Public Relations Specialist Jobs
Public Relations Specialist jobs are open across corporate, nonprofit, government, healthcare, and agency sectors, from entry-level coordinator roles to senior director positions, with specializations in media relations, crisis communications, and executive communications. Find a role that fits from the openings below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 351+ Public Relations Specialist jobs
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Requisition ID
req1160
Type of Employment
Regular Full-Time Employee
|
Job Openings
1
Compensation Range
199,000.00 - 243,000.00
|
Compensation Type
Annual Salary
Founded in 1866, San Jose Water Company is an investor owned water company headquartered in Silicon Valley. With a service area of 140 square miles, it is one of the largest and most technically sophisticated urban water system in the United States. We serve over 1 million people with high quality, life sustaining water, with an emphasis on exceptional customer service.
We are actively seeking talented, driven and highly-productive applicants for the position of Director, Government Relations and Public Affairs to join our dynamic team. We offer a challenging and rewarding work environment along with a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package.
Position Overview: The Director, Government Relations and Public Affairs will serve as the President's strategic bridge and advisor across the Company's departments to ensure the Company is best positioned with all relevant public agencies and to advance the Company's standing in the public arena with its public constituencies.
The role supports the President's effort to oversee all aspects of the Company's strategy, advocacy, funding, regulatory clearance, coalitions, communications, and community engagement — as one integrated effort rather than running any single department.
Core Responsibilities
1. Develop Strategic Annual Plans
- Translate the Company's operating and business priorities into a prioritized government agenda, ranked by impact, urgency, feasibility, and return, drawing the facts behind each position from the legal, finance, engineering, operations, and communications teams.
- Develop the path for each priority — legislation, regulation, funding, coalition, or local action — on an annual basis with the President and external consultants.
- Monitor legislation, regulations, budgets, agendas, hearings, and the Company's key relationships, ensuring a deep understanding of the agencies and public officials impacting the Company's initiatives.
- Identify and surface emerging risks, alerting leadership when proactive action is needed.
2. Advocacy, Government Relationships, and Coalitions
- Build and sustain the relationships that carry the Company’s standing with officials, agencies, regulators, and relevant government agencies.
- Educate officials on the Company's operations and public benefit, secure support for target legislation, funding, and permits, and oppose or amend what threatens its operations, finances, or community standing.
- Mobilize third-party support: recruit aligned cities, counties, agencies, business, labor, environmental, and community partners into coalitions, joint letters, and project tours, and address opponents early.
- Identify public funding matched to the Company’s capital, infrastructure, and program needs, and package each project around need, cost, public benefit, urgency, and readiness.
3. Regulatory and Permitting
- Identify and define the legal, regulatory, and permitting barriers to project delivery, working with legal and technical staff.
- Develop and run a strategy to clear each — approval, faster timeline, clearer requirements, or a rule change — engaging agencies early to prevent surprises.
- Escalate when agency delay or ambiguity threatens delivery.
4. Communications, Community, and Public Affairs
- Convert technical engineering and operational detail into plain-language policy narrative, produce the materials that carry it — fact sheets, briefing papers, talking points, testimony, executive summaries — and match each issue to the right messenger and vehicle.
- Coordinate the Company's community engagement, charitable giving, and sponsorships as part of its civic footprint as well as its government relations efforts.
- Direct the public relations and earned-media efforts that build the Company’s public standing and reinforce its advocacy.
Essential capabilities
- Strong political judgment including the discipline to know how to engage on the Company’s behalf at the right time at the right place.
- Command of legislative, regulatory, budget, and agency processes.
- Ability to translate technical infrastructure and operational detail into policy argument and government relations action plans.
- Credibility with officials and agencies, and the instinct to build the relationships behind it.
- Experience with public communications and community relations.
- Excellent writing and communications skills.
- Capacity to run many issues, stakeholders, and timelines at once across internal departments and senior leadership.
