Communications Manager

[axr] Recruitment & Search; Australia; On-site; AUD 78,000 - 120,000; Part time

Job summary

axr Recruitment & Search is seeking a Communications Manager for a part-time maternity cover (3 days per week) based in New South Wales. The role balances strategic counsel to senior leaders with hands-on content creation across PR, brand storytelling and employee communications, reporting to the Marketing & Innovation Director.

You will develop commercially grounded plans, drive proactive media, craft executive messaging, and engage frontline staff while partnering with People & Culture on

Qualifications

• Broad communications background spanning internal and external comms, corporate affairs and brand PR.
• Experience building commercial brand and PR communications plans.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills; translate complex product and commercial info into engaging narratives.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute commercially grounded communications plans aligned with business, marketing and brand strategy.
• Drive proactive PR and earned media for priority product launches and announcements, including xpress releases and thought leadership.
• Craft executive and leadership communications for the President and senior leaders.
• Engage employees across the business, including frontline technicians, and manage internal engagement platforms.
• Partner with People & Culture on culture, employer branding, engagement and change initiatives.
• Lead ESG communications and community partnerships, with input from General Counsel when needed.

Skills

Internal communications

External communications

Brand PR

Executive storytelling

Employee communications

Canva

CapCut

Tools

Canva

CapCut

Job description

The Company

This is a well-established, market-leading business with strong Australian heritage and the backing of a global group. Our products sit across both commercial and consumer markets, and we operate across multiple business units in Australia and New Zealand. Communications plays a central role in how we build our brand reputation, engage our people – including a large frontline service workforce – and keep stakeholders aligned locally and globally.

The Role

This Communications Manager role leads and delivers both internal and external communications for the business, on a part-time basis (3 days per week) as a 12-month maternity cover commencing December 2026. Reporting to the Marketing & Innovation Director, it's a standalone role with no external PR agency, balancing strategic counsel to senior leaders with hands‑on delivery across PR, brand storytelling, executive messaging and employee communications.

Key responsibilities include:

• Develop and execute commercially grounded communications plans aligned with business, marketing and brand strategy, working closely with the global communications team
• Drive proactive PR and earned media for priority product launches and announcements – including press releases, story pitches, case studies, award submissions and long‑form thought leadership – with a focus on AI/LLM search visibility
• Craft executive and leadership communications, including all‑hands messaging, presentations, video scripts and thought leadership for the President and senior leaders
• Engage employees across the business, with a dedicated focus on frontline service technicians, while curating the internal engagement platform and facilitating town halls 3–4 times a year
• Partner with People & Culture on culture, employer branding, engagement, integration and change initiatives
• Lead communications for ESG milestones and community partnerships, and develop issue-response materials and holding statements in collaboration with General Counsel when required

What You'll Bring:

• A broad communications background spanning internal comms, external comms, corporate affairs and brand PR
• Experience building commercial brand and PR communications plans – not limited to corporate or public‑sector comms
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to translate complex product, technical and commercial information into engaging narratives for executives, employees, consumers and journalists
• The ability to move seamlessly between high‑level strategic counsel and hands‑on content creation, including basic design and video tools such as Canva and CapCut
• The gravitas to counsel senior stakeholders, combined with the autonomy and multi‑tasking skills to thrive in a standalone role
• Experience in commercial, consumer‑facing or hybrid B2B/B2C environments, executive visibility programs or change and integration comms will be highly regarded