Corporate Communications Director

Role Purpose & Context

Role Summary

The Corporate Communications Director (mid-level, mind) is here to make sure our company's voice is heard, and heard clearly. You'll independently run communications projects, whether that's a new product launch announcement, an internal campaign about our latest values, or getting our key messages into the right media. This role sits right at the heart of how we connect with our employees, customers, and the wider world. You're taking the big-picture strategy and turning it into actual, tangible communications that people read and understand. When you do this job well, our employees feel informed and engaged, our customers understand what we're doing, and the media tells our story accurately. If it's not done well, frankly, things get messy: employees feel out of the loop, customers get confused, and we might end up with a few awkward headlines. The challenge? Making complex stuff simple, and getting everyone on the same page. The reward? Seeing your words make a real difference, whether it's boosting morale or landing a big media hit.

Reporting Structure

• Reports to: Senior Corporate Communications Director
• Direct reports:
• Matrix relationships: Communications Specialist, PR Specialist, Internal Communications Executive,

Key Stakeholders

Internal:

• Product Marketing team (for launch comms)
• HR team (for internal announcements and culture initiatives)
• Legal department (for reviewing anything sensitive)
• Sales team (to make sure they're armed with the right messages)
• Senior Leadership (you'll be helping to draft their comms)

External:

• Journalists and media contacts (for earned media)
• Industry analysts (to get our story in front of experts)
• Customers (through various comms channels)
• Vendors and partners (when we're announcing collaborations)

Organisational Impact

Scope: Your work directly influences how our brand is perceived, both internally and externally. Get it right, and we build trust, attract talent, and keep our customers happy. Get it wrong, and we risk reputational damage, employee disengagement, and even a hit to our bottom line. Essentially, you're a guardian of our company's voice and image. It's a big responsibility, honestly.

Performance Metrics

Quantitative Metrics

1. Metric: Media Placements & Message Pull-Through
2. Desc: How many times our key messages appear in media coverage you've helped secure, and how accurately they're represented.
3. Target: Secure 8-12 Tier 1/2 media placements per quarter with >75% key message pull-through.
4. Freq: Quarterly review, tracked weekly.
5. Example: You land a feature in The Times about our new product, and three of our four core messages are clearly visible in the article. That's a win.
6. Metric: Internal Communications Engagement Rate
7. Desc: The percentage of employees opening and clicking on your internal comms (e.g., intranet articles, newsletters).
8. Target: Achieve an average open rate of >60% and click-through rate of >20% on internal comms campaigns you lead.
9. Freq: Monthly, using platform analytics.
10. Example: Your latest internal newsletter about our new hybrid working policy gets a 65% open rate and 25% click-through to the detailed FAQs. That shows people are paying attention.
11. Metric: Social Media Content Performance
12. Desc: The engagement (likes, shares, comments) and reach of social media content you draft or manage.
13. Target: Maintain an average engagement rate of >3% and reach targets for company social channels (e.g., LinkedIn, X) for your assigned content.
14. Freq: Weekly, using social media analytics tools.
15. Example: A post you drafted about our latest charity initiative gets 500 likes, 50 shares, and 20 positive comments, significantly exceeding the typical engagement for similar posts.
16. Metric: Project Delivery Timeliness
17. Desc: How often your communications projects (e.g., press release cycles, internal campaign rollouts) are delivered on or before deadline.
18. Target: Deliver 90% of assigned communications projects on time.
19. Freq: Monthly, tracked via Asana/Monday.com.
20. Example: You're responsible for the comms around a new feature launch. You get the press release, internal memo, and social assets out exactly on the agreed-upon date, allowing the product and sales teams to hit their targets.

