Director of Public Relations

Natural Grocers•Lakewood, CO

7d•$115,000 - $135,000

About The Position

The Director of Public Relations is responsible for shaping, protecting and strengthening the public reputation of Natural Grocers (the Company). The position supports Company growth by developing and executing public relations, media relations and community engagement initiatives that increase brand awareness, reinforce the Company’s Five Founding Principles and drive customer engagement in new and existing markets. The Director serves as a trusted communications adviser to senior leadership and helps ensure that internal and external communications are accurate, compelling, consistent and aligned with the Company’s objectives.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, public relations, journalism, communications or a related field required.
Minimum of 8 years of progressive experience in public relations, corporate communications or a related field within a complex, rapidly changing business environment, or equivalent agency experience.
Experience developing and executing public relations and media relations strategies across local, regional, national and trade media.
Experience serving as a Company spokesperson and preparing senior leaders and subject-matter experts for media interviews.
Experience planning and executing media, executive, community and public-facing events.
Demonstrated ability to collaborate effectively with executive leadership and cross-functional partners, including Finance, Legal, Human Resources, Operations, Purchasing and Marketing.
Ability to lead multiple complex projects independently, establish priorities and take initiative in an environment with changing deadlines and competing demands.
Strong organizational, project management and attention-to-detail skills.
Ability to respond effectively to emerging issues, shifting priorities and opportunities while exercising sound judgment under pressure.
Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with media, community partners, shareholders and employees.
Experience using Microsoft Office applications and public relations and content management systems.
Ability to travel up to 20% as required.

Nice To Haves

Experience with social media platforms and integrated communications campaigns preferred.

Responsibilities

Develops and leads Natural Grocers’ public relations strategy to strengthen the Company’s reputation, increase brand awareness and support business growth.
Writes, edits and oversees compelling, on-brand communications, including press releases, fact sheets, presentations, bylined articles, speeches, talking points, quarterly reports and other internal and external materials.
Ensures all public relations content reflects a consistent Company voice and aligns with marketing strategies, the Company’s mission and the Five Founding Principles.
Develops proactive media relations strategies and identifies local, regional, national and trade media opportunities for existing and new store markets.
Builds and maintains productive relationships with reporters, editors, producers and other media professionals across business, consumer and trade outlets.
Serves as a Company spokesperson and prepares senior leaders, subject-matter experts and other representatives for media interviews and public-facing opportunities.
Counsels senior leaders and functional managers on public relations, media relations, public affairs and reputation management.
Trains and develops employees to create accurate, engaging and on-brand content and effectively represent Natural Grocers in media and community settings.
Under the guidance of Legal, leads issue management and crisis communications planning, preparedness and response, including developing messaging and supporting the Customer Service team with high-profile or sensitive matters.
Collaborates with Purchasing, Operations, the Nutritional Education Department (NED), Legal and other departments to develop accurate, appropriate and responsive content for media interviews and public communications.
Collaborates with Recruiting and New Store Operations to develop and execute public relations and community engagement activities for grand openings, store relocations and remodels, including advance outreach to media and community stakeholders in future store markets.
Travels to store grand opens, leads the VIP parties and invites guests, government officials and builds hype.
Plans, coordinates and hosts public relations activities for grand openings and other Company events, including VIP events, ribbon-cutting ceremonies and donation presentations, and represents the Company at those events.
Serves as a communications liaison for new vendors and products to support Company messaging, media outreach and increased awareness.
Oversees the Natural Grocers Brand Product Media Samples Program in alignment with new product launches and the annual marketing calendar.
Oversees designated national and local partnerships, and evaluates additional partnership and sponsorship opportunities for alignment with Company values and objectives.
Works with Legal and other internal stakeholders to monitor Company donation programs, identify opportunities to improve donor impact and support compliance.
Coordinates with the Finance Team to reconcile national fundraisers and Company donations and help ensure financial accuracy and compliance.
Develops and supports corporate responsibility communications and provides investor relations communications support as needed.
Conceptualizes, creates, edits and delivers communications and marketing materials for assigned projects and initiatives.
Coordinates initiatives with social media, Marketing Creative, Marketing Production, the Nutritional Education Department, store leadership and community partners to deliver quality content that supports corporate objectives.
Manages the execution of promotional activities, events and communications projects, including project scope, schedules, budgets, approvals and deliverables.
Tracks project progress, communicates status updates and identifies changes that could affect scope, schedule, budget or delivery.
Measures the results of public relations campaigns and applies key findings to improve future strategies, outreach and execution.
Helps position Natural Grocers as a trusted leader in natural and organic grocery retailing, organic farming standards and practices, nutrition education and environmentally responsible business practices.
Although this is a general outline of job responsibilities, all employees are expected to be “hands-on” and do whatever it takes to get the job done and make the Company thrive.