PR & External Communications Lead

Responsible for overseeing both marketing and public relations strategies, aiming to enhance brand awareness, manage public perception, and promote a Vera Bradley through coordinated marketing campaigns and media relations activities including press releases, social media engagement, and event planning.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES (Note: Other duties may be assigned)

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Assist Director of Brand Strategy in developing and executing comprehensive brand strategies to maintain a consistent image across all marketing channels.
• Help oversee planning and execution of creative and PR campaigns in conjunction with and through management of external partners.
• Support in the creation of creative briefs and press releases as necessary.
• Manage relationships with local and national press outlets, coordinating messaging going out on website, social media and in print.
• Coordinate press opportunities.
• Grow and maintain stellar brand awareness.
• Set and adhere to project deadlines across both internal contributors and external vendors.
• Manage projects through their lifecycle, including keeping project status reports and documentation up-to-date.
• Develop relationships with internal stakeholders to become a critical point of contact for projects and their completion
• Coordinate the review & approval process of projects both internally and externally (customer facing creative assets and strategy approval).
• Initiate and lead project meetings in collaboration with Director of Brand Strategy to establish clear goals and next steps for team members.
• Work collaboratively with key stakeholders across cross-functional teams to implement and improve internal processes
• Support the marketing calendars for digital marketing initiatives, and communicate and distribute them on schedule as needed by key stakeholders
• Monitor the success of projects through continued tracking of key performance indicators as outlined by marketing and PR teams
• Manage vendors and talent on assigned projects, create PO’s, monitor actual vs budgeted costs
• Manage all incoming donations requests from customers and organizations and communicate with requestors
• Responsible for fulfilling all product donation request (Monetary and In-Kind) within monthly budgets
• Manage calendar of opportunities for executive team and employees to attend sponsored events
• Maintain records for all metrics outlined in strategy for measuring program effectiveness of media relations and corporate giving
• Responsible for updating crosscap with all PR and marketing related content
• Work with vendors to deliver assets and information as needed

EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s Degree (preferred in Marketing, Advertising or related field)
• 3-5+ years Marketing, project management or related experience required
• Marketing agency or corporate/marketing communications department experience preferred 

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or abilities required to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Excellent written, and verbal communication skills with the proven ability to communicate with all levels across the organization
• Strong understanding of marketing principles, digital marketing tactics, and PR best practices
• Proven PR experience with media relations and communication, including press releases
• Proven track record of delivering successful digital and ecommerce initiatives
• Strong command of standard Project Management methodologies
• Ability to manage multiple tasks/projects simultaneously
• Strong organizational skills and detail-oriented
• Ability to build and maintain good rapport with both internal and external customers to handle situations with confidence and tact
• Flexible, adaptable with the demonstrated ability to work under pressure
• Resourceful with ability to make decisions and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Understands key business drivers and uses this knowledge in own work
• Demonstrates ability to solve a range of problems with the ability to analyze solutions
• Excellent PC skills including Word, Power Point and Excel

ENVIRONMENT & PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those an individual must meet to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Office environment. Utilizing an office desk – sitting, reading, listening, or speaking with the ability to move intermittently throughout the day
• Strong sensory skills, such as good eyesight, good hearing, and dexterity
• Ability to operate office equipment, including computers, copiers, fax machines, and phones
• Ability to occasionally lift and/or move up to 10 pounds

We are proud of the competitive and comprehensive compensation and benefit package provided to our associates and their families. Our compensation package is designed to meet our associates today and help them plan for the future.

Health Benefits

VRA offers a variety of medical, dental and vision programs to meet your family’s health care needs.

• Medical plan options including both a HDHP/HSA plan and a PPO plan
• A no premium medical plan for employee only coverage
• Dental
• Vision
• Flexible spending accounts

Survivor Benefits

Life insurance provides peace of mind for your family should the unexpected happen.

• Employer provided 2X your salary in life insurance
• Accidental Death and Disability insurance
• Voluntary life insurance for you, your spouse and your children

Income Protection  

If you are unable to work due to illness or injury VRA provides several programs to protect your income at no cost to you.

• Short-term disability
• Long-term disability
• Paid family medical leave

Retirement Plan

The VRA 401k plan helps you accumulate savings for retirement

• 401k with generous company match, immediate vesting (age and service requirement)
• Strong line up of professionally managed funds
• Safe-harbor plan design

Paid Time Off  

Enjoy generous time off programs.

• Earn up to 3 weeks of paid time off in your first year of employment with opportunity to earn more
• 9 paid holidays a year
• Paid bereavement leave

Give Back Opportunities  

VRA offers the opportunity to serve your community.

•        Voluntary Time Off
•        Matching charitable donations and leadership grants

Holistic Wellness

• Access to a variety of financial, physical, and mental wellness experts

• Employee Assistance Program with access to work/life wellness support including no cost unlimited telephonic counseling services 
• Opportunities for leadership development, skill development and career advancement 

Product Discount

• Generous employee discount on Vera Bradley and Pura Vida products 

Ancillary Benefits and Programs

• Bonus opportunity, identity protection, legal services, pet insurance, cell phone discount, employee referral bonus, annual birthday gift, DailyPay, corporate fitness facility and individual policies through Aflac

Equal Opportunity Employer/Vets/Disabled

Vera Bradley is an Equal Opportunity Employer and Affirmative Action Employer. 

Vera Bradley provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

For more information, please click the following links:

Vera Bradley's Equal Employment and Affirmative Action Policy

Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (in English)

Know Your Rights: Workplace Discrimination is Illegal (in Spanish)

Pay Transparency (in English)

Pay Transparency (in Spanish)

E-Verify Participation Poster

Right to Work Poster (English)

Right to Work Poster (Spanish)

California Privacy Notice

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment application process, please send an e-mail to [email protected].  Please include the accommodation you are requesting and your contact information. Reasonable accommodations are considered on a case-by-case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation and other EEO/Affirmative Action issues will be responded to from this e-mail address.

Our intention is to fill this opening within 30 days of the original posting date and applications will be accepted on an on-going basis until the position is filled.