An organisation's senior press officer is responsible for all of the organisation's contact with the media. They are the organisation's journalist, the "in-house journalist", and as such they are usually also responsible for the organisations produced by the company, such as internal magazines, the website, etc. A company's senior press officer is also responsible for managing the organisation's press office and the staff who make it up. As such, they must have a vast knowledge of the media, the media's production routines and their interest areas. Similarly, their position requires in an in-depth knowledge of the organisation in order to be able to identify news opportunities and risks, as well as to be best able to convey information about the organisation to journalists. In most cases, they are part of the company's permanent staff, although it is also common for these tasks to be outsourced to press or communication offices. This outsourced company takes care of managing the relationship between the client company and the media.

• Planning and designing the company or institution's media initiatives, according to the targets set by the head of the communication department.
• Keeping track of the media and relevant topics. Also keeping track of content in the conventional and non-conventional media in order to identify potential opportunities for the company, as well as possible information crisis risks.
• Updating the journalist contact databases. Maintaining a fluid relationship with journalists.
• Drawing up and publishing press releases. Planning and executing press conferences and press calls.
• Expressing or recording in writing the main ideas and key messages the company wishes to communicate to the media. They are often also responsible for training a team of spokesmen and, on certain occasions, for drawing up official communiqus to be read by other members of the company.
• Designing and carrying out management drills for critical media situations.
• Senior press officers, as journalists, are often responsible for producing or overseeing the company's internal media publications. staff magazine, website, magazines or newsletters for partners, clients, etc.

Regulated training and graduates

• Grau: Comunicació
• Grau: Comunicació i periodisme audiovisuals
• Grau: Publicitat i relacions públiques
• Grau: Màrqueting i comunicació empresarial
• Grau: Periodisme

Complementary training

Other specific skills

Planning and organisation: Level 3

Strategic orientation: Level 3

Networking: Level 1

Commitment to the organisation: Level 3

Conceptual thought: Level 3

Communication: Level 4

Communication

Those who show a preference for the field of communication are interested in the generation and dissemination of information. This information, however, can have various purposes: provide information on events and occurrences, generate public opinion on a certain topic or promote and publicise a service or product. Carrying out these activities requires knowledge of various techniques aimed at communication, persuasion and marketing.

Management

The organisation, administration and control of a company or entity are the main interests of people related to the management field. Activities included in this field of interest vary from effective resource management, feasibility analyses and solving business problems to the development of skills and fostering of motivation in relation to human resources. Knowledge regarding specific techniques of strategic administration and business management are required to carry out these activities.

Public Relations Manager

Director of communication

Journalist

Infographics designer

Communications consultant

• Work hours

  Generally speaking, professionals responsible for relations with the press or media work fixed hours. This timetable often corresponds to a 40-hour week, divided into what is known as "office hours". However, this depends to a large extent on the amount of work generated at the company, since smaller companies or institutions only require a few hours a day, which is where external press offices come into the equation.
  Nevertheless, these professionals' role is contingent upon news developments and media journalists' production routines. As such, they must be available for the media during their working hours, which for newspapers generally means in the evening, while in the case of television companies, is 24 hours a day. These professionals are dependent on news developments every day and, especially where crises develop, it is common for them to have to work a lot outside of normal hours (nights, public holidays, weekends, etc.).
  

• Salary

  Gross annual salaries range between 36.084 and 54.991 Euros in the initial stages of the job. Median: 44.547 euros annum gross.
  The salary for this position varies significant depending on the size of the organisation, the sector in which they operate, whether it is an agency, consulting firm or company/institution, and on the person's experience, contacts and seniority.
  
  Source: Report "Observatory of Jobs and Salaries of the Labour Market. Barcelona Activa", elaborated by ICSA Grupo. April 2015.
  

• Professional category

  Middle management