Director - Media (Energy & Climate) in City of Westminster

About Public First, a SHGH company. Public First is a specialist consultancy that helps charities, philanthropists, public sector bodies and global brands to improve public policy. Based in London, we have worked in more than thirty international markets. We are part think tank, part strategic consultancy, part research company, and part communications agency. In practice, we bring together the disciplines that make policy change happen: research and analysis, political insight, strategy and communications. Our team includes former senior civil servants, political advisers, campaigners, researchers and journalists. Many of us have worked at the most senior levels of government, Parliament and political campaigns, and we continue to be active across the political spectrum. Public First works alongside Stonehaven as part of SHGH, a Group of cross-border advisory firms, guiding clients through an unprecedented period of change in policy, politics, regulation, and sustainable growth.

Our Energy, Climate and Environment Practice delivers policy, campaigns and data-led projects at the centre of the energy transition. We combine the strengths of Public First and Stonehaven—bringing together policy, political insight, research and communications to help clients navigate complex and fast-moving issues. Our recent projects have included:

• From Risk to Resilience: The Case for Flood-Resilient Communities, Economy and Growth – Public First economic and opinion research quantifying the costs of flooding in the UK and making the case for long-term investment in flood resilience.
• What is Retrofit Anyway? – Public First research on how homeowners understand and respond to retrofit, identifying motivations and barriers to energy efficiency upgrades.
• Atomlink: Unlocking Civil Nuclear Expansion at the Western Frontier – Stonehaven policy analysis outlining a trilateral US–UK–Poland framework to accelerate civil nuclear expansion, strengthen supply chains and boost energy security.
• North Sea Transition Taskforce – Stonehaven-led policy recommendations on delivering a managed transition of the North Sea that protects jobs, investment and UK energy security.

The Role: We are looking for a senior media hire to join our Energy & Environment practice at Director level. This is a role for someone with strong media instincts and credibility—whether from journalism, an in-house press leadership role, or a media-focused agency—who wants to apply those skills to more substantive, policy-led work. As a Director, you will be a senior operator within the firm. You will lead significant client relationships and deliver high-quality work with a high degree of autonomy. Your core contribution will be bringing media judgement into complex policy environments—helping shape narratives, advise clients on positioning, and translate technical energy and climate issues into clear, credible communications. We want you to develop an unrivalled network among energy journalists, understanding what makes them tick, delivering quality stories and insight for their pages and ensuring that they always take your call. You will work closely with Partners, deputising where required, while leading your own workstreams and contributing to the growth of the practice.

What you will do:

• Shape clear and credible narratives on complex energy and climate issues, ensuring they are both intellectually robust and able to land with external audiences.
• Translate detailed and often technical policy into concise, accessible and persuasive outputs across a range of formats.
• Advise clients on media strategy and political positioning, drawing on a strong understanding of how media, politics and policymaking interact in practice.
• Lead major client accounts with a high degree of independence, maintaining quality while managing delivery and expectations.
• Build trusted client relationships and oversee programmes of work from initial scoping through to delivery, ensuring work is both impactful and commercially sound.
• Manage and support teams to deliver consistently strong outputs, drawing effectively on expertise from across the firm.
• Contribute to winning new work, including through proposal development and by identifying opportunities with existing and prospective clients.
• Develop the best journalist network in the UK energy sector.
• Support the development of the practice and the wider firm, particularly in strengthening our media and communications offer.

About you: A senior media professional with strong judgement and established credibility. Extensive experience in journalism, senior press roles or media consultancy. A clear and sustained interest in energy, climate or environmental policy. A precise and confident writer, able to make complex issues clear without oversimplifying. Well connected in media and news outlets with the ability to draw upon those networks in meaningful and strategic ways. Commercially aware, with experience of leading client work and managing competing priorities. Collaborative and self-aware, with the ability to operate independently while knowing when to draw on others.

What we offer: The opportunity to work on high-impact policy questions at the centre of the energy transition. A team that is motivated by the substance of the issues and the quality of the work. The chance to apply media skills in a more analytical and policy-driven context. A culture that values clarity of thought, sound judgement and intellectual rigour. Salary dependent on experience, starting at £80,000 for a Director level (more junior applicants at Associate Director level are also welcome). Competitive benefits including 25 days annual leave, 5% pension contribution, private healthcare and a profit share (bonus) scheme. Hybrid working environment.