EEO Statement
Our company provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.
|
Requisition ID
req1160
Type of Employment
Regular Full-Time Employee
|
Job Openings
1
Compensation Range
199,000.00 - 243,000.00
|
Compensation Type
Annual Salary
Founded in 1866, San Jose Water Company is an investor owned water company headquartered in Silicon Valley. With a service area of 140 square miles, it is one of the largest and most technically sophisticated urban water system in the United States. We serve over 1 million people with high quality, life sustaining water, with an emphasis on exceptional customer service.
We are actively seeking talented, driven and highly-productive applicants for the position of Director, Government Relations and Public Affairs to join our dynamic team. We offer a challenging and rewarding work environment along with a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package.
Position Overview: The Director, Government Relations and Public Affairs will serve as the President's strategic bridge and advisor across the Company's departments to ensure the Company is best positioned with all relevant public agencies and to advance the Company's standing in the public arena with its public constituencies.
The role supports the President's effort to oversee all aspects of the Company's strategy, advocacy, funding, regulatory clearance, coalitions, communications, and community engagement — as one integrated effort rather than running any single department.
Core Responsibilities
1. Develop Strategic Annual Plans
- Translate the Company's operating and business priorities into a prioritized government agenda, ranked by impact, urgency, feasibility, and return, drawing the facts behind each position from the legal, finance, engineering, operations, and communications teams.
- Develop the path for each priority — legislation, regulation, funding, coalition, or local action — on an annual basis with the President and external consultants.
- Monitor legislation, regulations, budgets, agendas, hearings, and the Company's key relationships, ensuring a deep understanding of the agencies and public officials impacting the Company's initiatives.
- Identify and surface emerging risks, alerting leadership when proactive action is needed.
2. Advocacy, Government Relationships, and Coalitions
- Build and sustain the relationships that carry the Company’s standing with officials, agencies, regulators, and relevant government agencies.
- Educate officials on the Company's operations and public benefit, secure support for target legislation, funding, and permits, and oppose or amend what threatens its operations, finances, or community standing.
- Mobilize third-party support: recruit aligned cities, counties, agencies, business, labor, environmental, and community partners into coalitions, joint letters, and project tours, and address opponents early.
- Identify public funding matched to the Company’s capital, infrastructure, and program needs, and package each project around need, cost, public benefit, urgency, and readiness.
3. Regulatory and Permitting
- Identify and define the legal, regulatory, and permitting barriers to project delivery, working with legal and technical staff.
- Develop and run a strategy to clear each — approval, faster timeline, clearer requirements, or a rule change — engaging agencies early to prevent surprises.
- Escalate when agency delay or ambiguity threatens delivery.
4. Communications, Community, and Public Affairs
- Convert technical engineering and operational detail into plain-language policy narrative, produce the materials that carry it — fact sheets, briefing papers, talking points, testimony, executive summaries — and match each issue to the right messenger and vehicle.
- Coordinate the Company's community engagement, charitable giving, and sponsorships as part of its civic footprint as well as its government relations efforts.
- Direct the public relations and earned-media efforts that build the Company’s public standing and reinforce its advocacy.
Essential capabilities
- Strong political judgment including the discipline to know how to engage on the Company’s behalf at the right time at the right place.
- Command of legislative, regulatory, budget, and agency processes.
- Ability to translate technical infrastructure and operational detail into policy argument and government relations action plans.
- Credibility with officials and agencies, and the instinct to build the relationships behind it.
- Experience with public communications and community relations.
- Excellent writing and communications skills.
- Capacity to run many issues, stakeholders, and timelines at once across internal departments and senior leadership.
EEO Statement
Our company provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetics.
Public Relations Specialist Jobs by Experience Level
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Find JobsPublic Relations Specialist Job Market
Who's Hiring
- Highwire17
- FINN Partners4
- VSC3
- Covista3
- Havas3
Top Industries Hiring
- Education12
- Technology & Software11
- Consulting & Professional Services10
- Law & Legal Services5
- Retail4
What Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in public relations specialist jobs.
