Senior PR Manager - Retail banking (12 month FTC)
Hello, we’re Starling Group - a financial technology company on a mission to empower people and small business owners around the world to be good with money. In the UK, Starling’s award-winning, fully-licensed bank provides personal, business and joint current accounts to millions of customers. Internationally, Engine by Starling provides the Group’s proprietary technology platform to likeminded banks as a SaaS proposition. Headquartered in London, Starling has 12 offices around the world, including Southampton, Cardiff, Manchester and Fleet in its home market. We employ around 4,000 people and this role is for our London office.
We are seeking a passionate and driven PR lead to champion our retail banking proposition to people across the UK for a 12 month maternity leave cover. We're looking for a self-starter with a knack for consumer story telling, landing technical product stories, and leading integrated comms campaigns.
Are you a seasoned PR professional with at least 10+ years of experience, ready to take on a new challenge and make a real impact?
About the Role
As our PR lead, you will be the person for all things retail banking within the Group Corporate Affairs team. You’ll develop and execute a strategic communications programme that builds out our retail bank offering through a mix of consumer news generation, product launches and creative campaigns. You will be responsible for promoting Starling’s reputation as an innovative bank that helps people in the UK become good with money; support Starling’s commercial growth; and elevate the profile of our executives.
You’ll work closely with Starling’s marketing, product and leadership teams to generate high-impact earned media opportunities, and will demonstrate the tangible impact that earned media has on the Group’s reputation.
In this role, you'll:
- Lead the PR strategy for Starling's retail banking offering
- Develop and execute compelling PR campaigns that showcase the unique value proposition of our retail banking solutions.
- Manage the relationship with our consumer PR agency
- Lead on press launches for our retail banking division, delivering high impact coverage that showcases Starling’s product innovation
- Develop creative news generation and reactive media ideas, both with and without our PR agency
- Secure and manage speaking slots for Bank and Group spokespeople.
- Collaborate with internal teams, including product, marketing, and communications, to ensure a cohesive brand message.
- Stay at the forefront of industry trends and proactively identify opportunities to position Starling as a leader in the retail banking space
- Support Starling’s leadership team with high-level interviews, speaking engagements and personal social media content.
- Be part of a small, busy Corporate Affairs team, occasionally supporting on SME, Engine and corporate media relations work.
Requirements
What you'll bring:
- In-house or agency experience
- A strong track record of building and maintaining relationships with journalists, and picking up the phone rather than relying on email
- Experience in financial services, fintech, or another regulated industry (or a strong interest in banking/consumer finance)
- Experience managing senior spokespeople — briefing, prepping, and protecting executives in high-profile or reactive media moments
- Excellent writing skills and close attention to detail
You'll thrive here if you're:
- A quick thinker who's comfortable moving fast under pressure
- Organised and able to plan ahead, but equally happy improvising when news breaks
- Naturally curious, proactive, and not afraid to challenge or ask questions
- Energised by juggling multiple projects and stakeholders at once
Benefits
- 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
- An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
- Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
- 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
- Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
- Life insurance at 4x your salary
- Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
- Generous family-friendly policies
- Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
- Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships
About Us
You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.
We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.
Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we may process, where we may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.
As published by workable
First name, Last name, Email, Phone, Resume, Cover letter, As a regulated bank, we require our successful candidates to go through background checks (including but not limited to social media, employment references, fraud checks and criminal history). If we were to conduct these checks, is there anything you would like to flag for us to be aware of? If so, please provide details., Will you now, or in the future, require sponsorship to work in the UK?, Please confirm the current right to work document you hold, eg. British passport, settled status, ILR, Skilled Worker Visa (If visa, please confirm type and expiry):, Have you been convicted of any criminal offences that are not yet spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act?, In the last 5 years, have you had any CCJs, IVAs, bankruptcies or debt management plans? If yes, please provide received & settled dates & amounts., Have you been dismissed from any employment in the past five years, other than for reasons of ill-health or redundancy?, Have you previously worked for Starling Group (either directly employed or as a contractor/temporary worker)?, What are your salary expectations?, Please can you confirm your current location?, Do you need any reasonable adjustments for the recruitment process?, We want to make sure we're referring to you properly in your notes and interview communication so please tell us, what are your pronouns?, Where did you hear about this role?, If referred by a friend, please confirm their full name & employee ID:, Do you know anyone who works at (or is in the process of joining) Starling Group or Engine by Starling? (Please select all that apply), If you have answered yes, please provide their full names:, Have you worked for KPMG LLP or A&M Alansari Auditing at any point within the past 2 years, as a partner or as part of the audit engagement team for the audit of any Starling Group company?