a proactive Public Relations Specialist to support day-to-day PR operations for North America brands, including media outreach, spokesperson planning, and crisis management. The role emphasizes collaboration with cross-functional teams to protect and grow brand reputation across traditional and digital channels.

Ideal candidates will have 5+ years in PR agency roles, strong media relations skills, and familiarity with AI-driven discovery.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in public relations, communications, journalism, marketing, or related field.
• 5+ years of public relations agency experience.
• Strong understanding of media relations, earned media strategy, and reputation management.
• Familiarity with celebrity, influencer, talent or ambassador partnerships.
• Emerging AI search environments and content discoverability knowledge.
• Proficiency with media monitoring and reporting tools.
• Excellent written, verbal, and organizational skills.

Responsibilities

• Support day-to-day PR operations across North America brands including media relations and spokesperson strategy.
• Assist with crisis and risk mitigation planning and stakeholder engagement.
• Coordinate media relations activities, interview logistics, and events.
• Monitor media and online conversations to identify risks and opportunities.
• Analyze and report earned media, campaign performance, and AI visibility metrics.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to optimize brand visibility across platforms.
• Assist with agency/vendor coordination and campaign logistics.

Skills

Media relations

Spokesperson strategy

Crisis management

AI search visibility

Media monitoring tools

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher in PR/communications/marketing

Tools

Media monitoring software

Job description

Join the team behind iconic brands like Huggies®, Kleenex®, Cottonelle®, Scott®, Kotex®, Poise®, Depend®, and Kimberly-Clark Professional® At Kimberly-Clark, it’s all here for you—innovation, growth, and the chance to make a real impact.

You’re not the person who will settle for just any role. Neither are we. Because we’re out to create Better Care for a Better World, and that takes a certain kind of person and teams who care about making a difference. Here, you’ll bring your professional expertise, talent, and drive to building and managing our portfolio of iconic, ground-breaking brands. In this role, you’ll help us deliver better care for billions of people around the world. It starts with YOU.

About You

In one of our professional roles, you’ll focus on winning with consumers and the market, while putting safety, mutual respect, and human dignity at the center. Job responsibilities include:

We are seeking a proactive, detail-oriented Public Relations Specialist to support day-to-day PR operations across our North America brands including but not limited to: media relations and spokesperson strategy and management, crisis and risk mitigation planning, emerging communications strategies focused on LLM optimization and AI search visibility.

This role is ideal for a self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced environment, can manage multiple projects simultaneously, and understands how traditional PR, digital visibility, and stakeholder engagement work together to shape brand perception. The specialist will provide critical support across media outreach, strategy and execution, issues management and risk mitigation, spokesperson partnership strategy and management, content optimization, monitoring and performance reporting.

Key Responsibilities

• Support execution of integrated communications programs that drive brand awareness, product storytelling, and corporate reputation.
• Develop and review media materials, including pitches, briefing documents, fact sheets, press releases, Q&As, and spokesperson content.
• Monitor media, social channels, online conversations, AI-generated search results, and emerging issues to identify risks and opportunities.
• Coordinate media relations activities, including interview logistics, press inquiries, and events.
• Track, analyze, and report on earned media, campaign performance, reputation trends, celebrity engagements, and AI visibility metrics.
• Support issues management and crisis response through development of holding statements, stakeholder communications, and response materials.
• Partner with digital, content, and cross-functional teams to optimize brand visibility across traditional, search, and AI-powered discovery platforms.
• Manage communications operations, including agency/vendor coordination, contract support, campaign logistics, reporting, and process documentation.

To succeed in this role, you will need the following qualifications:

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in public relations, communications, journalism, marketing, or related field.
• 5+ years of public relations agency experience.
• Strong understanding of media relations, earned media strategy, and reputation management.
• Familiarity with celebrity, influencer, talent or ambassador partnerships.
• Understanding of emerging AI search environments, content discoverability, and LLM optimization principles.
• Proficiency with media monitoring and reporting tools.
• Exceptional written, verbal, and organizational skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities with strong attention to detail.
• Experience working with multiple stakeholders, agency partners, and cross-functional teams.

Led by Purpose. Driven by You.

Total Benefits

We believe that our employees are our greatest asset, and we're committed to providing them with the resources they need to be successful. If you're looking for a rewarding career with a company that cares about its employees, then Kimberly-Clark is the place for you.

Here are just a few of the benefits you’d enjoy working in this role for Kimberly-Clark. For a complete overview, see www.mykcbenefits.com

Flex That Works at Kimberly-Clark

We believe great work happens when people come together with purpose. That’s why we offer a flexible work model that blends remote work with intentional in-person collaboration — helping you connect, grow, and innovate while maintaining the balance you value.

And finally, the fine print….

For Kimberly-Clark to grow and prosper, we must be an inclusive organization that applies the diverse experiences and passions of its team members to brands that make life better for people all around the world, which is why we seek to build a workforce that encompassesthe experiences of our consumers.When you bring your original thinking to Kimberly-Clark, you fuel the continued success of our enterprise. We are a committed equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, pregnancy, genetic information, citizenship status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The statements above are intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed by employees assigned to this classification. Statements are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities and skills required for this position.

Employment is subject to verification of local policies.

Employment is subject to verification of pre-screening tests which may include drug screening, background check, and DMV check.

Veterans and members of the Reserve and Guard are highly encouraged to apply.

This role is available for local candidates already authorized to work in the role’s country only. Kimberly-Clark will not provide relocation support for this role.

#LI-Hybrid

Grade 10, grade level and / or compensation may vary based on location/country