Qualitative Metrics

1. Metric: Clarity and Tone of Voice
2. Desc: How well your communications embody our brand's tone and are easily understood by the target audience, avoiding jargon and ambiguity.
3. Evidence: Feedback from internal stakeholders (e.g., 'That's exactly what we wanted to say, but couldn't articulate'), positive sentiment in media coverage, minimal follow-up questions from employees after an announcement, consistent application of our message house principles in your work.
4. Metric: Proactive Issue Spotting
5. Desc: Your ability to flag potential communication risks or opportunities before they become major problems or missed chances.
6. Evidence: You bring up a potential negative media angle on a new policy before it's announced, suggesting a pre-emptive FAQ. You identify a trending news story that we could credibly comment on, leading to an opportunistic media placement. Your manager trusts your judgment on what might 'go wrong' or 'go right'.
7. Metric: Stakeholder Satisfaction (Project Level)
8. Desc: How happy internal teams (like Product, HR, Legal) are with the communications support you provide for their projects.
9. Evidence: Teams consistently seek your input early in their project planning. They give positive feedback directly to you or your manager. They see you as a reliable and helpful partner, not just a 'words person' they hand things over to. They'll say things like, 'You really helped us simplify that complex message for the sales team.'
10. Metric: Crisis Preparedness Contribution
11. Desc: Your contribution to updating and testing crisis communication plans, ensuring we're ready for the unexpected.
12. Evidence: You've updated a section of our crisis comms playbook based on a recent industry event. You actively participate in a 'tabletop' crisis drill, offering practical suggestions for messaging. You're seen as someone who thinks ahead about potential risks and how we'd talk about them.

Primary Traits

• Trait: Politically Astute (at a project level)
• Manifestation: You pick up on the subtle cues in meetings—who's really driving the decision, who needs to be brought along, and who might quietly try to derail things. You'll know to run a sensitive internal memo past the Head of HR *before* it goes to Legal, because you know they'll have strong opinions. You can frame a message slightly differently for the Product team versus the Sales team to get their buy-in, without changing the core truth.
• Benefit: Communications isn't just about writing pretty words; it's about getting those words approved and out the door, often through a minefield of competing priorities and opinions. If you can't navigate the internal politics, your best ideas will die on the vine. This trait lets you get things done and ensures our messages actually see the light of day, not just sit in draft folders.
• Trait: Grace Under Fire (for specific incidents)
• Manifestation: When a minor social media kerfuffle erupts, or a journalist calls with an aggressive question, you're the calm voice. You don't panic, you stick to the facts, and you follow the process. You can absorb the urgency from others and respond thoughtfully, rather than react emotionally. You're the one who can draft a holding statement for a tricky situation without getting flustered, even when everyone else is running around.
• Benefit: Things go wrong, that's just a fact of life in comms. Whether it's a small internal rumour or a negative news story, your ability to stay calm and follow the plan is crucial. If you lose your head, everyone else will too, and that's when mistakes happen. We need someone who can be a steady hand when things get a bit wobbly.
• Trait: Intellectually Curious (about our business)
• Manifestation: You don't just take a brief at face value. You'll ask the Product Manager 'why' this feature is important, or spend time with a Sales rep to understand what customers *actually* care about. You'll read industry reports, check out what our competitors are saying, and genuinely want to understand the nuts and bolts of our business. You can explain our latest tech innovation in plain English, because you actually bothered to learn what it does.
• Benefit: You can't communicate effectively if you don't understand what you're talking about. Surface-level understanding leads to generic, boring, and ultimately ineffective messages. This curiosity means you can dig deeper, find the real story, and translate complex information into compelling narratives that resonate. It helps you earn the respect of the technical and business teams you work with.

Supporting Traits

• Trait: Resilient
• Desc: You'll get a lot of feedback, some of it contradictory, and sometimes a great story just won't land. You need to be able to dust yourself off, learn from it, and come back ready for the next challenge without taking it too personally. It's about bouncing back quickly.
• Trait: Empathetic
• Desc: Being able to genuinely step into the shoes of different audiences—whether it's an employee worried about change, a journalist looking for a scoop, or a customer with a complaint—is vital. It helps you craft messages that truly connect and avoid missteps.
• Trait: Articulate
• Desc: You need to be precise and persuasive, both when writing a press release and when explaining a comms plan to a project team. Your words are your tools, and you need to use them well, clearly, and concisely. No waffle, please.
• Trait: Decisive
• Desc: Sometimes you'll have to make a call on messaging with incomplete information, or under tight deadlines. You need to be able to weigh the options, consider the risks, and make a judgment call, even if it's just for a small project, and then own that decision.

