Consultant, Media Relations

Founded in ‎1984, APCO Worldwide is an award-winning, independently owned
global communication and business strategy firm with offices in major cities
throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. APCO
combines a global perspective with local expertise to help clients around the
world manage challenges, opportunities, perceptions and reputations. APCO
clients include corporations and governments; industry associations and
nonprofit organizations; and six of the top ‎10 companies on the Fortune ‎500.
The firm is a majority women-owned business.
The Media Relations Consultant role is to manage media relations, draft media
plans for one of APCO's largest clients in Saudi by crafting and implementing
media engagement plan to maximize media coverage of client's project.
Primary Duties and Responsibilities
* Develop a network of high-level professional contacts within the local, regional GCC media, along with specific niche media contacts in areas of clear relevance to the client.
* Maintain industry/ media contacts to remain informed of industry activity and trends on local, regional levels
* Assist with the development and implementation of client's media communications strategies and advise on the best means to achieve maximum positive coverage.
* Draft and compare media plans for a variety of clients including local and regional ones
* Provide guidance on relevance of media outlets to client and resulting exposure, viewing/reading figures they can expect from different media outlets.
* Draft media Q&As/talking points for client spokespeople - in English and/or Arabic.
* Respond rapidly to, and deal effectively with, enquiries from the media and other opinion formers.
* Advise Account Directors and/or Account Managers of media issues and on the best means of handling them.
* Develop and maintain contacts with PR departments of key entities related to the client such as Government entities
* Evaluate client's media coverage and advise client teams accordingly.
* Ensure the timely and effective dissemination of media communications, including press releases, statements, invitations, fact sheets and other client approved media related material, to target media audiences.
* Ensure Arabic and English press releases are aligned prior to dissemination.
* Follow up on dissemination of media releases to ensure stories are picked up.
* Produce monthly media coverage reports, annual press coverage report and specific press coverage reports for news releases - as advised by client.
* Attend meetings with the client
* Invite and manage media before, during and after client events.
AD-Hocks Assignment/reports:
As per the Direct Supervisor's requests
Competencies
* Media Relation skills: Established relationships with key local, regional, and international media
* Team Work Skills
* Excellent Communication skills
* Organization skills
* Initiative skills
Requirements
* Bachelor's degree in Arts/Media/Communications/Journalism
* A minimum of ‎3 years of relevant experience
* Fluency in Arabic and English - spoken and written
* Relationship with Tier ‎1 Media locally and in in the GCC
Work Conditions
* The physical abilities needed to perform the duties of this position, in addition to the office climate:
* Office environment is general office setting
* Must reside in Riyadh or be willing to relocate
* Willing to work additional or irregular hours as needed and allowed by local regulations
About APCO in the Middle East and North Africa
Home to some of the fastest growing economies in the world, the Middle East
and North Africa region has a pivotal role to play in driving global
conversations - from environmental policies to religion and pop culture. The
UAE and Saudi Arabia are clear leaders in this equation, although the wave of
innovation continues to transcend borders.
APCO launched its regional operations in ‎2006 in Dubai. Growing from a team of
less than ‎10 consultants, APCO today has over ‎200 people from ‎26 countries
working in teams across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, Manama and Kuwait and our
projects take us to countries across the region and the Levant. APCO was
awarded Best Agency in the Middle East by PRWeek in ‎2019 and Best Agency to
Work for: EMEA Network by PRovoke Media in ‎2017 and ‎2019.
With a portfolio of over ‎100 clients, APCO's MENA offices deliver public
relations and digital communication support across health, food, consumer &
retail, finance, technology, real estate & hospitality, non-profit and public
affairs practices. The region also offers specialized services, created for
the Middle East, such as our Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model and our
Compass and License to Operate offerings.
In addition, APCO's global AI Comms Lab, a first-of-its-kind innovation center
which utilizes artificial intelligence to build and protect the reputations of
major global brands, governments and organizations is driven from the Dubai
office.
From helping governments connect with the private sector and civil society, to
supporting the Pope's historic visit to the region and launching iconic brands
and destinations, we understand the nuances of the MENA region and pride
ourselves on making an impact.