Head of Corporate Communications in London

We are looking for an outstanding candidate to lead and grow our corporate communications team. Working alongside our public affairs teams, this person will help the agency to win integrated communications briefs across a range of sectors. You will be expected to have an excellent track record of delivery and new business, as well as being an experienced communications professional with a deep understanding of the UK media landscape. This is a unique role for the right individual with a leading agency at the heart of Westminster.

We expect the right individual to be responsible for ensuring that projects and campaigns are delivered on time and to the highest specification, ensuring clients are nurtured and looked after, and playing a key role in helping the consultancy grow and develop. This role assumes responsibility for ensuring professional client management, the creation and implementation of a robust annual business plan and the recruitment, training and development of a team.

The ideal candidate will be:

• A leader who can shape and mould a corporate affairs team and offering
• A commercially savvy operator who can turn opportunities into prospects at pace
• A client focused individual ideally with a strong experience of consultancy
• An experienced communications professional with a strong record of campaigning and media relations
• Experienced at growing and managing a pipeline of clients building coverage in the print, broadcast and digital media with plenty of read over to our growing public affairs practice
• Well connected, with an existing client network and the ability to build personal and company networks
• Knowledgeable and comfortable working with senior journalists and content providers
• Digital, social media and technology savvy
• Self-motivated, self-driven, confident, reputationally sound
• Confident in selling substantial value campaigns, C-suite advice and crisis communications
• Strongly analytical, with financial acumen and proven ability to manage to targets and budgets
• Experienced at writing pitches, creating proposals and understanding and meeting/exceeding client objectives

Primary duties and capabilities:

• Building a corporate communications practice
• Cross-selling and up-selling products and/or services to existing clients, including cold calling, email marketing, creating strong presentations, and responding to RfPs
• Networking, with a view to building the College Green Group brand, reputation and relational reach to opinion formers and other key stakeholders, such as prospective clients and referrers of business
• Creating and delivering integrated corporate and public affairs campaigns
• Delivering results against sales targets
• Any other duties as reasonably required by a member of the Senior Management Team (SMT)

Primary characteristics and behaviours:

• An ambassador for College Green Group, its work and clients
• High level of commercial awareness
• High level of attention to detail
• Proven team leader who can be proactive in helping other team members to succeed, generating new business leads, originating revenue-generative ideas and in creating opportunities for College Green Group to grow and develop
• Enthusiasm to learn and develop new skills, competencies and capabilities
• Demonstrating a desire to be a team player, and to help other colleagues achieve success
• Commitment to values of integrity and individualism, and to being innovative, inspirational and informative
• Willingness to go beyond contracted hours in relevant situations

Core knowledge:

• Good understanding of the British media landscape, including the print and broadcast journalism as well as digital landscape
• Strong commercial operator
• Strong working knowledge of Google Docs and other systems and platforms used by CGG
• 7-10+ years in a similar role

Benefits include:

• 25 days annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to 30 days
• Working from abroad policy
• Unpaid leave policy
• Additional personal development budget of £1,000 for ad hoc independent learning unrelated to the requirements of the role
• Cycle to work scheme
• Health insurance
• Enhanced employer pension contributions (matched up to 7%)
• Employee referral bonus
• Regular team socials including team trip away
• Sponsorships (for applicants not from UK)
• Flexible working hours/hybrid working (in agreement with Director)
• CIPR membership
• Central London location with cooking facilities
• Showering facilities and off street bike storage