Primary Motivators

1. Motivator: Seeing Your Words Make an Impact
2. Daily: You get a real buzz when you see a positive news story that you helped craft, or when an internal announcement you wrote genuinely clarifies things for employees. You enjoy the process of taking a complex idea and turning it into something clear and compelling.
3. Motivator: Solving Communication Puzzles
4. Daily: You love the challenge of figuring out the best way to communicate a tricky message, or how to reach a sceptical audience. It's like a puzzle where the pieces are words, channels, and stakeholder opinions. You enjoy crafting the perfect 'message house' for a new initiative.
5. Motivator: Being a Trusted Advisor (on comms)
6. Daily: You enjoy being the go-to person for project teams when they need help with their messaging. You like being consulted early on, offering advice on how to phrase things, and helping them avoid communication pitfalls. You're seen as the 'comms expert' for your projects.

Potential Demotivators

Honestly, this job isn't for everyone. You'll spend a fair bit of time chasing people for approvals, often getting conflicting feedback that means you have to rewrite things multiple times. Sometimes, your beautifully crafted message will get watered down by legal or other teams until it's barely recognisable. You might be pulled into 'urgent' requests at the last minute, only for the project to be deprioritised a day later. If you need every piece of your work to be perfect and go out exactly as you envisioned, you'll probably find this frustrating.

Common Frustrations

1. Being brought into a project at the eleventh hour and expected to magic up a comms plan overnight.
2. The constant back-and-forth with Legal, who often want to say nothing, while you need to build trust.
3. Your carefully chosen words getting 'wordsmithed' into corporate jargon by a committee.
4. Spending ages crafting a perfect message, only for it to be ignored or misunderstood.
5. The feeling that you're always trying to prove the value of communications with 'soft' metrics.

What Role Doesn't Offer

1. A strictly 9-5 schedule (crises don't respect office hours).
2. Complete creative freedom without stakeholder input.
3. A role where you only write and never have to deal with people.
4. Guaranteed immediate, tangible ROI for every single piece of work.

ADHD Positives

1. The varied nature of projects and fast pace can be engaging and prevent boredom.
2. The need to quickly pivot and respond to new information can suit rapid thinking.
3. High-stakes situations often bring intense focus and energy.

ADHD Challenges and Accommodations

1. Keeping multiple project threads organised can be tough; we use Asana and encourage detailed notes and reminders.
2. The need for meticulous attention to detail in messaging might require extra review steps or tools for proofreading.
3. Managing interruptions and urgent requests requires strong prioritisation skills; we can help you set up 'focus time' blocks.

Dyslexia Positives

1. Strong verbal communication and strategic thinking are highly valued, often strengths for dyslexic individuals.
2. The ability to see the 'big picture' and connect disparate ideas is crucial in comms strategy.
3. Empathy and understanding different perspectives are key, which are often strengths.

Dyslexia Challenges and Accommodations

1. The heavy writing component can be challenging; we use grammar and spell-checking tools (like Grammarly) and encourage peer review.
2. Proofreading is critical; we can pair you with a colleague for final checks on important documents.
3. Complex document formatting can be time-consuming; we use templates extensively and can provide support for layout.

Autism Positives

1. A strong logical approach to message construction and strategy can be very effective.
2. The ability to focus deeply on understanding complex topics to communicate them clearly.
3. Direct and honest communication is valued, especially when providing clear, factual information during a crisis.

Autism Challenges and Accommodations

1. Navigating unspoken social cues and internal politics can be difficult; we encourage direct communication and can provide explicit guidance on stakeholder dynamics.
2. The need for rapid, nuanced responses in dynamic situations might be stressful; we can provide clear frameworks for crisis response and pre-approved holding statements.
3. Sensory overload in open-plan offices or busy meeting rooms; we offer noise-cancelling headphones and options for quieter workspaces or remote work when appropriate.

