Media Relations Associate (Remote)

Role Overview

This role sits at the center of GiveDirectly’s earned media efforts, combining hands-on pitching with the strategic cultivation of independent voices who can credibly champion cash transfers. Day to day, you will research and identify the right journalists, newsletter authors, podcasters, and public thinkers to target; craft pitches that genuinely earn attention; prep spokespeople; and manage the systems that track every outreach attempt from first contact to final placement. Beyond the immediate campaign work, you will also be the team’s internal expert on AI-powered workflows, building tools and automations that make the communications function faster, smarter, and more scalable.

Key Responsibilities

• Pitch GiveDirectly’s emergency cash response, research findings, and program innovations to both traditional outlets and nontraditional channels such as newsletters, podcasts, YouTube shows, and public intellectuals whose audiences align with donor targets.
• Develop and maintain lasting relationships with journalists, editors, producers, and surrogates, including coordinating media visits with in-country teams and ensuring spokespeople are prepared for interviews.
• Conduct reporter and outlet research during the prospecting phase, digging into each contact’s personal interests, editorial history, and audience so every pitch is tailored and relevant rather than generic.
• Monitor key media sources and newsletters on an ongoing basis, sharing regular roundups with the wider team and flagging timely opportunities for proactive outreach.
• Maintain the coverage tracking database in Airtable as a reliable source of truth, logging placements, updating statuses, and producing analysis that keeps senior leadership informed about pipeline progress.
• Keep the Salesforce outreach pipeline clean and current, ensuring outlets, reporters, and prospects are correctly entered, leads are not lost or stale, and stage updates are consistent.
• Own the team’s AI and automation toolkit—experimenting with emerging tools, building workflows that eliminate repetitive tasks, and piloting new processes with manager guidance to improve speed and output quality.
• Collaborate with the broader marketing team to package GiveDirectly’s work into editorially compelling story angles, tracking progress at every stage and proactively flagging risks or delays.

Requirements & Qualifications

• 2–5 years of experience in media relations, public relations, journalism, communications, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated skill at desk research—comfort synthesizing information from scattered or opaque sources to identify promising leads and opportunities.
• Strong familiarity with the U.S. media landscape, including both established outlets and newer content creators across newsletters, podcasts, and video platforms.
• Hands-on experience using AI tools for research, writing, and workflow automation, with a proactive attitude toward testing new technologies.
• Exceptional project management capabilities, proven by the ability to juggle multiple outreach campaigns, deadlines, and stakeholders without losing track of details.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, with a talent for being concise, intentional, and persuasive in every message.
• A journalist’s instinct for what makes a compelling story—knowing how to frame an idea so it feels like real news, not promotional noise.
• Comfort navigating systems like Airtable, Salesforce, and similar CRMs, and a preference for improving processes rather than simply following them.

What We Offer / Why Join

This is a rare opportunity to help shape a rapidly evolving role within a mission-driven organization. You will work directly with senior communications leadership, influence how high-impact cash transfer programs are covered in the press, and experiment with cutting-edge AI workflows that genuinely change how the team operates. The responsibilities are designed to grow with you—your input will define what the role looks like a year from now.