Location:                     London

Work pattern:              Hybrid (2 days from home, 3 in the office)     

Purpose of role: 

We're looking to recruit a Senior Account Manager to work within our award-winning public affairs division on a number of flagship client accounts, including for some of the country's most recognisable organisations (a full list of our clients can be found on the Public Affairs Board Register). Our client base covers a broad range of sectors including transport, energy, food & drink and technology.

Grayling has a prestigious public affairs practice and already this year won PR Week's Award for the Best Proactive Lobbying Campaign on an Issue or Cause for our work with Bumble to criminalise cyber-flashing. We are also excited to be shortlisted for The Sabre Awards EMEA Public Affairs Consultancy of the Year 2023

The role will require excellent political knowledge and judgement, an understanding of parliamentary process and procedure, an eye for detail, excellent written English, good judgement and a proactive mind set. This will be an active client-facing role, so the successful candidate must also have a proven track record of advising senior executives, politicians or decision-makers in previous roles. Excellent communication and presentation skills are also essential. 

The day to day:

• Account management of top public affairs accounts 
• Acting as a day to day point of contact for clients 
• Supporting Grayling’s senior team to provide strategic political guidance to our clients  Attending and contributing to client meetings 
• Drafting political briefing notes and parliamentary correspondence 
• Managing the organisation of client events and parliamentary receptions 
• Contributing to our departmental marketing strategy and set-piece Grayling events
• Playing an active role in pitching to secure new business opportunities 
• Developing more junior team members, resolving any issues promptly along with celebrating achievements and empowering the team achieve their full potential in a positive and supportive environment

About you:

• Excellent understanding of both politics and policy development processes, ideally gained within a public affairs agency environment, or in-house within a public affairs team
• Commercially astute and decisive
• Curious – a desire to learn, improve, apply new knowledge and develop self
• Incisive, creative and strategic problem solver
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Confident networker
• Supportive, inspiring and motivational leader
• Personal drive and passion for the industry
• Self-aware and able to adapt personal style and approach to clients and team
• Calm and authoritative in response to issues or crisis

Our promises to you:

• Flexible working arrangements, including hybrid working (where you can work two days a week from home)
• 25 days’ holiday, increasing by one day every year up to 30 days
• Duvet morning on your birthday 
• Gifted time off over Christmas 
• Life insurance Employee Assistance Programme offering a 24/7 confidential advice line
• Regular team socials and early finish Fridays
• An abundance of personal development opportunities, through our Grayling Advantage Academy (with courses ranging from writing, resilience, creativity and more) 
• New business and employee referral bonuses
• Cycle to work scheme Health & wellbeing programmes, including discounted gym membership

About us:

Grayling is the UK’s best-connected communications agency. With nine offices across the UK and 70 offices around the world, we create advantage for our clients through insight-led campaigns that deliver tangible results.

We're in the top 5 of Newsweek's 100 UK Most Loved Workplaces due to our open and supportive environment and were ‘Highly Commended’ in the large consultancy of the year category in the 2022 PR Week awards. We’re a sociable bunch and life at Grayling will offer you a whole host of benefits including 4pm Friday finishes, hybrid working, regular training workshops and regular socials – not to mention the opportunity to work across award winning global campaigns!

We are proudly part of Accordience. Accordience is an international public relations, public affairs, financial and corporate communications group – made up of Grayling, Citigate Dewe Rogerson (CDR), Red and Cirkle.  Together, we have c.1,000 employees and operations in 30 countries. 

We believe diversity is strength. Our commitment at Grayling is to combine our employees’ unique backgrounds, perspectives and experiences to build a more diverse and inclusive organization that represents all of us and the businesses we work with.  We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and will give fair consideration to all applicants regardless of age, gender identity, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, family or parental status, neurodiversity and disability status. 

We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and will be very happy to provide any reasonable adjustments during our application and interview process.