- Bachelor's degree in public relations, communications, journalism, or a related field
- Demonstrated experience writing and distributing press releases and media pitches
- Proficiency with media monitoring and distribution tools such as Cision or Meltwater
- Proven ability to build and maintain relationships with journalists and media outlets
- Experience developing and executing communications plans across multiple channels
- Familiarity with social media platforms and digital content strategy as part of PR campaigns
Tips for Your Public Relations Specialist Job Search
Tailor your resume to the pitch
Quantify results with metrics that matter in PR: clips secured, audience reach, share of voice, or media placements per campaign. Hiring managers skim for proof that your work moved the needle, not just a list of duties you handled.
Build a clips portfolio before applying
Attach a link to a press coverage portfolio or a simple Google Drive folder with sample press releases, pitch letters, and earned media outcomes. Agencies especially filter out candidates who cannot show real work samples alongside their resume.
Apply early to roles that fit
Migrate Mate lists public relations specialist openings from across the United States in one place, so you can find roles that match and apply directly to each listing.
Match your niche to the employer type
Agency roles prioritize fast turnaround and client diversity, while in-house roles reward deep industry knowledge. Filter openings by sector first, then apply to the ones where your existing media contacts or subject-matter background give you a real edge.
Prepare a media strategy answer for interviews
Almost every public relations specialist interview includes a scenario question asking how you would handle a crisis or launch a campaign. Prepare a structured example using a real situation, walking through your strategy, channels chosen, and outcome delivered.
Negotiate using scope, not just title
When an offer comes in, ask about the media budget you will manage, the size of the team, and which executives you will work directly with. These factors affect your career trajectory far more than a small salary difference and give you concrete grounds for negotiation.
Public Relations Specialist Jobs: Frequently Asked Questions
Which companies are hiring the most public relations specialists?
The companies hiring the most public relations specialists right now include Highwire, FINN Partners, and VSC, with the largest share of openings in New York, California, and Florida, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of August 2026. Demand is strongest at PR agencies, large corporations with in-house communications teams, and nonprofit organizations running active advocacy campaigns.
How many public relations specialist jobs are remote?
About 60% of public relations specialist openings are fully remote or hybrid as of August 2026, reflecting the role's reliance on digital communications tools and virtual media outreach. Roles focused on digital PR, content strategy, and social media management tend to have the highest share of fully remote arrangements, while crisis communications and executive visibility roles more often require an on-site presence.
How do you become a public relations specialist?
Most public relations specialists start with a bachelor's degree in communications, journalism, or public relations, then build hands-on experience through internships at agencies or in-house communications teams. From there, developing a portfolio of press releases, media placements, and campaign outcomes is essential. Earning an Accreditation in Public Relations credential from the Public Relations Society of America can strengthen your candidacy for more senior roles.
Can you get a public relations specialist job with little experience?
Yes, entry-level public relations specialist roles are available, and many employers value relevant internship experience, college media work, or freelance pitching over years of full-time history. Building a portfolio that includes writing samples, any earned media placements, and examples of pitch strategy goes a long way. Agency roles often hire entry-level candidates who can demonstrate strong writing skills and genuine familiarity with media relations workflows.
What does the public relations specialist interview process look like?
Most public relations specialist interview processes include a phone or video screen focused on communications background, followed by one or two rounds with the hiring manager and team leads. Many employers assign a written exercise such as drafting a press release or pitching a story angle on a sample brief. Final rounds often involve presenting that exercise to a panel and walking through your strategic thinking and media knowledge.
Where can I find and apply to public relations specialist jobs?
You can find and apply to public relations specialist jobs on Migrate Mate, which lists current openings from employers across the United States. Search the listings to find roles that match your experience level and area of focus, then apply directly to each one that fits.
See All 351+ Public Relations Specialist Jobs
Find roles that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
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