Public Relations Manager - Brand Reputation

Seattle

Marketing – Public Relations /Full-Time/ Hybrid

Who we are: 

Want to make an impact? Join our pack and come work (and play!) with us.

We believe everyone deserves the unconditional love of a pet—and at Rover, our mission is to make it easier to experience that love. Founded in 2011, the Rover app and website connect dog and cat parents with loving pet sitters and dog walkers in neighborhoods across the US, Canada, and Europe. We empower our community of trusted pet sitters and dog walkers to run their own pet care businesses on Rover with the tools and security of a global company to back them.

Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, we work closely with our teams in Barcelona, London, San Antonio, Spokane and remote locations. We’ve got a reputation for being a great place to work, having been named among the 100 Best Companies to Work For in Seattle Business Magazine and Washington’s Best Workplaces in the Puget Sound Business Journal. We're an agile, fast-growing company, and our leadership comes from some of the world's most respected tech companies. 

At Rover, our furry coworkers are just as important as our human ones—and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Along with making the joys of pet parenthood more accessible, we’re committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and welcoming community of pet people—and that starts with our employees.

Who we're looking for:

Rover is seeking a Communications/PR Manager (Brand Reputation) to join our PR & Brand Reputation team, focusing on building and protecting trust. We’re looking for a public relations professional who can drive high-visibility communications for various trust-related communications opportunities. At Rover, continually earning the trust of our community is a top priority and this role will play an integral part in nurturing and building that trust.

Reporting into our Senior Brand Reputation Manager, this role will be a driving force in developing and managing external and internal trust and safety campaigns. This is an opportunity to build and drive a trust-based PR program for a rapidly growing brand. Successful candidates are fulfilled by both rolling up their sleeves, getting in the weeds, talking to reporters, writing messages for a variety of audiences—and also stepping away from the day-to-day to brainstorm and develop compelling strategies, or bring together senior leaders to drive alignment against cross-functional programs.

The right candidate has excellent media relations skills including handling sensitive and escalated issues, can drive alignment across teams and collaborate effectively, has a proven track record supporting high-visibility initiatives, and is passionate about pet care and the Rover brand. Experience working closely with customer support/operations teams will also be key to success. As part of the role, you will develop and execute proactive communications strategies and shape cross-channel programs to build customer and consumer trust and drive Rover’s external responses to complex issues and escalations as well as work across the organization

Responsibilities:

• Develop and manage media relations programs that authentically tell Rover’s brand story and build trust among customers and consumers
• Collaborate and drive cross-team alignment on internal policies
• Create and manage communication plans
• Develop and support customer and/or social media response policies and frameworks, including templates and best practices
• Work directly with reporters on high-stakes projects
• Assist in managing and addressing incoming media queries
• Investigate issues and drive alignment across teams
• Act as a crucial steward of Rover’s brand story
• Support communication plans for high-profile announcements
• Partner closely with the customer support team on policies and issues in service of excellent customer experiences

Your Qualifications:

• 5+ years of public relations experience
• Bachelor's degree or higher
• A track record of successfully managing high-stakes issues and associated media relations
• Experience being an “on the record” spokesperson
• Skilled at crafting public statements. Excellent communication (written and verbal) skills.
• Demonstrates excellent judgment and situational management during high-visibility, high-pressure, and fast-moving crises.
• Exceptional level of integrity and empathy, and the ability to maintain the confidentiality of highly sensitive material
• Skilled at aligning cross-functional stakeholders against key decisions, including internal and agency partners 
• Experience managing external agency support
• Research skills including gathering background, and contextualizing complex situations, often at a rapid pace
• Experience applying best practices related to issues management
• Can quickly synthesize complex information
• Can skillfully navigate complex high-stakes media issues
• Some project and/or program management experience
• High degree of accuracy and attention to detail
• Excellent multi-tasking skills and ability to set own priorities

Compensation:

• In the greater Seattle area the first-year salary range is $91,485-117,902. Additionally, Rover offers equity (RSU’s) and benefits to full-time employees.
• The cash compensation offered for this role will be dependent on the candidate's experience, qualifications, skills, and abilities as demonstrated in the interview and hiring process.

Benefits of Working at Rover.com

• Competitive compensation
• 401k
• Company equity
• Flexible PTO
• Competitive benefits package, including medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Bring your dog to work (and unlimited puppy time)
• Doggy benefits, including $1000 toward adopting your first dog
• Stocked fridges, coffee, soda, and lots of treats (for humans and dogs) and free catered lunches semi-monthly 
• Regular team activities performed in-person and virtually

Rover is an equal opportunity employer committed to promoting a diverse, inclusive and inventive environment with the best employees. We’re driven by seeing our people succeed and grow, and we work to ensure everyone contributes to their fullest potential. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to age, race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, disability, protected veteran status, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or any other protected status in accordance with applicable laws, regulations and ordinances.

We are committed to work with you to look for reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us to request accommodation.