Job description overview:

As the agency's PR Ombudsman you will be responsible for monitoring all agency communications between agency staff and the media. You will also be the point person for resolving any issues that surface as a result of the agency's media relations activities. The office of the Ombudsman is completely independent of agency staff and management, reporting directly to the President and, through the President, to the agency's Board of Directors.

Responsibilities:

• Quality assurance - Create an agency standard for all press releases and pitches
• Manage a QA team and monitor all incoming/outgoing communications with the media
• Train account staff on media relations best practices
• Resolve complaints and disputes between account staff and journalists and bloggers
• Develop the agency's first Code of Conduct for interacting with the media
• Write a weekly public blog post which explains how the agency is doing overall with regards to the quality of its interaction with journalists and bloggers
• Write the Quarterly Ombudsman Client Report which reports on successes and failures of agency media relations activities

The ideal candidate will have:

• A background in journalism (10+ years), preferably as an editor or higher
• Ability to think independently and be comfortable making difficult decisions that may not coincide with the views of agency staff and management
• Superior leadership and conflict resolution skills
• Superior writing and editing skills
• Should have a menacing appearance like picture on right

Please send resume and cover letter to...

Ok, this job post is fake, so don't apply (unless you really want to). Newspapers have had them for years (since 1967) and according to the Organization of News Ombudsmen (ONO) were set up to:

"monitor news and feature columns, photography and other graphic materials for fairness, accuracy and balance. They bring substandard items to the attention of the appropriate members of the news staff."

NPR has a great mandate and mission for their ombudsman that could easily apply to PR as well (just substitute "NPR" with "agency"):

"The Ombudsman will serve as an independent source of information, explanation, amplification and analysis for the public regarding NPR's programming and NPR's adherence to its programming standards and practices.

"The Ombudsman is empowered to receive complaints from the public regarding NPR programming, and refer the complaints to relevant management for response.

"Should a complainant deem a response from NPR management unsatisfactory, the Ombudsman is empowered to investigate NPR's standards and practices with regard to the matter raised, respond to the complainant, inform the management of findings and conclusion, and make public any conclusion(s) if the issue is relevant to people other than the complainant. The Ombudsman may also intervene if NPR management fails to provide a timely response to a complaint.

"The Office of the Ombudsman is completely independent of NPR staff and management, reporting directly to the President and, through the President, to NPR's Board of Directors."

My local paper, The Oregonian, used to have a public editor/ombudsman who handled readers complaints and wrote a weekly column that at times openly criticized some of the paper's articles and practices. Not sure exactly why the position no longer exists, but I liked knowing that the paper had someone on the payroll to scrutinize its activities.

So what's my point here? PR agencies need ombudsmen-type positions now more than ever. A person whose sole job is to independently monitor the quality of communications between agency staff and the media and is empowered to take real action when things go bad.