Director of Public Relations

Level•Austin, TX

About The Position

Level is seeking a Director of Public Relations to build and ultimately own our press function end-to-end, working in close partnership with the Director of Communications. Level currently contracts with two external PR agencies, and this hire is intended to bring that work in-house over time. The goal is to eliminate Level’s reliance on outside PR agencies entirely, and absorb the strategic narrative, senior media relationships, and placement work that agencies currently provide. You will direct Level’s press infrastructure and assets and manage the transition of our current agency engagements to an in-house function. You bring deep U.S. top tier and education-press relationships, relying on your independent editorial judgment to support Level’s launch and growth. You will own how Level’s narrative is executed through press and earned media, identifying reporters, shaping pitches, securing placements, and the day-to-day judgement calls that go with it. You are a hands-on leader; strategic, organized, and energized by building a communications function in a fast-moving pre-launch environment.

Requirements

10+ years of progressive experience in public relations or communications, including experience operating as the primary or sole owner of an organization’s earned media strategy.
Demonstrated track record independently securing senior and national media placements.
Experience transitioning a PR function from agency-led to in-house, or building an in-house PR function from the ground up, including standing up the relationships, tools, and processes an agency would otherwise provide.
Demonstrated experience in the education space; K-12, edtech, education nonprofit or education policy, with established direct, senior-level relationships among education reporters, editors, and producers.
Strong writing skills across formats including press releases, pitches, briefing docs, FAQs, talking points.
Calm, organized presence under press pressure; comfortable serving as a senior point of contact for reporters and making judgment calls on inquiry flow against tight deadlines.
Hands-on proficiency with media-monitoring and outreach tools and the ability to translate tool outputs into actionable recommendations.
High judgment and discretion; comfortable holding embargoed and pre-launch information and advising leadership on sensitive scenarios.
Comfortable operating in a pre-launch environment with strict confidentiality protocols.

Nice To Haves

Experience launching or managing PR for a kid-tech product, in a space with heightened scrutiny around child safety, privacy, and parent trust.
Prior experience leading PR for a high-profile launch, brand reveal, or major announcement at a startup.
Experience on the client side managing strategic communications agencies, including having led or supported a wind-down or in-sourcing of agency-owned work.
Relationships with influencers and creators in the parenting, youth-tech, or education-creator space.
Experience preparing executive spokespeople for interviews and conference appearances.
Familiarity with podcast and broadcast-booking workflows.
Working knowledge of education research, policy, or curriculum standards strong enough to translate technical content for general audiences and shape narrative.
Experience building press infrastructure (e.g., press page, kits, databases) from scratch.
Experience hiring, managing, or mentoring junior communications staff as a function scales.

Responsibilities

Execute Level’s press strategy and execution including senior/national media placements. Make day-to-day calls on which stories and opportunities to pursue and personally drive them to placement.
Execute the transition of PR ownership from Level’s two current agency partners to an in-house model, absorbing their relationships, institutional knowledge, and functions.
Run Level’s day-to-day press function. This includes managing inbound media inquiries, considering and triaging inbound requests, drafting initial responses/holding lines, scheduling and prepping interviews, managing briefing docs, and coordinating spokespeople.
Own and maintain Level’s full press toolkit — fact sheets, FAQs, executive bios, boilerplate, product backgrounders, image and B-roll libraries, press kits, and the Level press page. Ensure assets are accurate, on-brand, and ready to deploy.
Build and maintain direct, senior-level relationships with reporters, editors, and producers covering K-12, edtech, learning sciences, and education policy at U.S. trade and national outlets.
Embed across product, research, partnerships, and marketing to surface story-worthy moments. These can include research findings, product milestones, partnership announcements, educator and student stories, shaping how they’re framed and pitched.
Own Level’s rolling editorial calendar across PR moments, product launches/updates, marketing campaigns, and partnerships. Run weekly comms operations cadences with internal stakeholders.
Prepare and brief Level spokespeople (other than the CEO and president) for interviews, panels, and conference appearances. Develop talking points, anticipate tough questions, run prep sessions, and advise on media strategy and positioning.
Own media monitoring, social listening, and competitive intelligence, evaluating and managing whatever tools or vendors are needed. Turn insights into actionable recommendations for the Director and Level leadership.
Steward sensitive pre-launch information, embargoes, and reactive scenarios day-to-day. Maintain strict confidentiality protocols across internal and external stakeholders, escalate high-stakes or reputationally sensitive calls to the Director of Communications.