Senior Media Relations Manager

We are looking to bring on board a temporary Senior Relations Media Manger to cover for 12 month Maternity cover. You will take a lead strategic role to ensure the delivery of day-to-day media activity in a fast-paced deadline-driven environment to support key business areas, including significant projects working with stakeholders promoting the company’s reputation to external audiences
What you will be doing as Senior Relations Media Manager

• Take a leading role on Media Relations for Thames Water
• Key contributor to press office in its successful day-to-day operations, e.g. draft briefings +’lines to take’ documents, media packs etc on (water efficiency, waste, river health, social mobility, journey to net zero, customer experience), and work on proactive projects, research and campaigns to enhance the reputation of the business
• Act as a company spokesperson and communicate the key messages around the company’s refocused Turnaround plan and strategy
• Act as trusted business partner and communication consultant to the business and support senior management with media engagement where and when needed
• Build, maintain and influence external relationships with relevant sector, regional and Tier 1 journalists
• Manage agency relationships to ensure service standards are met along with budget requirements
• Take part in a 24-hour on-call rota, including weekends, to respond when needed to media-related issues

What you should bring to the role 

• Extensive press officer experience, or 7-8 years as a journalist.
• Proven record of media handling and campaign planning.
• Highly developed understanding of Media Relations, preferably with experience of working in a highly regulated sector.
• You will be working in house or agency side managing workloads.
• Good media connections is advantageous but not essential.
• Experience in creating briefs and setting up interviews.
• In-depth skills in managing internal and external stakeholders.
• Experience of leading media campaigns using market research and meeting KPI targets.

What's in it for you?

• Competitive salary £70,000 - £75,000 per annum.
• Car Allowance.
• Private Medical Cover.
• Annual Leave 26 days holiday per year increasing to 30 with the length of service. (Plus bank holidays).
• Contributory pension – Defined Contribution - Maximum of 12% -2x employee contribution.
• Personal Medical Assessments – Open to all once a year.
• Wider benefits scheme including our benefits hub, which is packed full of offers and information to save you money and support your wellbeing.

Who are we?
At Thames Water, our purpose is crystal clear - to deliver life’s essential service so our customers, communities and planet can thrive.
Water is life’s great leveller. Every living thing needs it, every single day. From people to plants, birds to bees, farms to factories, we all need it to thrive, and we’re committed to taking care of it.
But keeping water flowing is becoming harder. From scorching summers to wetter winters, extreme weather affects everything from our pipes to our local rivers. We must keep millions more kettles boiling, public services operating, washing machines spinning, showers running and more, so every drop is more precious than ever. Are you ready to play your part?
Working at Thames Water
At Thames Water, we recognise that people are at the heart of our business. To help us succeed in providing life's essential service, we need a range of skills and capabilities, representative of society throughout our business.
We seek to attract and retain a cultural mix of people who can offer different but complementary attitudes, values, talents, and knowledge. We understand the importance of appreciating and harnessing the unique skills, experiences, backgrounds, and differences that each individual brings.
Our over-arching diversity and inclusion aim is to ensure Thames Water is a diverse and inclusive great place to work. We encourage applications from everyone and offer extra support for those who need it throughout the recruitment process.
Find out more about working at Thames Water.
When a crisis happens, we all rally around to support our customers. As part of Team Thames, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up to support our customers on the frontline as an ambassador. Full training will be given for what is undoubtedly an incredibly rewarding experience. It’s also a great opportunity to learn more about our business, meet colleagues and earn some extra money along the way.
Disclaimer: Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we may close the advert earlier than the advertised date. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.