PR assistant job description: the five groups of work, what they may say, and a template

The PR assistant is the person who finds out at 8am that a story has run, knows which journalist wrote it, and has the draft response open before anyone else is at their desk. That is the job. Most adverts for it describe "supporting the team".

This article sets out a PR assistant job description: the five groups of work, how agency and in-house versions differ, what a junior may say to a journalist, the disclosure rules that catch juniors out, how the role is measured and a template.

Juniors in PR learn by doing things that matter in week one. See how New Dynamics onboarding brings tasks, early goals and manager conversations into one clear path.

The five groups of work

1. Monitoring. Reading what has been published and said, and summarising it for people who will not read it all. The National Careers Service public relations officer profile describes the role as monitoring "data to understand the public and media's opinion of your clients", and it is how a junior learns the beat faster than anyone else in the team.
2. Media lists and relationships. Keeping the list of who covers what accurate, which sounds administrative and is the foundation of every campaign. O*NET's Public Relations Specialists establish and maintain "cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups".
3. Drafting. Press releases, social posts, briefing notes, biographies, award entries, Q&A documents. The National Careers Service lists writing and editing "press releases, social media posts, policy statements and speeches".
4. Coordination. Events, photoshoots, interviews, spokesperson diaries, product samples and sign-off chasing. O*NET lists arranging "public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits".
5. Reporting. Pulling coverage together into something the client or the board can read, with what it means rather than only how much of it there was.

Two O*NET tasks show where the role grows: responding "to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source", and preparing or editing "organizational publications, such as employee newsletters or stockholders' reports". Both start as drafting and become judgement.

Agency or in-house

• Agency. Several clients, timesheets, account teams, faster variety and less depth. The equivalent title is usually account assistant or junior account executive, and progression runs to senior account executive and account manager.
• In-house. One organisation, internal stakeholders, deeper knowledge, and more internal communications than the job title suggests.
• Freelance or small team. Everything, including the parts a large team gives to a specialist.

Say which in the advert, because the working day differs more than the duty list does.

What a junior may say

This is the most common gap in a PR assistant's first month, and it is easily fixed by writing it down:

• What they may confirm without checking: published facts, event details, dates, what is already on the website.
• What they must never do: speculate, comment on a rumour, confirm personnel matters, discuss anything financial or legal, or speak for the chief executive.
• Who takes the call when a journalist asks something else, and what to say meanwhile, "I'll get the right person to call you back within the hour" is a complete answer.
• The out-of-hours route, including who to wake.

Give them the two sentences they are allowed to use on the phone. It protects the organisation and, more usefully, it protects the junior.

Gifting, influencers and disclosure

Product seeding, influencer gifting and paid partnerships are usually run by juniors, and the rules about disclosure apply to the brand and the agency as much as to the person posting. The ASA and CAP influencers' guide to making clear that ads are ads is described as "a best-practice guide on how to ensure that advertising content posted by influencers is clear about what it is", written from the influencer's perspective but "also useful for brands and agencies". It sets out "what the rules are", "when content should be disclosed", advice on affiliate marketing, "how to make clear ads are ads" and "what happens if content isn't disclosed".

The guide also notes that updates will follow the unfair commercial practices provisions of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and that the advice remains "broadly correct with some changes to the legal underpinning", so check the current version rather than a summary. A PR assistant's job description should say who is accountable for disclosure on campaigns they run, in practice the account manager, with the assistant responsible for briefing it correctly and keeping the records. This is general information rather than legal advice.

What the advert must state

• Agency or in-house, and how many clients or brands.
• Sectors, because consumer, corporate, technology, health and public sector PR are different jobs with the same title.
• What the assistant owns rather than supports: name at least two things.
• Who checks their work before it goes out, and what may go out unchecked.
• Hours and events. Evening launches and early-morning media calls are part of the job, so say so.
• Progression, since this is an entry role and candidates are choosing a route as much as a job.

How the role is measured

Four things a junior can actually control:

1. Accuracy. Names, titles, dates, embargoes and figures correct in everything that leaves the building.
2. Responsiveness. Media enquiries acknowledged fast and routed to the right person.
3. Drafting quality, tracked by how much editing a draft needs after three months compared with the first week.
4. Reliability of the record: the media list, the coverage log and the campaign report, current and trustworthy.

Coverage volume is a poor first measure for a junior, because they do not control the story, the spokesperson or the news agenda. Our public relations manager job description covers the level where campaign outcomes become the right measure.

A PR assistant job description template

Job title: PR assistant [agency / in-house]

Reports to: [account manager / communications manager]

Clients or brands: [number and sectors]

Purpose: Keep PR activity accurate and moving: monitoring, media lists, first drafts, coordination and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Monitor media and social coverage daily and circulate a clear summary.
• Maintain media lists so that the right journalist gets the right story.
• Draft press releases, social posts, briefing notes and award entries.
• Prepare spokesperson briefings and Q&A documents.
• Coordinate events, interviews, photoshoots and product samples.
• Handle incoming media enquiries within the agreed script and route them.
• Maintain the coverage log and build campaign reports.
• Keep records of gifted and paid content and its disclosure.

Owns: [the coverage report, the media list, the events calendar]

Checked by: [role] before anything is issued externally.

You will need: accuracy, clear writing, persistence, and the confidence to say "let me get the right person" instead of guessing.

Frequently asked questions

What does a PR assistant do?

Monitors media and social coverage and summarises it, keeps media lists accurate, drafts press releases, social posts and briefing notes, coordinates events, interviews and photoshoots, handles incoming enquiries within an agreed script, and builds the coverage log and campaign reports.

What is the difference between a PR assistant and a PR officer?

Mostly ownership. An assistant supports campaigns and owns specific pieces of work such as monitoring, lists and first drafts. An officer plans and delivers campaigns, builds media relationships directly and takes more of the calls. In agencies the equivalent titles are account assistant, account executive and senior account executive.

What skills does a PR assistant need?

Accuracy and attention to detail, clear writing, knowledge of media and communication, persistence, the ability to take criticism and work under pressure, and the initiative to find out rather than guess. Confidence on the phone matters more than people expect.

What should a PR assistant job description include?

Whether the role is agency or in-house and how many clients or brands are involved, the sectors covered, what the assistant owns rather than supports, who checks work before it is issued, the hours including evening events, and where the role leads.

Can a PR assistant speak to journalists?

Within limits the employer sets. Write down what they may confirm (published facts, dates, event details) what they must never comment on, and who takes everything else, including out of hours. Giving a junior two approved sentences for the phone prevents most problems.

How should a PR assistant be measured?

On accuracy in everything that leaves the building, speed and routing of media enquiries, how much their drafts improve over the first months, and whether the media list, coverage log and reports can be trusted. Coverage volume depends on the story and the spokesperson, so it is a poor measure of a junior.

Your next step: write what they own

1. Say whether the role is agency or in-house, and name the sectors.
2. List two or three things the assistant owns outright.
3. Write the phone script: what they may confirm, and who takes the rest.
4. Name who checks work before it is issued, and what needs no check.

For a first month that teaches the beat rather than the filing, read and download our employee onboarding guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.

Want a junior's first objectives, check-ins and feedback in one record? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current induction plan. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.