PR & Communications Manager

Benefit Cosmetics is the San Francisco-based makeup brand that believes laughter is the best cosmetic. Benefit is the No. 1 Brow Brand Worldwide and is synonymous with fun, instant beauty solutions.
At Benefit, everything we do and every product we make is to put a smile on people’s face. We do this by breaking rules with wit and wisdom, solving problems with courage and creativity and by always trying to make real connections with the people we work with and the customers we touch every day. If you work hard, play hard and love to laugh out loud, you are just what we are looking for!
Benefit Cosmetics is looking for a savvy, friendly, motivated, and energetic PR & Communications Manager to join the South African team.

Position Summary
Directly reporting to the Brand Manager, the PR & Communications Manager will be responsible for managing and executing the PR & Communications strategy for Benefit Cosmetics in South Africa across multi-media platforms, in collaboration with the Regional PR & Communications team.

Main responsibilities
PR/ E-PR STRATEGY
• Partner with our Regional Team to define and drive the PR & Communication Strategy
• Build and maintain close relations with press and industry influencers, hand in hand with the Digital department, and proactively negotiate and secure coverage in printed and online press
• Recommend PR, Media relations and Social Media strategies to successfully achieve business objectives
• Ensure that PR & Social Media objectives, goals & performance metrics are successfully met & provide recommendations based on findings in collaboration with the Regional Digital team
• Keep track of PR/E-PR ranking in the country and share consolidated report on a monthly basis & provide recommendations based on findings
• Monitor industry and PR trends and adopt best practices in a timely manner
• Work closely with Digital to develop the local content strategy
• Negotiate, track and manage all department spending
• Ensure all expenses are processed and booked under the right project code and P&L line

TOOLKIT DEVELOPMENT
• Develop and refine all PR materials for product launches, including press releases, guidelines (local events, communication and key message tracks and strategy – what who when – advertorials and competitions, usage guidelines for videos / photography etc.), content creation (behind the scenes videos and photography, innovation booklets etc.)
• Develop content to effectively communicate Benefit business, culture, product stories & innovation, Awards across a wide variety of channels such as press releases and executive presentations

PAID MEDIA
• Participate to advertising programs across digital channels, hand in hand with Digital, display, mobile, social, non-brand search, video advertising, retailer digital co-op programs, etc.
• Project-based strategic planning with other offline channels (OOO, cinemas, etc.)

PR EVENTS
• Drive & coordinate our PR events with the help of the Executives and External Agencies when relevant. Scope of work includes:
o Define the PR launch strategy & goals as well as communication timeline for PR events
o Creative planning i.e. define event concept, activities and selection of venues to bring the
concept / product to life
o Develop an overall critical path milestones and manage timeline to ensure actions are
completed & deliverables are met
o Negotiate & track all costs associated with the event to stay on budget
o Produce materials (invitations, branding, ghost writing of speeches….
o Management of all aspects of the event (interviews, presentations …)
o Prep associates for interview with Media
o Provide post event follow-up: analytics to assess the success of the event and provide
recommendations for future events based on the findings

Skills and qualifications
• Minimum 6 -7 years’ beauty public relations experience & events required with a combination of agency and in-house background
• Strong understanding of social media / social media metrics and how it can amplify traditional PR outreach
• Strong attention to detail, organized and good management skills
• Experience in beauty and/or fashion preferred
• Excellent communication, written and presentation skills
• Articulate thinker with a sense of humor and an ability to take creative direction, react quickly, and interact productively during brainstorming meetings
• Demonstrated creative and strategic mindset
• Proven track record for achieving results and driving projects
• Highly organized multi-tasker with a great ability to problem solve
• Brand ambassador & inspirational on the Benefit brand

Location
Johannesburg / South Africa