Key Responsibilities

Experience Levels Responsibilities

1. Level: Mid-Level Professional (2-5 years)
2. Responsibilities: Independently manage specific communications projects from planning to execution, like a new product feature announcement or an internal campaign for a company initiative.
3. Draft clear and compelling content for various channels, including press releases, internal memos, social media posts, and website updates, ensuring it aligns with our message house.
4. Take ownership of media monitoring for assigned topics, identifying relevant news, sentiment, and competitive coverage, then summarising it for senior team members.
5. Coordinate with internal teams (e.g., Product, HR, Legal) to gather information, get approvals, and ensure messages are consistent across the organisation.
6. Support crisis communications efforts by drafting holding statements, monitoring media, and helping to maintain our crisis comms playbook under guidance from senior colleagues.
7. Maintain and update media lists, ensuring our journalist contacts are accurate and relevant for specific outreach campaigns.
8. Analyse the performance of your communications activities, pulling data on open rates, media coverage, and social engagement, and sharing insights with your manager.
9. Supervision: You'll have weekly check-ins with your Senior Director to discuss project progress, challenges, and priorities. For routine tasks, you'll operate independently, but for anything new or complex, you'll consult your manager. They're there to help you learn and grow, not to micromanage.
10. Decision: You'll make routine decisions within your project scope, like choosing the best internal channel for a specific announcement or deciding on a social media post's headline. Any decisions with significant financial impact, reputational risk, or requiring cross-departmental buy-in will need your manager's approval. Think of it as: you propose, they approve for bigger stuff.
11. Success: Success looks like reliably delivering your assigned comms projects on time and to a high standard. Your content will be clear, on-brand, and achieve its intended purpose (e.g., getting media coverage, informing employees). You'll be seen as a dependable and proactive member of the team, someone who can spot potential issues and propose solutions before they become problems.

Decision-Making Authority

• Type: Content Approval (routine)
• Entry: Draft content for review by supervisor; no independent approval.
• Mid: Independently approve routine social media posts or minor internal announcements, within established guidelines. Escalate anything sensitive or high-impact.
• Senior: Approve all routine internal and external communications. Consult Director on high-stakes messaging.
• Type: Media Outreach Strategy
• Entry: Build media lists based on specific criteria provided by manager.
• Mid: Propose target media outlets and angles for specific product launches or campaigns. Execute outreach under manager's guidance.
• Senior: Design and lead media outreach strategies for major campaigns. Make recommendations on embargoes and exclusive pitches.
• Type: Crisis Communications Response
• Entry: Monitor media and compile reports during a crisis. Draft initial holding statements for supervisor review.
• Mid: Draft initial holding statements and internal FAQs. Help coordinate information flow during a low-to-medium severity incident, under senior guidance.
• Senior: Lead the communications response for medium-to-high severity crises, coordinating with Legal and leadership. Advise on messaging and media strategy.
• Type: Budget Allocation (project level)
• Entry: No budget authority. Track expenses for specific tasks.
• Mid: Propose costs for specific project elements (e.g., wire distribution, media monitoring tools) up to £2,000 for manager approval. No independent spending.
• Senior: Manage project budgets up to £10K. Make recommendations for vendor selection and negotiate small contracts.

Competency Requirements

Foundation Skills (Transferable)

Beyond the technical stuff, you'll need a solid set of 'human' skills to really thrive here. These are the things that help you navigate tricky conversations, solve problems, and generally be a good colleague. They're just as important as knowing your way around a press release.

• Category: Communication & Influence
• Skills: Clear and concise writing: Can draft complex information into easily digestible content for different audiences, using our brand voice consistently.
• Verbal articulation: Can explain comms plans, provide updates, and engage with stakeholders confidently and clearly.
• Active listening: Genuinely hears what others are saying (and not saying) to inform messaging and identify concerns.
• Persuasion (project level): Can make a compelling case for a particular message or approach to internal project teams.
• Category: Problem-Solving & Adaptability
• Skills: Issue identification: Can spot potential communication risks or opportunities within a project or news cycle.
• Solution generation: Proposes practical, comms-focused solutions to emerging challenges or stakeholder requests.
• Prioritisation: Can juggle multiple tasks and deadlines, knowing what needs to be done first and what can wait.
• Flexibility: Adapts quickly to changing project requirements, shifting priorities, or unexpected news developments.
• Category: Collaboration & Teamwork
• Skills: Cross-functional partnership: Works effectively with colleagues from other departments (e.g., Product, HR, Legal) to achieve shared comms goals.
• Feedback incorporation: Actively seeks and constructively uses feedback on their work to improve outcomes.
• Informal guidance: Can show a junior colleague how to use a tool or approach a task, even without formal management responsibility.
• Category: Attention to Detail & Accuracy
• Skills: Flawless proofreading: Catches typos, grammatical errors, and factual inaccuracies before content goes live.
• Brand consistency: Ensures all communications adhere strictly to brand guidelines, tone of voice, and message house principles.
• Data accuracy: Double-checks numbers and facts in communications to avoid embarrassing errors.

