Head of Media and Stakeholder Relations

Contract: Permanent working 35 hours per week

Salary: £ 51,581 per annum

Location: Any Arts Council office

This is a rare and exciting position to lead a busy and talented media and stakeholder team. We’re looking for a Head of Media and Stakeholder Relations who will bring expertise, resilience, confidence and good leadership to our team as we support the arts and culture sector to reset following Covid-19, and help them to deliver our 10 year strategy, Let’s Create, alongside us.

We’re looking for a communications specialist with solid judgement, a calm, enthusiastic and thoughtful approach, who is quick to react. You will be adept both at managing reputational issues and coming up with creative ideas and media pitches that show the impact of the work we do, and the value that arts and culture bring to people and communities across the country, every day.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

At Arts Council England we are looking for people who reflect the diversity of the country today to help us shape and change the arts and cultural sector to make it more relevant to the diversity of the people, communities and places we serve.

Disabled people, those from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are under-represented in our workforce, so we particularly encourage applications from people in these groups.

About the Role

We are supporting the organisations and people working in arts and culture in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, through delivery of a significant proportion of the government's Culture Recovery Fund, as well as our own funding programmes. You will play a pivotal role across this work, shaping our media approach, liaising and advising senior management, maintaining relationships with key stakeholders, media and Government departments.

As a senior member of the Advocacy and Communication National Team, you will lead the Arts Council’s media relations function, acting as an ‘on the record’ spokesperson and advising senior management in handling media and developing creative routes in to securing media coverage. You will also be responsible for ensuring best practice in our processes around reputation management, including crisis communication.

You will take responsibility for informing yourself of the economic, political and social environment and the Arts Council’s thinking on investment, policy and advocacy in order to shape our approach to communications and to media and stakeholder engagement. As a senior leader you will be expected to create a working culture which is collaborative, ensuring generous sharing of knowledge, skills and resource.

You will develop and deliver an effective external stakeholder engagement programme across a wide range of the Arts Council’s stakeholders.

About You

As the ideal candidate, you will have:

• Demonstrable experience of leading a media and stakeholder relations function in a complex environment
• Excellent negotiation and advocacy skills to enable you to build credibility and confidence with senior colleagues including the Chair and Chief Executive, stakeholders and handle media crises while remaining calm under pressure.
• You will be a talented writer (you may come from a journalistic background) and will have a strong track record in writing press releases, statements and editorial content
• Highly developed leadership skills

About Us

We believe that creativity and culture make life better. We champion, develop and invest in experiences that enrich people’s lives by supporting activities across the arts, museums and libraries.

We employ passionate and creative people with expertise in many different fields. Find out more

If you require an application pack in alternative formats (i.e. Braille, audio, large print) please contact 0161 934 4317.

To view the job description, click here

To view the recruitment pack, click here

Post reference: AC5

Closing dates for applications: Midnight, Sunday 22 November

1^st Interviews: End of November 2020

Benefits

Arts Council England is committed to offering an attractive benefits package to all its colleagues. Further information can be found on our website.