Communications Manager

Monks; Singapore; On-site; SGD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Monks is seeking a Communications Manager to lead editorial content and awards across APAC, focusing on thought leadership, industry commentary, and strategic media placement.

You will craft high-caliber narratives, ghostwrite executive pieces, and build authority for Monks with top trade publications and regional journalists. This role emphasizes editorial excellence over brand marketing, with close collaboration with the Marketing VP to sustain a structured APAC editorial calendar.

Qualifications

• 7–10 years in agency PR, corporate comms, or trade journalism.
• Experience in ad/PR/media agency or trade publications (e.g. The Drum, Adweek, Campaign, WARC).
• Exceptional English writing/editing; Mandarin a plus.
• Deep knowledge of advertising, marketing, and media.
• Proven track record of long-form editorial content and press releases.
• Established media network in regional/global advertising/tech press.
• Experience writing award entries/case studies.

Responsibilities

• Lead editorial content creation and thought leadership across APAC.
• Draft, edit, and distribute press releases for regional campaigns and milestones.
• Pitch stories and expert commentary to top trade publications.
• Oversee awards submissions and narrative development for major industry awards.
• Craft event messaging and turn keynotes into editorial features.
• Maintain a structured APAC editorial calendar with global alignment.

Skills

Editorial writing

Editing

PR & media relations

Awards submissions

Content strategy

English writing

Job description

About The Role

We are seeking a Communication Manager with solid, hands-on experience in agency PR or industry trade media to lead editorial content and awards across APAC.

This is an editorial-first communications role focused on crafting high-caliber thought leadership, industry commentary, press releases, and narrative pieces. Rather than brand marketing or lead generation, your core function is to build industry authority and drive agency narrative through authoritative editorial content and strong media strategy.

You will bring sharp industry-specific insights - ideally honed inside an advertising agency or a major trade publication to elevate Monks' presence across the region.

Key Responsibilities

• Editorial Content Creation & Thought Leadership
  • Lead the end-to-end strategy, writing, and placement of editorial content across APAC markets.
  • Create high-impact editorial pieces, op-eds, press releases, industry fellowship/white papers, and executive narratives.
  • Develop sharp POVs on critical shifts across advertising, media, AI, tech, and culture.
  • Translate complex agency work, strategic tech offerings, and campaign case studies into compelling industry stories.
  • Ghostwrite and polish commentary for executive leaders to establish individual and agency thought leadership.
• PR & Trade Media Relations
  • Draft, edit, and distribute press releases for major regional campaign launches, key hires, and business milestones.
  • Proactively pitch stories, opinion pieces, and expert commentary to top trade publications (e.g. Campaign, WARC, trade media).
  • Build and maintain strong direct relationships with key regional journalists, editors, and industry analysts.
  • Serve as the primary editorial contact for press inquiries across APAC markets.
• Awards & Work Recognition
  • Oversee narrative development and entry submissions for major industry awards (e.g., Cannes Lions, Campaign Asia Awards, Spikes Asia, Effies).
  • Work directly with agency creative, strategy, and account teams to extract award-worthy stories and turn them into persuasive submission copy.
  • Leverage award recognitions for trade PR placement and editorial follow-ups.
• Event Messaging & PR Amplification
  • Craft pitch decks, panel talking points, and keynote messaging for leaders speaking at major industry events.
  • Turn event keynotes and panel discussions into editorial summaries, trade articles, and press features.
• Editorial Strategy & Cadence
  • Partner with the Marketing VP to maintain an active, highly structured editorial calendar for APAC.
  • Ensure local market press releases and commentary align with global agency positioning while remaining regionally impactful.

Requirements

• 7-10 years of hands-on experience directly in agency PR, corporate communications, or trade journalism.
• Proven background working within an ad agency, PR agency, media agency, or trade publications like The Drum, Adweek, Campaign, or WARC.
• Exceptional, portfolio-backed writing and editing skills in English (native or near-native level); Mandarin is a plus.
• Deep, industry-specific knowledge of the advertising, marketing, and media landscape.
• Proven track record of writing and publishing long-form editorial content, press releases, opinion pieces, and fellowship papers.
• Established media network with regional and global advertising/tech press.
• Solid experience writing award entries and case study narratives for agency recognitions.

About Monks

Monks is the global, digital-first, data-driven, unitary operating brand of S4 Capital plc. With a legacy of innovation and specialized expertise, Monks combines an extraordinary range of global Marketing and Technology Services to redefine how brands interact with the world. Through Monks.Flow, its flagship AI ecosystem for marketing orchestration, Monks transforms marketing into a growth engine, collapsing timelines and connecting brands to culture in real time. By deploying bespoke intelligent agents across disciplines and delivering culturally relevant, high-impact creative and digital solutions, Monks solves key critical business challenges across the entire brand enterprise to help brands sustain long-term impact.

Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services, ranks among Cannes Lions' Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-25) and remains the only partner featured in AdExchanger's Programmatic Power Players list every year (2020-24). Named Adweek's first AI Agency of the Year (2023) and The One Show's inaugural AI Pioneer Organization, Monks was also awarded Business Intelligence Group’s 2025 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Award in both the Organizational and AI Product categories. As a trusted partner to cutting-edge innovators in tech, Monks earned titles such as Optimizely Experimentation Partner of the Year (2025), runner-up for the Adobe Firefly Partner Award (2024), and Workato's AI Visionary Customer Impact Award (2024). Additionally, Monks achieved a record-breaking number of FWAs and continues to hold the most of any partner.

We are an equal-opportunity employer committed to building a respectful and empowering work environment for all people to freely express themselves amongst colleagues who embrace diversity in all respects. Including fresh voices and unique points of view in all aspects of our business not only creates an environment where we can all grow and thrive but also increases our potential to produce work that better represents—and resonates with—the world around us.