Senior Manager, Public Relations

About us:

Kiva is a global nonprofit, founded in 2005, with a mission to expand financial access and help underserved communities thrive. Kiva unlocks capital for borrowers through crowdfunded loans supported by individuals around the world. Lenders on Kiva can start with as little as $25 to support causes that matter most to them, whether that’s gender equity and support for women, refugees, climate change, small businesses, agriculture, and more. Since our founding, over two million people have invested over $2 billion in real dreams and real opportunity, spanning more than 100 countries and over 5 million borrowers

As we work toward our mission, Kiva invests in building and retaining a global team of talent to add to our values-driven and digital-first culture. Our organization is supported by over 700 volunteers and 130+ full time employees dispersed around the world, as well as within team hubs located in San Francisco, Nairobi, Bogota, and Bangkok. Kiva’s team is growing as we pursue exciting new opportunities to scale our impact and create a financially inclusive world.

Kiva's values:

Impact first - This is why we exist. This is the drumbeat we march to. Every day.

Extreme ownership - Own it; you, your relationships, your impact. Insist that others support you and hold you accountable.

Be curious and bold - Never stop learning. Question assumptions. Take Risks and dream big.

Inclusion. Equity. Diversity. - Without reservation and without caveat. In our hiring, in our workplace and in our impact in the world.

Honor and integrity - Do the most right thing in the most right way. Cherish diversity and respect each other.

Love and kindness always - Say what you mean. Mean what you say. And don't say it mean. Clarity. Courage. Kindness.

Role overview:

The Senior Manager, Public Relations is a flexible, multifaceted communications leader who carries the PR and media backbone of Kiva's Communications & Influence team. This role spans public relations and media strategy, partner campaigns, thought leadership amplification, and analytics, and requires someone equally comfortable setting direction and executing the details, activating strategy across focus impact areas rather than staying within a single lane.

The Senior Manager supports the Director with PR, media, and thought leadership efforts, drawing on borrower stories, impact stats, research, and outcome metrics to fuel Kiva's external media presence. This role also leads public-facing campaign development with Kiva's Strategic Partners, Lending Partners, hubs, and granting organizations, working closely with both Marketing and the Strategic Partnerships teams to identify, shape, and execute opportunities. The Senior Manager owns Kiva's LinkedIn channel strategy and execution as well as thought leadership amplification, ensuring PR wins, campaign results, and insights are shared broadly across Marketing, partners, and the wider Kiva team.

At this time, we can only consider applicants with authorization to work in the United States on a permanent, full-time basis; unfortunately we cannot provide visa sponsorship.

Key responsibilities include: 

• Public relations and media – 40%
• Work in tandem with the Director in advancing Kiva's PR and thought leadership goals, including supporting the day-to-day PR firm relationship.
• Pull and navigate data including borrower stories, impact stats, and outcome metrics to support the PR firm’s work to secure national and top-tier media and PR opportunities.
• Own Kiva’s Muck Rack tool, including tracking, reporting, and trend monitoring, and development of media lists for localized pitching. 
• Maintain a library of PR-ready resources for partners, including U.S. hubs, Lending Partners, and Strategic Partners, to enable partner-driven media opportunities.
• Own localized pitching for smaller-scale and community-based media coverage.
• Stay closely connected with the Impact Investments and Strategic Partnerships teams to identify and surface PR and thought leadership opportunities, and elevate these to the Director and PR firm. 

• Partner campaigns – 30%
• Identify, shape, and execute public-facing campaigns end-to-end, via PR, media, and owned channels with select Strategic Partners (corporate and CSR-focused organizations), Lending Partners, hubs, and granting organizations, such as foundations, to amplify Kiva's impact work externally.
• Partner with the broader Marketing and Creative teams to create campaign briefs, review assets and develop content that reflect partner priorities and elevate Kiva's brand.

• Thought leadership amplification - 20%
• Own and execute Kiva's LinkedIn strategy and day-to-day channel management, including post development and amplification of thought leadership content.
• Partner with the broader Marketing team and collaborate with the Strategic Partnerships team to amplify Kiva's thought leadership narratives across key channels and moments, including industry conferences and events.
• Identify and pursue opportunities, in collaboration with the Strategic Partnerships team, to elevate Kiva’s visibility at conferences, panels, awards, and industry events.

• Analytics, Insights & Amplification – 10%
• Own Communications & Influence team reporting, surfacing insights and performance trends across secured PR, media coverage, LinkedIn, and partner campaigns.
• Socialize learnings, insights, and campaign results with the Marketing team, partners, and the broader Kiva team as needed.
• Maintain related Confluence intranet resources for team and cross-functional reference.

Preferred qualifications:

• Demonstrated experience in public relations and media relations, including direct media pitching, journalist relationship management, and securing earned coverage. Agency experience preferred.
• Experience developing and executing thought leadership strategy, including narrative development, channel activation, and positioning senior leaders as industry voices.
• Experience managing multi-partner communications or marketing campaigns, coordinating execution across internal teams and external partner organizations simultaneously.
• Preferred: experience working within a PR agency, or managing a PR agency relationship client-side.
• Preferred: working knowledge of Sprout (or an equivalent social publishing and listening platform), Air (or an equivalent digital asset management system), Looker (or an equivalent data and reporting tool), Dovetail (or an equivalent research and insights repository), and Salesforce (or an equivalent CRM).

Technical competencies

• Skilled at pitching media, building and maintaining journalist relationships, and translating data and stories into pitch-ready narratives.
• Comfort working with or managing a PR agency relationship, including brief development and pitch review.
• Demonstrated creative writing skills, with experience in thought leadership and content creation and media pitch development.
• Ability to synthesize impact data, borrower stories, and outcome metrics into compelling, accurate PR materials.
• Experience coordinating public-facing campaigns across multiple stakeholders, including corporate partners, nonprofit or foundation partners, and internal cross-functional teams.
• Ability to manage campaign timelines, deliverables, and approvals working cross-functionally across organizations with differing priorities and processes.
• Comfort partnering with Creative and other teams to develop campaign assets without owning creative production directly.
• Experience owning and growing a brand's presence on LinkedIn or a comparable professional channel, including content strategy and performance tracking.
• Familiarity with identifying and securing speaking, panel, awards, and/or conference opportunities for organizational leadership.
• Comfort working with reporting and analytics tools to track PR, campaign, and channel performance, and translating findings into clear recommendations.
• Experience socializing insights and results across teams with varying levels of data fluency.

What we offer:

• A work-from-home position; final candidate must be authorized to work in XX.
• An opportunity to improve real lives, solve hard problems, and change the world
• Friendly, supportive, and adventurous environment with a team of engaged colleagues
• A comprehensive, industry-leading benefits package including health, dental, and vision insurance, parental leave, professional development, 401k matching, and unlimited PTO. Some of these benefits have eligibility requirements. Many of these benefits are subsidized or fully paid for by Kiva.
• Opportunities to connect with and learn from colleagues and partners around the world
• Salary range: $91K - $118K; a final offer will be dependent upon a candidate’s location, skills, and experience. 
• Currently, we are only able to hire home employees residing in the following states: AZ, CA, CO, DE, GA, IL, KS, LA, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NY, OH, OR, SC, TX, UT, VA, and WA.

A diverse and inclusive workplace where we learn from each other is an integral part of Kiva's culture. We actively welcome people of different backgrounds, experiences, abilities, and perspectives. We are an equal opportunity employer and a great place to work. Join us and help us achieve our mission!

We will only accept applications directly from candidates. Kiva will not be responsible for any recruiting agency fees, absent a formal agreement.