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PR and Public Engagement Manager

Employer
Bright Horizons
Location
Rushden, Northamptonshire
Salary
£35,000 - £50,000
Closing date
12 Dec 2020

View more

Contract Type
Permanent
Hours
Full Time
Discipline
Press / Media Relations, Marketing Communications
Seniority
Manager / Mid-Management
Sector
Education
Business Type
In-house

Marketing, Communications and Sales directorate: Marketing, Communications and Sales directorate is responsible for driving income growth and reputation enhancement for Bright Horizons through the delivery of sector leading strategy and plans to position our institution at the forefront of the minds of parents, working professionals, employers, stakeholders, influencers and local government partners. 

Our vision is to deliver sector leading brand experiences, communications and engagement across a broad range of touchpoints and channels for all our business verticals. Customer first and digitally enhanced being our primary drivers – we strive to deliver proactive, personalised, warm, relevant and memorable experiences, underpinned by insight, driven by data and our Bright Horizons growth strategy.

Corporate Marketing and Communications Team: The Corporate Marketing and Communications Team’s role is to create and enhance the external image of our institution across wide national audiences, whether working professionals, management professionals and decisionmakers, subject-matter experts and influencers, policymakers and local authorities, national and local press. The team manages all external and internal communication, both at a strategic and operational delivery level and will therefore support the wider marketing and customer experience teams in disseminating influential and audience-focused messaging. National and local PR, social media channels and internal communications are aligned to stimulate engagement across external and internal audiences, informing and engaging them with ongoing developments  at Bright Horizons. The team will equally manage and provide market leading research and insight, including customer, consumer and competitive studies that will help us to drive our business forward. 

The Role: The role of the PR and Public Engagement Manager is to develop and execute the company’s PR strategy which is aligned with the company’s objectives.  This covers both proactive and reactive messaging, relationship management with our external PR agency and key media outlets as well as monitoring the external landscape and disseminating relevant information back into the business.

Responsible for:

  • Preparing and managing a wide range of media statements in collaboration with senior UK and global colleagues to support the company’s desired media positioning.
  • Maintaining an on-going relationship and collaboration with US Investor relations and global PR team to align company PR strategy to wider business needs
  • Public affairs and engagement, including working with internal experts to monitor the public affairs landscape, respond to public consultations, liaise with government ministers and departments as appropriate and attend meetings and events to position Bright Horizons as an influencer and thought leader in relevant areas.
  • Creation and delivery of our Public Relations strategy in consultation with UK Leadership Team and global PR colleagues, including writing editorial content for four business areas, creating national and local level press interest through press releases, providing commentary on debates, customer spotlights, topical blogs, etc.
  • Owning and managing research for PR purposes in conjunction with Research and Insights Manager (Modern Families Index, ad-hoc research (Lasting Impact), client survey, parent survey). 
  • Managing PR Officer and local press releases to ensure they align to BH strategy of being a best in class early years provider
  • Collate and report on impact of PR activity and adjust strategy and approach as necessary
  • Collating and sharing external best practice with internal teams to shape thought leadership and service development.
  • Critical incident and communications support for the business, including protecting the company’s reputation as and when critical incidents arise.
  • Work collaboratively with other functions to identify and minimise reputational risk arising from events or incidents, also BH-instigated change or actions. Provide guidance and consider impact of specific content on all audiences/media. 

Essential Experience:

  • Experience of a management level role in public relations for a complex service company
  • Demonstrated ability to network with stakeholders including media, clients / end users, internal experts and suppliers 
  • Demonstrated ability to think strategically, plan, prioritise and organise. 
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • High competence levels and understanding of all on and off line PR tools
  • Understanding of at least one area of Bright Horizons service offering (ie early years, employee benefits)
  • Ability to multi-task and maintain focus on key issues whilst working in a busy environment,
  • Good leadership and management skills,
  • Proven ability in managing relationships with external agencies

Experience Desirable:

  • Understanding and experience of all Bright Horizons service lines
  • Global PR experience at a publicly traded company

Qualifications

  • A relevant first degree or equivalent experience in public relations and engagement sphere 
  • A relevant higher degree, professional marketing / PR qualification, membership of a relevant professional body (CIM, IDM) or significant equivalent experience

Personal attributes

  • Excellent influencer, change-maker and effective communicator (oral and in writing)
  • Highly motivated and driven, achieving positive impact and meeting deadlines
  • Ability to build trust and develop cohesive teams – strong empathy, clear expectations and fair-minded
  • High energy and thrives in a fast-paced, dynamic environment  - calm approach and ‘can-do’ attitude
  • Encourages colleagues to realise their potential and empowers high performers
  • Able to use data and numerical detail effectively to inform strategy, measure impact and drive quality
  • Ability to travel within the UK; flexibility to work at home or from a regional office as required, with overnight stays as necessary

We look forward to receiving your application!

Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of criminal record disclosure to be undertaken. Therefore, it is essential in making your application that you disclose any information requested in respect of applicable convictions and cautions (including, as applicable any reprimands or final warnings). This post may be exempt from the provisions of Section 4 (2) of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, in which case applicants are not entitled to withhold information about convictions which for other purposes are ‘spent’ under the provision of the Act unless the conviction or caution is “protected” as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Any such ‘protected’ conviction or caution is not subject to disclosure to employers, and cannot be taken into account. All guidance and criteria on the filtering of these cautions and convictions can be found in the DBS filtering collection, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/dbs-filtering-guidance. The fact that a pending charge, conviction, caution, reprimand or final warning has been recorded against you will not necessarily debar you from consideration for this role but any failure to disclose any such information will result in dismissal or disciplinary action.

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