Senior PR Manager - Retail banking (12 month FTC)

Hello, we’re Starling Group - a financial technology company on a mission to empower people and small business owners around the world to be good with money. In the UK, Starling’s award-winning, fully-licensed bank provides personal, business and joint current accounts to millions of customers. Internationally, Engine by Starling provides the Group’s proprietary technology platform to likeminded banks as a SaaS proposition. Headquartered in London, Starling has 12 offices around the world, including Southampton, Cardiff, Manchester and Fleet in its home market. We employ around 4,000 people and this role is for our London office.

We are seeking a passionate and driven PR lead to champion our retail banking proposition to people across the UK for a 12 month maternity leave cover. We're looking for a self-starter with a knack for consumer story telling, landing technical product stories, and leading integrated comms campaigns.

Are you a seasoned PR professional with at least 10+ years of experience, ready to take on a new challenge and make a real impact?

About the Role

As our PR lead, you will be the person for all things retail banking within the Group Corporate Affairs team. You’ll develop and execute a strategic communications programme that builds out our retail bank offering through a mix of consumer news generation, product launches and creative campaigns. You will be responsible for promoting Starling’s reputation as an innovative bank that helps people in the UK become good with money; support Starling’s commercial growth; and elevate the profile of our executives.

You’ll work closely with Starling’s marketing, product and leadership teams to generate high-impact earned media opportunities, and will demonstrate the tangible impact that earned media has on the Group’s reputation.

In this role, you'll:

• Lead the PR strategy for Starling's retail banking offering
• Develop and execute compelling PR campaigns that showcase the unique value proposition of our retail banking solutions.
• Manage the relationship with our consumer PR agency
• Lead on press launches for our retail banking division, delivering high impact coverage that showcases Starling’s product innovation
• Develop creative news generation and reactive media ideas, both with and without our PR agency
• Secure and manage speaking slots for Bank and Group spokespeople.
• Collaborate with internal teams, including product, marketing, and communications, to ensure a cohesive brand message.
• Stay at the forefront of industry trends and proactively identify opportunities to position Starling as a leader in the retail banking space
• Support Starling’s leadership team with high-level interviews, speaking engagements and personal social media content.
• Be part of a small, busy Corporate Affairs team, occasionally supporting on SME, Engine and corporate media relations work.

What you'll bring:

• In-house or agency experience
• A strong track record of building and maintaining relationships with journalists, and picking up the phone rather than relying on email
• Experience in financial services, fintech, or another regulated industry (or a strong interest in banking/consumer finance)
• Experience managing senior spokespeople — briefing, prepping, and protecting executives in high-profile or reactive media moments
• Excellent writing skills and close attention to detail

You'll thrive here if you're:

• A quick thinker who's comfortable moving fast under pressure
• Organised and able to plan ahead, but equally happy improvising when news breaks
• Naturally curious, proactive, and not afraid to challenge or ask questions
• Energised by juggling multiple projects and stakeholders at once

• 25 days holiday (plus take your public holiday allowance whenever works best for you)
• An extra day’s holiday for your birthday
• Annual leave is increased with length of service, and you can choose to buy or sell up to five extra days off
• 16 hours paid volunteering time a year
• Salary sacrifice, company enhanced pension scheme
• Life insurance at 4x your salary
• Private Medical Insurance with VitalityHealth including mental health support and cancer care. Partner benefits include discounts with Waitrose, Mr&Mrs Smith and Peloton
• Generous family-friendly policies
• Perkbox membership giving access to retail discounts, a wellness platform for physical and mental health, and weekly free and boosted perks
• Access to initiatives like Cycle to Work and Salary Sacrificed Gym partnerships

About Us

You may be put off applying for a role because you don't tick every box. Forget that! While we can’t accommodate every flexible working request, we're always open to discussion. So, if you're excited about working with us, but aren’t sure if you're 100% there yet, get in touch anyway.

We’re on a mission to radically reshape banking – and that starts with our brilliant team. Whatever came before, we’re proud to bring together people of all backgrounds and experiences who love working together to solve problems.

Starling Bank is an equal opportunity employer, and we’re proud of our ongoing efforts to foster diversity & inclusion in the workplace. Individuals seeking employment at Starling Bank are considered without regard to race, religion, national origin, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, medical condition, ancestry, physical or mental disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

By submitting your application, you agree that Starling Bank may collect your personal data for recruiting and related purposes. Our Privacy Notice explains what personal information we may process, where we may process your personal information, its purposes for processing your personal information, and the rights you can exercise over our use of your personal information.