Senior Media Advisor

Yarra Valley Water Corporation; Healesville; Hybrid; AUD 124,000 - 134,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work

On-site parking

Parental leave

Personal leave

Reproductive leave

Holiday swap

Job summary

Yarra Valley Water is seeking a Senior Media Advisor to lead strategic media support, build trust with journalists, and shape how the organisation is perceived across services, sustainability, and community impact.

You will engage with executives, manage on-call duties roughly every five weeks, and develop proactive media strategies to reach the right audiences at the right times.

Qualifications

• Experience as a media or strategic communications advisor.
• Strong written and verbal communication, with negotiation skills.
• Experience delivering media plans and managing issues/crises.
• Strong relationship and stakeholder management with journalists/government.
• Understanding of State Government processes and policy frameworks.
• Tertiary qualifications in Communications or related discipline.

Responsibilities

• Develop proactive and reactive media strategies to build trust and protect our reputation.
• Coordinate interviews and events, preparing spokespeople with tailored briefings and Q&As.
• Provide strategic media advice to the Managing Director, Executive Team and senior leaders.
• Collaborate across teams to deliver integrated campaigns and amplify media opportunities.
• Deliver tailored media training and briefings for Executives and spokespeople.
• Monitor media coverage and provide timely insights, trends and reporting.

Skills

Media relations

Strategic communications

Crisis management

Stakeholder engagement

Written communication

Public speaking

Education

Tertiary qualifications in Communications, Business, Social Sciences or related discipline

Job description

True hybrid working – work from home and our Mitcham office

About Us

We’re on a mission to create a brighter future, where you can be a change maker at the actual source. We’re one of Australia’s largest water utilities with over 30% of Victoria’s population relying on us for their essential water and sanitation services.

Our award-winning culture fosters an inclusive, collaborative, and flexible environment that enables our people to thrive. Here, you’ll be inspired and challenged to grow alongside us.

We're committed to reconciliation and supporting the self-determined role for Traditional Owners/Custodians in water and land management.

The Role

The Senior Media Advisor leads strategic media support for Yarra Valley Water, helping build and protect our reputation.

You’ll build strong relationships with journalists and media outlets, provide trusted advice to our spokespeople, and develop proactive media strategies that bring our business and communication priorities to life.

As a senior member of the team, you’ll shape how Yarra Valley Water is seen and understood, from our services and sustainability initiatives to the impact we make in our communities. You’ll make sure our stories are clear, credible and engaging and reach the right audience at the right time.

Given the nature of the role and its operational requirements, the position participates in an out-of-hours on-call duty roster, on average once every five weeks.

Your Key Responsibilities

Media Management

• Develop and deliver proactive and reactive media strategies that build trust, strengthen our reputation and support Yarra Valley Water’s priorities.
• Create clear, compelling media content and coordinate interviews and events, preparing spokespeople with tailored briefings, talking points and Q&As
• Provide strategic media advice during issues and crises, supported by forward planning and strong stakeholder relationships.

Collaboration & Stakeholder Management

• Build trusted relationships with journalists, editors and key influencers to strengthen Yarra Valley Water’s voice and reputation across water, sustainability, customer and community issues.
• Provide strategic media advice to the Managing Director, Executive Team and senior leaders to support clear, effective decisions and messaging.
• Collaborate across teams to deliver integrated campaigns and amplify media opportunities across social, digital and owned channels.

Monitoring, Reporting & Training

Deliver tailored media training, coaching and briefings to help Executives and spokespeople communicate with confidence and clarity.

• Monitor and analyse media coverage, providing timely insights, trends and reporting that identify opportunities, risks and inform future strategy.
• Manage media monitoring, agency support and media contacts to ensure quality intelligence, measurement and strong media relationships.

What we’re Looking for

Experience as a media or strategic communications advisor, either in-house or in a consultancy environment

Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to negotiate and influence effectively.

Experience developing and delivering media plans that identify proactive opportunities and effectively manage issues and crises.

Strong relationship and stakeholder management skills, with experience working with journalists, government contacts, senior leaders and executives

Excellent research, writing and proofreading skills, with a strong eye for accuracy and detail.

The ability to develop clear, effective messages and tailor written content for different audiences and communication channels.

An understanding of State Government processes and policy frameworks, particularly those relating to publications and reporting.

Tertiary qualifications in Communications, Business, Social Sciences or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant business experience

Why Yarra Valley Water?

We celebrate and encourage new thinking at every level. Creating opportunities for you to grow – both professionally, and personally. When you flourish, we all do.

• $124,152.08 - $134,209.92 per annum plus 12% superannuation
• Flexible working arrangements where our people are empowered to design their days with their team.
• Free and secure on-site parking with on-site café at our Mitcham office.
• 16 weeks paid parental leave.
• 15 days paid personal leave, which can be used for caring, illness, wellbeing and mental health needs.
• 5 days paid reproductive leave which can be used for experiencing symptoms or undergoing procedures associated with issues such as menopause, menstruation, endometriosis, PCOS, prostate health, or IVF.
• Request to swap certain public holidays for another day of paid leave.

Did you Know?

Research shows that men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, while women and other marginalised people tend to only apply when they meet all of them. So, if you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily tick every box, please apply or get in touch. We'd love to have a chat and see if you could be a great fit.

We welcome applications from everyone, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, mature age and young job seekers, members of the LGBTIQA+ community and people of all cultural backgrounds. If you need this information in an accessible format or would like to discuss reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process.

Successful applicants must be eligible to work in Australia and agree to provide information for pre-employment checks, if required for the position. This may also include a Police Check or AusCheck, where an offer will be subject to a satisfactory outcome of these checks.

Yarra Valley Water is recognised by Australian Disability Network as a Disability Confident Recruiter employer.