Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of GNC’s public relations and earned media strategy to strengthen brand authority, increase awareness, and drive positive perception among consumers, industry partners, and key stakeholders.
• Identify and activate compelling brand stories aligned with GNC’s strategic priorities, including product innovation, expert credibility, partnerships, and company transformation initiatives.
• Build and manage relationships with key media outlets, journalists, and industry influencers to secure impactful coverage across consumer, business, and trade media.
• Develop and elevate GNC’s expert authority through thought leadership, media commentary, speaking opportunities, and industry participation.
• Partner cross-functionally with Brand, Marketing, eCommerce, Product, and Analytics teams to ensure consistent narratives and storytelling across earned, owned, and paid channels.
• Collaborate with SEO and digital teams to ensure PR initiatives support search visibility, authoritative backlinks, and discoverability across search engines and AI-driven answer platforms (AEO).
• Strengthen GNC’s presence in digital information ecosystems by securing authoritative citations, expert commentary, and media placements that support search and AI-generated answers.
• Prepare and counsel executive leadership for media engagements including interviews, speaking opportunities, conferences, and industry events.
• Serve as a company spokesperson when appropriate and manage media inquiries to ensure accurate, timely, and effective communications.
• Lead reputation management and crisis communications planning, ensuring readiness and alignment with corporate communications strategies.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations, Journalism, Communications or related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience sufficient to successfully perform the key accountabilities of the job required
• 10+ years progressive and integrated communications and public relations experience required
• 8+ years in a leadership role (direct or indirect)
• Strong media contacts and relationships, with a record of success in securing media placements in top-tier trade and consumer publications
• Strong business acumen of marketing, digital and media trends and the ability to translate complex concepts into compelling narratives for a wide range of audiences
• Proven aptitude to solve problems; savvy in navigating and resolving complex situations with speed
• Critical thinker – asks probing questions and anticipates and proactively addresses gaps/needs
• Ability to foster relationships and maintain connections internally and with external partners
• Extremely detail oriented with ability to manage and execute multiple projects
• Experience and confidence in working with executive leaders

Preferred

• Experience with AI-driven answer platforms (AEO) and search optimization
• Prior leadership experience beyond 8+ years