Director of Public Relations

Guaranteed Rate • Chicago, IL

12h

About The Position

Rate is looking for a Director of Public Relations to shape and scale our external communications strategy across business, industry, consumer, and executive channels. In this highly visible role, you will be responsible for how Rate shows up in the world: from national business and trade media to consumer-facing stories that build brand trust, relevance, and awareness. You will help define the company’s earned media strategy, elevate our leadership team, protect our reputation, and identify the stories that make Rate stand out across mortgage, fintech, real estate, homeownership, wellness and culture. This role requires a strategic communicator who can move seamlessly between corporate reputation, executive visibility, industry thought leadership, product storytelling, and consumer PR. The right person knows how to land meaningful coverage, translate complex business priorities into compelling narratives, and build strong relationships with journalists, internal partners, executives, and agency teams. If you are a sharp storyteller, thoughtful media strategist, and trusted communications advisor who knows how to build momentum in a fast-moving business, this is your seat at the table.

Requirements

• 8+ years of progressive public relations, corporate communications, or integrated communications experience, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Demonstrated success securing meaningful coverage across national business, consumer, trade, industry, lifestyle, and/or wellness-adjacent media.
• Experience managing both corporate/business press and consumer-facing media strategies.
• Experience in financial services, mortgage, fintech, real estate, personal finance, technology, consumer brands, wellness, or another highly regulated or complex industry is a strong plus.
• Proven ability to develop and execute executive communications, thought leadership, and media visibility programs.
• Strong understanding of how earned media supports brand trust, consumer relevance, executive authority, reputation, recruiting, and business growth.
• Ability to translate complex business, financial, product, industry, or brand information into clear, compelling stories for different audiences.
• Established media relationships across business, trade, real estate, fintech, personal finance, lifestyle, consumer, wellness, and/or national media.
• Strong crisis communications and issues management experience; you stay calm, move quickly, and communicate clearly when it matters most.
• Exceptional writer and storyteller with sharp editorial instincts, strong judgment, and the ability to identify what is newsworthy, what is brand-building, and what requires restraint.
• Experience advising senior executives and preparing leaders for interviews, speaking opportunities, presentations, and reputation-sensitive moments.
• Experience managing agencies, vendors, budgets, timelines, and cross-functional internal teams.
• Strong collaboration skills with the ability to work effectively across Marketing, Legal, Compliance, Product, Social, Brand, Recruiting, and Executive Leadership.
• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute an integrated public relations strategy aligned with Rate’s business objectives, brand identity, and growth priorities.
• Build distinct earned media strategies across corporate reputation, business press, trade media, consumer PR, product storytelling, executive visibility, wellness initiatives, and industry leadership.
• Identify and package compelling stories across the business, including product innovation, homeownership, customer experience, community impact, company culture, wellness initiatives, partnerships, market trends, and leadership perspectives.
• Build and manage relationships with top-tier journalists, editors, producers, and media outlets across national business, financial services, real estate, fintech, mortgage, personal finance, lifestyle, consumer, wellness, and trade media.
• Drive executive visibility for Rate’s leadership team through thought leadership programs, media placements, speaking opportunities, awards, contributed content, and timely commentary.
• Own external messaging frameworks, media narratives, press materials, executive talking points, briefing documents, reactive statements, and communications guidance.
• Lead proactive media strategy, including trend commentary, data-driven storylines, executive POVs, product narratives, consumer insights, wellness-adjacent brand stories, and timely responses to relevant industry and cultural moments.
• Manage all aspects of proactive and reactive media relations, including media outreach, interview preparation, inbound press inquiries, issues management, and crisis communications.
• Lead reputation management efforts, including media monitoring, scenario planning, response strategy, cross-functional alignment, and executive counsel.
• Partner closely with Marketing, Brand, Social, Product, Growth, Recruiting, Legal, Compliance, and Executive Leadership to align earned media with company priorities, campaigns, product launches, milestones, wellness initiatives, and reputation-sensitive moments.
• Collaborate with Legal and Compliance to ensure all external communications meet regulatory requirements and reflect appropriate business, consumer, and industry context.
• Oversee PR agency relationships, including strategy, execution, budgets, timelines, deliverables, and performance expectations.
• Monitor the media landscape, competitor coverage, industry trends, consumer conversations, wellness and lifestyle conversations, and cultural shifts to identify opportunities and bring actionable recommendations to senior leadership.
• Define and report on PR performance, including quality of coverage, sentiment, message pull-through, share of voice, executive visibility, media relationships, and contribution to broader brand and business goals.
• Partner with internal communications teams or stakeholders to ensure major company news, executive narratives, wellness-related initiatives, and external media moments are clearly communicated across the organization.

Benefits

• eligibility to participate in a company-sponsored 401(k)
• vacation benefits
• eligibility for medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug benefits
• flexible benefits (e.g., healthcare and/or dependent day care flexible spending accounts)
• life insurance and death benefits
• critical care insurance
• personal accidental insurance
• commuter benefits
• pet insurance
• certain time off and leave of absence benefits
• well-being benefits (e.g., employee assistance program)
• other supplemental benefits (e.g. legal planning assistance; identity theft protection; pet insurance; wellness resources)

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director