Perfect PR, in partnership with Suspilne Ukraine, has commenced work on a unified professional standard for public relations specialists. The agency initiated the project and submitted an official application to the National Agency for Qualifications for the standard “Public Relations Manager” (code 1475.4). The Suspilne team joined the initiative, bringing their own expert experience to the project, with the first working group meeting taking place on April 22.
The main goal of the project is to define the primary job functions, competencies, and requirements for communications specialists to establish a unified understanding of the profession at a national level. The professional standard aims to formally define what a communications specialist does, what competencies they must possess, and how the profession functions in the market.
“Communications within organizations are a strategic function that impacts the reputation, resilience, and trustworthiness of institutions. Creating a professional standard is a step toward the systemic development of the industry. It is a way to solidify modern employer expectations for specialists in this field and align higher education accordingly. Furthermore, we face an important task at the professional standard level: to clearly differentiate PR and journalism as separate professional qualifications,” says Viktoria Sydorenko, HR Director at Suspilne Ukraine and coordinator of the working group for the professional standard development.
“We need a national ‘passport’ for the profession: defined standards and expectations for PR industry specialists. Developing this standard will allow us to align the expectations of employers across business, government, and civil society sectors. It will also lay the groundwork for better education and professional growth for PR specialists,” notes Natalia Ulynets, CEO of Perfect PR and the initiative’s founder.
Leading experts in communication and reputation management have already been involved in drafting the document. The working group includes heads of communications departments from major Ukrainian and international companies, as well as representatives from government structures and the NGO sector. The initiative has also received support from the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition and leaders of numerous communication agencies.Industry peers who wish to contribute to shaping the future of the profession and defining its quality standards are welcome to apply. To join, please send an email with the subject line “PR Professional Standard” to: agency.perfect.pr@gmail.com
