Sr. Manager - PR

About The Role

We're looking for a seasoned communications leader who brings equal strength in team building, business development, strategic thinking, and operational execution. This role goes beyond day-to-day account management: you'll build and lead a high-performing team, shape the direction of our PR practice, and drive business growth. The ideal candidate comes with a track record of scaling teams, running efficient operations, and winning new business.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

• Team Leadership & Development
• Build, lead, and grow a high-performing PR team, not just manage existing headcount.
• Define team structure, hiring goals, and capability-building priorities as the practice scales.
• Mentor and develop team members across all levels; establish clear performance expectations and growth paths.
• Foster a culture of accountability, creative ambition, and continuous learning.
• Actively coach on craft: media strategy, writing, client counsel, and presentation skills.
• Business Development & Pipeline Building
• Lead and contribute to new business efforts, from prospecting and proposal development to pitch delivery.
• Build and maintain a healthy pipeline; identify organic growth opportunities within existing client relationships.
• Spot whitespace opportunities across accounts and develop strategies to expand scope and value.
• Represent the agency's capabilities and positioning with credibility and conviction in client-facing settings.
• Partner with leadership to shape the agency's go-to-market narrative and sector positioning.
• Strategy & Client Counsel
• Develop and execute integrated communications strategies across diverse sectors and audience segments.
• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior clients and not just a day-to-day contact.
• Provide proactive counsel on issues, reputational risks, competitive landscape, and emerging trends.
• Translate business objectives into communications frameworks that deliver measurable outcomes.
• Lead senior-level client relationships with confidence; align stakeholders and manage expectations effectively.
• Operations & Practice Management
• Own the operational health of the team: resource allocation, utilization, workflow design, and delivery quality.
• Establish and refine processes that improve efficiency without sacrificing output quality.
• Manage budgets at the account and team level; identify opportunities to optimise cost and performance.
• Evaluate and implement tools or technologies that improve team productivity and reporting.
• Identify and resolve operational bottlenecks proactively; build systems that scale with the team.
• Media Relations & Communications Excellence
• Drive high-impact media strategy with a strong personal network across national, trade, and digital media.
• Oversee quality and consistency of all client-facing outputs: press materials, messaging, pitches, and reports.
• Stay ahead of the evolving media landscape; proactively identify and brief teams on emerging formats and platforms.
• Set the editorial standard for the team; actively review and elevate written work.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Work closely with leadership, digital, and research teams to deliver integrated programmes.
• Act as a connector within the organisation, building relationships across functions and geographies.
• Contribute to agency-wide initiatives beyond your immediate accounts: thought leadership, culture, capabilities.
  
  

What You'll Bring

• 5+ years in communications, with meaningful experience spanning both agency and corporate environments.
• Demonstrated ability to build teams from the ground up not just inherit and manage them.
• Deep grounding in corporate reputation, issues and crisis management, and strategic communications across varied sectors and audiences.
• Sector-agnostic capability you've worked across industries and can adapt quickly to new contexts.
• Strong media relations credentials with a proven track record of securing high-value coverage.
• Proven experience owning or contributing to business development, pitches, proposals, and pipeline management.
• Operational instincts: you understand how a team runs and can make it run better.
• Confidence and credibility to counsel senior clients and navigate complex stakeholder environments.
• A collaborative, solutions-first mindset with the ability to lead through ambiguity.
  
  

Skills: leadership,strategic public relations planning,business development,corporate communications,communications,public relations strategy,public relations,management