Senior External Communications Lead

Shoosmiths LLP; Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds; Remote; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Benefits package

Job summary

Shoosmiths LLP in the UK is seeking a Senior PR & External Communications Manager to lead the firm’s external profile and media strategy across Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. You will shape narratives, align paid, earned, owned and social channels, and drive reputation-building initiatives with cross-functional teams.

You will own governance, planning, impact measurement and ROI, while developing executive profiles and guiding senior leaders in media engagement and campaigns.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in external communications, media relations, corporate reputation or integrated social media.
• Strong judgement on media, social media, reputation, issues and stakeholder sensitivity.
• Proven ability to develop proactive media campaigns, social media activity and profile-building programmes.
• Strong understanding of how PR and social media complement each other, including how earned media, thought leadership, events and executive profile can be amplified through social channels.
• Experience advising senior leaders and partners, including spokesperson briefing, media training and profile-building.
• Strong writing, messaging, media handling and social content judgement.
• Experience using events, paid media, digital channels and campaign amplification as part of integrated external communications.
• Ability to create clear planning, measurement and reporting approaches that demonstrate communications impact and ROI.
• Experience managing agencies, external advisers, budgets and campaign spend.

Responsibilities

• Lead the external communications and social media strategy, creating clear plans, priorities and reporting rhythms aligned to the 2030 strategy, corporate narrative and reputation objectives.
• Own Shoosmiths’ social media strategy, governance, channel approach, tone, escalation routes, measurement and performance expectations.
• Build proactive media, reputation and profile-building activity across national, international, business, legal trade, sector, regional and specialist media.
• Lead communications for major announcements, campaigns, partnerships, sponsorships, strategic milestones and issues management, including messaging, media handling and social response planning.
• Ensure PR and social media are planned together, with media moments amplified through social content and social insight used to strengthen PR opportunities, messaging and reputation management.
• Develop executive and partner profile-building activity, including media briefing, commentary, social visibility, thought leadership opportunities and media training.
• Oversee strategic events, ensuring they support reputation, relationship-building, campaign priorities, client engagement and firmwide objectives.
• Line manage the Social Media Executive and work with Marketing Operations, Brand and Creative, Editorial and Clients & Markets to deliver integrated external communications.
• Lead horizon scrolling, media monitoring, competitor tracking, social listening, coverage analysis and measurement frameworks that demonstrate quality, reach, sentiment, engagement, impact and ROI.
• Manage agency, freelance, paid media and event budgets, ensuring external support is well briefed, well controlled and measured for value.

Skills

External communications

Media relations

Corporate reputation

Integrated social media

Media training

Budget management

Agency management

Job description

Shoosmiths LLP in the UK is seeking a Senior PR & External Communications Manager to lead the firm’s external profile and media strategy across Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. You will shape narratives, align paid, earned, owned and social channels, and drive reputation-building initiatives with cross-functional teams.

You will own governance, planning, impact measurement and ROI, while developing executive profiles and guiding senior leaders in media engagement and campaigns.