Senior Communications Manager - Analyst Relations

Canonical; Remote; ZAR 800 000 - 1 200 000; Full time

Job summary

A leading tech firm in Cape Town is seeking a Senior Communications Manager with expertise in analyst relations to join their team. This role involves driving communications strategy to enhance visibility among industry influencers and shaping market perception through data-driven engagement. The ideal candidate must possess excellent communication skills, experience in technology-related campaigns, and interpersonal abilities, all while working in a fully remote environment focused on innovation and growth.

Benefits

Competitive base pay

Fully remote working environment

Personal learning and development budget

Annual compensation review

Parental leave

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in market research, analyst relations or communications.
• A proven record of successful communications campaigns in technology.
• Experience in cloud, SaaS, or open source technology is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Drive communications strategy through the analyst relations channel.
• Define and implement a strategy for data-driven engagement.
• Manage relationships with analysts and industry influencers.

Skills

Market research

Communications

Analytical skills

Interpersonal skills

Project management

Writing skills

Tools

Jira

Job description

Senior Communications Manager - Analyst Relations
Canonical Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
We’re on the lookout for an energetic and creative Senior Communications Manager with experience in analyst relations (AR) to join our communications team.

The ideal person for this role will drive communications strategy through the analyst relations channel to increase Canonical’s visibility among industry influencers and shape market perception. Canonical serves a diverse customer base, ranging from end users to startups, large enterprises, and governments. Our portfolio is broad in scope and reach. The ideal candidate is passionate about technology, curious about shaping the evolving AR field, and relishes the challenge of communicating a diverse product range based on trusted open source. The AR field is becoming increasingly data‑driven, and market research is changing as a discipline thanks to AI models.

As the voice of Canonical towards analysts and industry influencers, you will define and implement a strategy for data‑driven engagement across portfolio areas, building on key narratives, developing new ones, and establishing relationships to advance our position across markets. This role will involve close partnership with the Product Management function, Alliances, Sales and Marketing teams, to communicate key product news and announcements and manage perception of Canonical and its range of products among analysts. You will have the opportunity to shape the AR field in the company and help our organization stay ahead of the curve using technologies like AI to conduct market research and assess market perception, delivering insights to the business. This is a senior position and sits in the communications team reporting to the Director of Communications.

Location:
Remote in the EMEA region.

What your day will look like

• Prepare and execute analyst‑focused communications plans for product announcements, new partnerships and other initiatives in line with our go‑to‑market strategy.
• Proactively look for ways to use new technologies like AI to analyze market trends and assess analyst perception and sentiment of Canonical and its products.
• Understand GenAI platforms developed by analyst firms and ensure they contain the right information about Canonical’s portfolio.
• Craft and deliver compelling narratives about Canonical and its products in line with our company vision.
• Manage analyst relationships directly, coordinating touchpoints throughout the year both through online briefings and industry events.
• Measure the impact of the AR program, reporting regularly on progress to leadership, implementing the necessary tooling to improve collaboration and managing spend.
• Proactively position the company in key analyst reports to drive recommendations and strengthen the company’s brand.
• Support the Director of Communications on corporate communications initiatives.

What we are looking for in you

• Extensive experience in market research, AR or communications.
• Experience managing technology communications (agency or in‑house) or AR programmes.
• A track record of delivering innovative and successful communications campaigns in the technology space, and enhancing company positioning through AR programmes.
• Experience of cloud/SaaS/open source technology an advantage.
• An analytical eye and a good sense of the type of content that resonates best with analysts and other industry influencers.
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and aptitude for forging trusting relationships across diverse, cross‑functional teams.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proven ability to prioritise and differentiate what matters from the noise, meeting deadlines without sacrificing quality.
• Affinity for planning is a must, experience with project management tools like Jira is an advantage.
• Background in product management or product marketing is a plus but not required.
• Willingness to travel up to four times a year for internal events.

What we offer you

• Competitive base pay, with annual bonuses and sales incentives based on revenue or utilisation, and a compensation philosophy that ensures equity across our global workforce.
• Fully remote working environment – we have been remote‑first since inception.
• Personal learning and development budget of 2, USD per annum.
• Annual compensation review.
• Recognition rewards.
• Annual holiday leave.
• Parental leave.
• Employee Assistance Programme.
• Opportunity to travel to new locations to meet colleagues at sprints.
• Priority Pass for travel and travel upgrades for long‑haul company events.

About Canonical
Canonical is a pioneering tech firm at the forefront of the global move to open source. As the company that publishes Ubuntu, one of the most important open source projects and the platform for AI, IoT and the cloud, we are changing the world on a daily basis. We recruit on a global basis and set a very high standard for people joining the company. We expect excellence – in order to succeed, we need to be the best at what we do. Canonical has been a remote‑first company since its inception. Work at Canonical is a step into the future, and will challenge you to think differently, work smarter, learn new skills and raise your game. Canonical provides a unique window into the world of 21st‑century digital business.

Canonical is an equal opportunity employer. We are proud to foster a workplace free from discrimination. Diversity of experience, perspectives and background creates a better work environment and better products. Whatever your identity, we will give your application fair consideration.