About XPRIZE

XPRIZE competitions change the world for the better by accelerating innovation life cycles, catalyzing markets, and energizing stakeholders.  

The XPRIZE Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to inspiring and incentivizing breakthroughs to the most critical challenges facing humanity. Since its beginning in 1994, the Foundation has been building and continues to build a vision of hope and abundance for humanity’s future by harnessing the power of innovators, technology, and resources.  

Through incentive prize competitions, XPRIZE enables people to create bold and transformative solutions that are scalable and drive real impact. XPRIZE competitions positively impact both the marketplace and humanity by addressing the market failures that have prevented significant breakthroughs across multiple sectors.  

An XPRIZE… 

sets an audacious but achievable goal that aims to overcome challenges deemed impossible. It tackles some of humanity's most pressing issues by redefining what is achievable and pushing the boundaries of human potential.  

defines and addresses a clear problem through extensive research, a design sprint, and a competition that catalyzes the development of the next breakthroughs to put humanity on the path toward a preferred future state for all. The desired outcome from an XPRIZE is clear and measurable, and the rules of the competition are transparent and easily understood.  

democratizes innovation by encouraging expert and nonexpert participation and multidisciplinary collaboration.  

catalyzes markets and revitalizes stagnant industries by increasing awareness of market failures and accelerating innovations to address them.  

is highly leveraged, with competing teams attracting and mobilizing investment capital, partner support, and new members in pursuit of the prize. Philanthropic dollars are thus magnified in support of a solution.  

Our first XPRIZE, the $10 million Ansari XPRIZE for private spaceflight, spurred an industry and created exponential breakthroughs. Since then we have provided over $140 million in incentives through these competitions. Each prize has created an industry-changing technology that brings us closer to a better, safer, more sustainable world.  

The use of incentive competitions, or prizes, to accelerate innovation goes back over 300 years, to when the British Admiralty launched the Longitude Prize in 1714 to find a better way to navigate our seas. In the years since, several well-known innovations have resulted from incentive competitions, including canning as a form of food preservation (a competition launched by Napoleon in 1795), modern plastics (the Billiard Ball Prize, 1863) and commercial aviation (the Orteig Prize, 1919).  

This is more than a job to us. When you work at XPRIZE, you’re making a positive impact on some of the biggest challenges facing our world. Whether you’re working in prize design or development, marketing and communications, stakeholder relations, business operations or any other department, you’re playing a critical role in turning the impossible into the possible.

Position Overview

XPRIZE is seeking a Public Relations Strategist to support the Public Relations Senior Manager in managing, cultivating and maintaining positive media coverage for the active prizes. The Public Relations Manager will be a key information source for all media contacts requesting data and insights, as well as managing the development, implementation, and coordination of internal and external public relations strategies. This position will also be the point of contact for agencies and consultants working on multiple prizes. 

The goal is to gain recognition in the market; promote the XPRIZE Foundation’s mission and services; and establish our leadership and awareness throughout target industries. Key KPI’s include increasing brand awareness, build community, create engagement and drive advocacy via increased media exposure, both online and offline. Monthly reporting against key metrics will be mandatory for tracking performance and iterating for better results. 

Responsibilities 

• Serves as a communications hub for the Foundation and its prizes— disseminating key information to internal stakeholders and outside agencies and tracking all pending PR requests, projects, and deliverables.  
• Serves as day-to-day point person with prize teams and impact and design teams, sitting in on regular meetings and updates.  
• Contributes and/or edits written content for all internal and external communications, including master messaging documents, press releases, op-eds and bylined articles, blogs social media content, newsletter articles, print collateral, media talking points, speeches and website content. 
• Coordinates speaking event opportunities for leadership. 
• Manages, cultivates and maintains positive media coverage for Foundation including prizes and key initiatives. 
• Monitors and manages media relationships within domains and builds/maintains media list. 
• Contributes to pitching and media outreach, including key milestones. 
• Researches and responds to all incoming media requests for prizes and projects. 
• Tracks, shares and archives media mentions and features. 
• Compiles metrics and analysis on a regular basis, tracking reach and impressions, tone and sentiment, messaging pull-through and other parameters per competition and overall for the Foundation. 
• Develops brand activation and campaign ideas to boost awareness for the Foundation.  
• Staffs and support all interviews with prize spokespeople. 
• Maintains story-banking efforts across active prizes. 
• Other duties and responsibilities as needed.   

Requirements 

• 5 - 7 years public relations experience; required experience with technology, life science, environmental, or space verticals. 
• Knowledge of key outlets in traditional and non-traditional media. 
• Detail-oriented with superior organizational, communication (written and verbal), and interpersonal skills, including the ability to work with diverse personalities, prioritize and multitask, and work in a fast-paced environment. 
• Must be computer/internet savvy with proficiency in social media best practices and analytics, advanced Excel spreadsheets, research skills, and a knack for high-impact reports and presentations. 
• Experience with Cision and Critical Mention, a media monitoring and media list-building tool, is preferred but not required. 
• Bachelor’s degree, preferably in Communications or an area relevant to our verticals.

Come change the world with us.

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our organization. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.