Director of Public Relations

ARE YOU READY TO TAKE YOUR CAREER TO NEW HEIGHTS? ARE YOU SEEKING A NEW CHALLENGE IN A DYNAMIC SECTOR?

This is a very exciting and highly innovative time here at Outside.

OUR TRUE NORTH:Outside Interactive, Inc., the premier hub for active lifestyle enthusiasts, offers best-in-class content and experiences to more than 70 million of the world’s most passionate outdoor, wellness, and endurance enthusiasts every month. We inspire a broad and diverse audience to do the activities they love with greater enjoyment, inspiration, and knowledge and are dedicated to making real change in the outdoor and fitness industries.

We're hiring a Director of Public Relations to set our external communications strategy across all Outside brands, and then run it themselves. This is a senior individual contributor role: you're the strategist and the person doing the work. You'll report to the Chief of Staff and work closely with editorial, product, experiential, technology, and executive leadership.

Outside operates with the energy of a startup inside a brand that already defines its category. This isn't a "manage the agency" job. We need someone who will write pitches themselves, get on the phone, and move from a long-range plan to a same-day media response without breaking stride.

You'll shape how the world sees Outside: as a media innovator, a technology company, a travel booking engine, and a steward of outdoor culture. That means building relationships that actually matter and telling stories worth telling, not just checking boxes.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Execution of the PR Function

• Own the annual PR strategy across all Outside brands and business lines, then execute it: source, write, and send the pitches
• Get fluent in our business (products, editorial calendar, roadmap, revenue model, competitive landscape) and turn that knowledge into narratives that are sharp and accurate
• Balance long-range planning with the flexibility to change course fast. Run this as a team of one or a small team, owning it from strategy all the way through execution

Hands-On Media Relations

• Write and pitch stories. This role executes, it doesn't delegate
• Build real relationships across national business and consumer press, outdoor and trade media, tech publications, and niche outlets like travel, cycling, running, skiing, and events
• Drive campaigns across our core pillars: editorial launches, product and tech announcements (Gaia GPS, Trailforks), and experiential and live events
• Act as a spokesperson and prep executives for media interactions. Keep an eye on trend cycles for timely hooks

Outdoor Culture and National Media

• Translate outdoor culture for national business, consumer, and tech press in a way that lands
• Spot the seasonal and cultural moments (race seasons, gear launches, athlete wins) that create real hooks for coverage
• Lead activations for major launches and events, like media previews and deskside tours

Thought Leadership and Crisis Communications

• Find speaking and panel opportunities, and manage our industry awards calendar
• Build thought leadership platforms for our executives and prep them for keynotes
• Own our crisis communications playbooks and lead real-time response to sensitive inquiries, working closely with legal and executive teams

Partnerships and Measurement

• Build PR moments around athlete, brand, and talent partnerships alongside sales and partnerships teams
• Define PR KPIs (share of voice, impressions, coverage quality, sentiment) and report on them in a way that actually informs leadership decisions

Who You Are

The Ideal Candidate

You've worked in big organizations but do your best work with ownership and autonomy. You're plugged into outdoor publications and you read the WSJ every morning. Your pitches get responses. You can go from a strategy deck to a media call to an award submission in one afternoon, and you like it that way.

• You're genuinely part of outdoor and active lifestyle culture, not just aware of it professionally
• You're a natural storyteller who knows what makes a pitch land and what makes an editor tune out