External Communications Manager

The Dot Group; Dubai; On-site; AED 600,000 - 900,000; Full time

Job summary

The Dot Group in Dubai is seeking a senior communications leader to translate strategy into high‑impact plans for its portfolio across Global Student Accommodation, Yugo and Student.com. You will own media relations, corporate communications, digital content and events, and act as a trusted adviser on reputation across 30 markets.

You will partner with the Global Head of Communications to shape strategy, narratives and crisis responses, building senior media relationships and guiding leadership

Responsibilities

• Translate the Group's external communications strategy into an annual plan with priorities and measures.
• Own delivery of the plan across brands and markets at pace with impact.
• Contribute to strategy, narratives and messaging frameworks and take ownership over time.
• Apply the Group messaging framework so each brand speaks in its own voice but tells one story.
• Coordinate with Brand, Marketing and Internal Communications to align announcements.
• Run a busy proactive and reactive press office and nurture senior media relationships.
• Lead campaigns, announcements and thought leadership from idea to coverage.
• Draft and approve press releases, Q&As, briefings and leadership content.
• Brief spokespeople, including media training and interview prep.
• Deliver communications for corporate activity and investor-facing messaging with IR/Legal/Finance.
• Monitor policy developments in priority markets and assess impact.
• Develop policy positions and key messages with Leadership.
• Shape reputation, issues and crisis planning, playbooks and holding statements.
• Translate data insights into recommendations and KPIs.
• Oversee corporate websites and social channels with strong governance.
• Lead GEO to improve visibility in AI-powered search.
• Shape events, speaking and awards programs across industry and policy moments.
• Oversee event communications.

Job description

About Dot Dot is home to a set of businesses united by a bold ambition: to redefine student living and support over one million students each year. Spanning 180+ cities in 30 countries, our companies include, Global Student Accommodation (GSA), Yugo and Student.com. Together, we bring global scale and local insight, powered by more than 2000 passionate people. We believe progress happens when people come together with purpose. We're committed to building long term value through everything we do. With three decades of continuous evolution, Dot's strength lies in how we work. We are pioneering, purposeful and positive, driving smart, sustainable growth across our portfolio. We connect expertise with opportunity to turn ideas into impact and momentum into lasting change

Our Values

• Pioneering: With three decades of groundbreaking achievements and a passion for international expansion, our distinctive proposition remains stronger than ever.
• Purposeful: Every action we take is intentional, designed to align with our values and create lasting benefits for our people, communities, and the planet.
• Positive: We tackle challenges with resilience and seek to create a supportive and empowering environment for our teams and communities.

Role Purpose

You will lead the delivery of external communications for Dot and its portfolio companies, turning the Group's communications strategy into high-impact plans and results across media relations, public affairs, corporate communications, digital content and events. Working closely with the Global Head of Communications, you will own delivery and move quickly, while building the experience to shape strategy yourself. You will be one of the Group's senior media voices, a trusted adviser to leaders on reputation, and the first line of defence when issues arise across our 30 countries.

Key Responsibilities

Planning and delivery

Translate the Group's external communications strategy into an annual plan with clear priorities, owners and measures

Own delivery of the plan at pace, focusing on delivering impact and balancing the priorities of multiple brands and markets

Contribute to the development of strategy, narratives and messaging frameworks, taking increasing ownership of defined areas of strategy over time

Apply the Group messaging framework across all businesses so each brand speaks in its own voice to tell one Group story

Work in partnership with brand and marketing teams to align commercial priorities and spot cross-brand opportunities

Coordinate with Internal Communications so colleagues hear significant news first and announcements land consistently, inside and outside the business

PR and media relations

Run a busy proactive and reactive press office

Build and maintain senior media relationships internationally

Lead campaigns, announcements and thought leadership programmes from idea to coverage

Draft and sign off press releases, statements, Q&A, briefing notes and leadership content

Prepare and brief spokespeople, including media training and interview preparation

Corporate Communications

Deliver communications for GSA and the Group's corporate activity, including capital raises, joint ventures, acquisitions, disposals and other milestones

Work closely with the Investor Relations, Legal and Finance teams so investor-facing messaging is consistent, accurate and well timed, and commercially sensitive information is protected

Monitor policy and regulatory developments in our priority markets and assess what they mean for the business

Develop policy positions, briefings and key messages with the Global Head of Communications and business leaders

Coordinate consultation responses and Dot's participation in sector forums and coalitions

Reputation, issues and crisis

Support on issues and crisis communications planning, protocols, scenario playbooks and holding statements

Identify reputational risks early and advise on mitigation, working with Legal, Compliance, Operations and brand leaders

Lead the communications response to live incidents across time zones, including out of normal working hours

Run post-incident reviews and keep protocols tested and up to date

Support regular reputational risk reporting to leadership and the Board

Insight, listening and measurement

Translate insight from data into clear recommendations

Set KPIs against an agreed baseline and report on performance, aligning to clear business outcomes

Digital, content and GEO

Oversee the corporate website(s) and social channels, ensuring accuracy, consistency and strong governance in line with brand guidelines and tone of voice

Oversee content creation across written, visual and video formats

Lead Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) to improve how Dot and its brands appear in AI-powered search tools

Events and platforms

Shape the events, speaking and awards programme across industry, investor, higher-education and policy moments

Oversee event communications