Senior Manager, Public Affairs

Weber Shandwick; Greater London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Disability Confident Employer

Job summary

Weber Shandwick is seeking a talented Senior Manager to join the Westminster-focused Public Affairs team. You will lead integrated work streams, manage client plans and budgets, and collaborate with a high-performing, policy-aware group.

The role requires passion for UK politics, a strong work ethic, and the ability to mentor junior colleagues while delivering high-quality campaigns for major brands and industries.

Qualifications

• Experience in public affairs or politics.
• Strong UK political network and relationships with stakeholders.
• Ability to lead client calls and multi-workstream projects.
• Mentor junior team members and manage interns.
• Policy drafting or policy responses experience.
• Industry knowledge in construction or retail is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and manage multiple integrated work streams for client engagements.
• Design and implement public affairs programmes across government, corporate and trade sectors.
• Develop and manage client plans, budgets and timelines with minimal supervision.
• Build relationships with media and influencers to support campaigns.
• Oversee team resourcing and provide mentorship to associates and interns.
• Contribute to new business pitches and growth efforts.

Skills

Public affairs

Client management

Leadership

Team mentoring

Presentation skills

Budgeting

Networking

Job description

Who is Weber Shandwick?

At The Weber Shandwick Collective, we create cultural value and help companies navigate the ever-changing age of earned: an age where consumers actively say no to advertising; an age where everyone is an influencer that can make or break your brand; an age where content can be turned into commercial opportunity. We energise the right mix of talent, using the right platforms and latest technology to choreograph stories that make a real and meaningful impact for some of the world’s leading brands and businesses.

We earn affection, attention, affinity and purchase by delivering value to people around the world, with deep specialisms across food & drink, travel & tourism, consumer tech, consumer health, automotive, sports sponsorship, entertainment & lifestyle and energy. We are known for:

• Developing data driven insights and strategies to drive measurable impact
• Creating impactful campaigns that tap into culture
• Creating channel and platform agnostic campaigns that grow organically
• Delivering integrated campaigns that are earned-first but deliver for paid and owned

What's happening?

Weber Shandwick is excited to be seeking a talented Senior Manager to join our Westminster focused Public Affairs team. Sitting as part of our Corporate Enterprise unit, the practice is made up of a smart, dedicated and fun team with expertise spanning B2B, Corporate, Public Affairs, Crisis/Issues, Social Impact/ESG and Technology.

Working across a portfolio of leading businesses, you will be delivering public affairs programmes that help our clients to navigate an unprecedented time of political change and uncertainty.

The successful candidate will demonstrate the following key attributes:

CLIENT AND WORK

• Lead/manage multiple integrated work streams and partner with mid-level and senior clients to deliver on time/on budget work plans with minimal supervision;
• Drive development of tactical plans, translating strategies into tactics, ensuring high quality deliverables align with strategies
• Demonstrate a thorough understanding of how to design and implement public affairs programmes on behalf of government, corporate and trade association clients, with an emphasis on highly-regulated industries
• Facilitate cross-functional team integration
• Actively participate in the development of client plans and program recommendations
• Proactively support and suggest improvements to exceed client expectations by leveraging industry knowledge/experience
• Develop and builds relationships with media and diverse set of influencers
• Manage ongoing team resourcing/staffing to ensure successful delivery of work product

SELF LEADERSHIP AND TALENT MANAGEMENT

• Participate in the hiring process, partnering with hiring managers to interview and to support onboarding of Associates and Interns
• Mentor and train junior team members and manage interns
• Comfortable with conflict resolution and creative problem solving
• Build and lead productive relationships internally, with interagency teams, and a diverse array of agency colleagues

GROWTH AND BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

• Participate in brainstorms and planning
• Support new business pitch content creation and organic business growth efforts (proactive/reactive)
• Begin honing presentation skills, participating in pitches when possible
• Gain understanding of all capabilities and offerings within the firm

BUSINESS ACUMEN

• Develop budgets, supports analysis of budget and time entry, and account invoicing
• Assist in financial management for clients, including development of invoices and activity reports to maintain profitability of engagements

To be considered for this role, you must have a passion for UK politics and how it impacts the business community. We are looking for candidates with a 'can-do' attitude and a strong, consistent work ethic evidenced through your career to date.

The UK public affairs team is high-performing, but also fun and passionate about politics. As a result, we are looking for a strong cultural as well as technical fit.

Minimum Criteria:

Previous experience in a related role spanning public affairs, the civil service or broader politics.

Ideal Experience Required:

• A keen eye for policy detail, evidenced either via work in consultancy, broader political environments, such as in UK Parliament or a party HQ, the civil service, or in-house at a corporate company or NGO.
• A strong network spanning party-political and/or Whitehall contacts honed over your time working in public affairs and/or politics to date
• Confidence leading weekly status update client calls and meetings
• Experience managing junior colleagues, ideally at intern or Account Executive level
• Experience drafting policy responses, specifically consultation responses
• Prior experience working with businesses in the construction and retail sectors is advantageous but not mandatory

Even if you don't hit all of the points above, we still want to hear from you if you feel like you would be an excellent fit for this role!

Join us and help make an impact.

Together, we'll set the bar, cheer each other on and multiply your potential.

At Weber Shandwick we are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.