Communications and External Affairs Manager

We are currently looking for a Communications and External Affairs Manager to join our Communications team on a full time, 18 month fixed term basis.

This new role is an important part of the Communications team, and will support Southbank Centre bring its incredible story to life at a critical point in its history.

The successful candidate will be joining the Communications team at an exciting time, preparing for the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary. The Communications team looks after all press and stakeholder engagement, including external affairs and government relations. This new role will help us to build on our reputation as a leading global arts organisation and sector thought leader.

Main responsibilities include:

• Supporting the Head of External Affairs and Policy and the Director of Communications to articulate the impact of the Southbank Centre and vision of its leadership, as part of the Southbank Centre’s communication strategy
• Lead the writing of the Southbank Centre’s Annual Review, ensuring the Southbank Centre is positioned as a sector leader by supporting on developing an institutional narrative and identifying proof points that help to articulate impact and leadership
• In partnership with the Exec Office, draft speeches, opinion pieces and identify speaking opportunities for the CEO, Artistic Director, Board members and senior management as required
• Monitor policy, political and corporate developments, including opportunities and threats relevant to the arts sector through the Parliamentary monitoring service, wider media and social media, events and conferences, recommend and take forward action based on these, and updating key internal staff, including the CEO and Senior Leadership Team
• Maintain and develop the External Affairs stakeholder database, ensuring up to date information and accurate contact details for business continuity

Key skills that will help you in this role include:

• Has strong written skills, tailored to varying audiences, which includes writing speeches, opinion pieces and corporate documents with creativity and a sharp attention to detail
• Has significant experience of working in corporate communications, public affairs, policy or political environments
• Has excellent interpersonal skills, with ability to network, negotiate and sensitively communicate with a wide range of people and their demands both internally and externally

Please download the attached Job Description for a full overview of this role responsibilities.

We welcome applications from people from a Black, Asian or Ethnically Diverse background or those who are D/deaf or disabled. If you wish to discuss reasonable adjustments such as a BSL interpreter for your interview please indicate this on your application form. Interviews will take place at The Southbank Centre. If you would like to speak to someone about any adjustments or concerns you can also email hrteam@southbankcentre.co.uk and we will be in touch with you to make the necessary arrangements.

By attracting people to work for us from a broad range of backgrounds with diverse attitudes, opinions and beliefs we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things. The Southbank Centre is a warm and welcoming place to work, with great aspirations and ambitions to create great and accessible work for all. We pride ourselves in building a supportive environment to enable the development of our staff.

If you feel you have just some of the required skills and experience but meet the person specification, we would still encourage you to apply; we are very open to continuing the training and development of individuals who are self motivated to acquire new skills and knowledge relevant to the role.