Senior Press Officer 12 month FTC | London, UK

We are looking for an enthusiastic Senior Press Officer to join our in-house PR team for a 12-month maternity cover contract. The role sits within an energetic, integrated marketing team of 29, and will work closely with our digital, social media, marketing and design experts to deliver fully integrated campaigns. Making sure PR, social media and marketing activities are aligned is a key part of this role. The role will report to the Head of External Communications and work with another Senior Press Officer and a Junior Press Officer.

The successful candidate can be based in either our London, Glasgow, or Edinburgh offices and you will benefit from the flexibility of mixing home working and being in the office with our hybrid working approach. There will be the opportunity to travel across our offices.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Developing and executing PR campaigns and activity through a wide range of communication channels and helping run a busy in-house press office.
• Working as part of multidisciplinary teams to deliver integrated campaigns that encompass PR, policy, marketing, digital and design to align activities and support business development.
• Helping to run the press office function, responding quickly to media enquiries and maintaining media relationships.
• Developing and executing the PR plans for specific areas of the firm's services and activities.
• Managing and liaising with spokespeople and experts within the firm.
• Media and influencer relations: leveraging existing relationships and cultivating new contacts within the media and amongst social media influencers.
• Maintaining a keen understanding of industry trends and regulatory and legislative changes - monitoring developments and making recommendations on topical commentary and working with our public affairs agency to identify news hooks.
• Drafting commentary, press releases, social media posts, articles, blogs and other campaign collateral.
• Helping to co-ordinate media monitoring, measurement and analysis.
• Helping to manage the online media centre and policy hub.
• Managing spokespeople, including assisting with media training, and briefing ahead of interviews.

To enjoy and succeed in this role, you will have:

• A proven track record developing PR ideas and executing successful communication campaigns.
• A genuine passion for, and experience of, communications, media and PR in the financial services sector.
• An understanding of social media campaigns.
• Strong relationships with relevant media.
• An understanding of the political and regulatory landscape would be beneficial.
• Excellent attention to detail and strong writing skills - experience of drafting press releases and traditional/social media commentary.
• Able to quickly digest complex matters, identify news hooks and present engaging content in a clear and concise way.
• Experienced and confident at pitching stories to all types of media.
• A passionate 'can-do' attitude and ability to work under own initiative.
• Someone who is confident and takes a collaborative approach; able to manage a diverse range of internal stakeholders at all levels of seniority.
• Ability to prioritise work and manage multiple projects and tasks simultaneously.
• A clear and strong verbal communicator.
• A team player who cares about the collective success of the team.

We would also encourage applications from candidates who perhaps do not possess all the attributes and experience listed above, but are competent with the majority and would be able to quickly develop the additional skills and experience required in post with our full support.

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer:

• A flexible selection of employee benefits, so you can choose a package that best matches your lifestyle and needs.
• A collaborative and encouraging work environment where your thinking and ideas are encouraged.
• On-site mental health and wellbeing assistance.
• A commitment to helping you develop both personally and professionally, with mentoring opportunities and access to our award-winning learning portal, Aspire.
• Regular social activities, in addition to three days paid volunteering leave each year and a day’s leave to celebrate your birthday.
• Hybrid working so you can enjoy the positive wellbeing of working from home as well as the benefits of meeting colleagues in our sociable, modern office environments - with the expectation of two 'in-office' days per week.
• A flexible working window, allowing colleagues the freedom to work flexibly between the hours of 7am and 7pm.

*Please note, we recruit on a rolling basis so early applications are recommended to avoid disappointment.

Together, we have been building better futures for over 100 years. For our people, our clients and their people, our communities and the environment. We thrive on tackling complex problems. And we believe those problems are best solved by diverse teams - diverse in skills, approaches and backgrounds.

Our independence lets our people be themselves and think freely, while working in a collaborative, supportive environment. We love innovative, independent thinking and want everyone to share their ideas.

We are continually working to improve our inclusive culture and employ diverse talent. We therefore welcome applications from people from all backgrounds, which includes but isn’t limited to: age, disability, ethnic heritage, gender, marital or civil partnership status, neurodiversity, religion, sexual orientation, and socio-economic background.

Our hybrid working model offers the best of both worlds - home working as well as a fun, collaborative office environment - meaning flexible working patterns to accommodate individual needs.