Sr. Public Relations Specialist

Job Description

Job Description

Sequoia Financial Group is a growing Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), headquartered in Northeast Ohio, offering financial planning and wealth management services. At Sequoia, we exist with a singular purpose: to enrich lives. Our values define how we behave and guide us through the pursuit of our purpose to enrich lives. At Sequoia, our core values are:

• Integrity. We act in the best interests of others by providing an honest, consistent experience for our clients and team. 
• Passion . We pursue our full potential, seeking to continually enhance and evolve our ability to serve our clients and team.
• Teamwork.  We subordinate our egos to work together for the benefit of our clients. 

Our promise to team members is that you will grow with us. From experienced advisors to new college grads to transitioning principals, every team member will find Sequoia a place to refine their professional mission, move into new opportunities, go deeper, and lead further. We are built to help you build a career here as a long-term contributor in our work to enrich lives for generations.Position Summary

The Sr. PR Specialist will contribute meaningfully to Sequoia’s strategic marketing and communications plans by elevating our brand, sustaining trust in the firm, and supporting our growth goals. The Sr. PR Specialist will execute on an annual PR and media plan, working closely with our outside consultant. This role is responsible for helping the firm to earn positive media coverage through proactive and responsive communications. The specialist will also support executives, subject matter experts, and other team members in media engagements as well as with public remarks and presentations.

This role requires strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills, an experienced understanding of public relations strategies, the ability to work closely with firm leadership, and collaborate across internal teams. 

Responsibilities

• Develops and implements a comprehensive public relations plan that is both proactive and opportunistic and aligned with Sequoia’s business objectives.
• Drafts and distributes media pitches, press releases, and articles to key contacts in consumer and trade media outlets. 
• Builds and sustains relationships with journalists, content creators, and industry professionals.
• Provides timely responses to media inquiries and coordinates media interviews.
• Provides pre-interview guidance to subject matter experts that is aligned with business objectives and upholds key compliance considerations. 
• Coordinates and/or provides media training for applicable Sequoia team members.
• Identifies and activates opportunities for thought leadership, speaking engagements, and industry recognition; manages submissions for award and accolade programs and industry surveys.
• Serves as the Marketing & Communications liaison to the Sequoia Financial Foundation board, writing content and coordinating the execution of internal and external communication plans.
• Monitors media coverage and prepares reports for executives and key stakeholders.
• Creates content that is clear, engaging, and compliant for websites, newsletters, email campaigns, social media, video scripts, presentations, webinars, events, marketing collateral, and white papers. 
• Tracks sponsorship engagements and facilitates the delivery of materials; represents Marketing & Communications in community engagements as needed.
• Along with department leadership, represents the Marketing & Communications team as needed for crisis communications and business contingency planning.
• Commits to continuous learning about the RIA service model and Sequoia’s value proposition to best articulate the firm’s offering and financial planning concepts in written materials. 
• Represents the Marketing & Communications team with professionalism, extending the highest standards of service.

Required Skills/Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, public relations, journalism, or a related discipline.
• 7+ years of experience as part of an agency or in-house marketing team. 
• Proven success writing effective marketing and communication materials and securing media coverage.
• Track record of successfully supporting and engaging with executives.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills. 
• Background with a media database and monitoring platform such as Cision.
• Champion for AP Style.
  
  REQUIRED ~ All candidates must submit at least three writing samples or provide access to an online portfolio and be able to demonstrate a commitment to Sequoia’s core values of integrity, teamwork and passion. 

Preferred Skills/Experience

• Financial services industry or highly regulated industry experience is preferred
• Working knowledge of CRM and CMS platforms (e.g., Salesforce, WordPress, Asana, Slack)

Competencies

• Highly organized and detail-oriented. 
• Strategic thinker.
• Motivated and able to work with minimal supervision.
• Self-starter with proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Collaborates well on a team.
• Ability to effectively time manage. 
• Solution-oriented mindset. 

Work Authorization & Sponsorship:
Applicants must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis without requiring employer sponsorship to commence or continue employment at any point in time. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide sponsorship.

EEO Statement:
At Sequoia, we value and respect differences in our workforce. We actively encourage everyone to apply. Sequoia is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

Working Conditions:
Frequent minimal physical effort such as sitting, prolonged periods working on a computer, standing and walking is required for this role. Depending on location, occasional moving and lifting light equipment and/or furniture may be required. This role may require occasional travel, including travel to client sites, company offices, or industry events, as needed.

Employer Rights:
This job description does not list all of the job duties of the job. You may be asked by your supervisors or managers to perform other duties. You may be evaluated in part based upon your performance of the tasks listed in this job description. The employer has the right to revise this job description at any time. This job description is not a contract for employment and either you or the employer may terminate your employment at any time for any reason.