Functional Skills (Role-Specific Technical)

These are the specific skills you'll need to actually do the job, the methodologies and ways of thinking that underpin effective corporate communications. It's not just about knowing the tools, but knowing *how* to use them strategically.

Technical Competencies

• Skill: Media Relations & Outreach
• Desc: Knowing how to identify relevant journalists, craft compelling pitches, build media lists, and manage relationships to secure positive coverage. This includes understanding embargoes and 'on background' conversations.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Internal Communications Strategy & Execution
• Desc: Developing and delivering clear, engaging messages to employees through various channels (intranet, email, town halls). Understanding how to inform, motivate, and manage change internally.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Content Creation & Storytelling
• Desc: The ability to write engaging copy for different platforms and audiences, translating complex information into clear, concise, and compelling narratives. This means knowing how to find the 'hook' in a story.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Crisis & Issues Management (Support)
• Desc: Understanding the basics of crisis communications, including how to draft holding statements, monitor media during an incident, and contribute to updating crisis plans. You'll be supporting, not leading, here.
• Level: Basic
• Skill: Reputation & Narrative Architecture (Application)
• Desc: Applying our company's core narrative and message house to all your communications. Ensuring consistency in how we talk about ourselves and our mission across different projects.
• Level: Intermediate
• Skill: Integrated Measurement (PESO & Barcelona Principles)
• Desc: Understanding the PESO model (Paid, Earned, Shared, Owned) and how to track basic metrics beyond vanity numbers. You'll use the Barcelona Principles to understand what good measurement looks like, even if you're not designing the full framework.
• Level: Basic

Digital Tools

• Tool: Cision / Meltwater / Brandwatch (Media Intelligence)
• Level: L1-L2 Proficiency (Associate/Specialist)
• Usage: Pulling pre-defined media monitoring reports, conducting basic keyword searches for specific topics or competitors, and accurately tagging media mentions for sentiment and relevance. You'll use it to keep an eye on what's being said about us.
• Tool: PR Newswire / Business Wire (Wire Distribution)
• Level: L1-L2 Proficiency (Associate/Specialist)
• Usage: Uploading and formatting pre-written press releases using our existing templates and distribution lists. You'll make sure the right message gets to the right places, on time.
• Tool: Firstup / Poppulo / Simpplr (Internal Comms Platform)
• Level: L1-L2 Proficiency (Associate/Specialist)
• Usage: Publishing content to specific internal channels (e.g., intranet news feed, employee app), pulling basic engagement metrics like open rates and clicks, and managing employee distribution lists for targeted comms.
• Tool: Asana / Monday.com / Jira (Project Management)
• Level: L1-L2 Proficiency (Associate/Specialist)
• Usage: Updating task statuses, attaching relevant files, and commenting on existing project cards. You'll follow pre-defined project plans to keep your work on track and visible to the team.
• Tool: Canva for Teams / PowerPoint (Advanced)
• Level: L1-L2 Proficiency (Associate/Specialist)
• Usage: Using existing brand templates to create simple social graphics, updating presentation slides for executives, or creating basic visual assets for internal announcements. You'll make sure everything looks on-brand.

Industry Knowledge

• Area: Media Landscape & News Cycle
• Desc: Understanding how news breaks, what makes a story newsworthy, and the different types of media (print, online, broadcast, social) and their audiences. Knowing roughly who covers what.
• Area: Corporate Governance Basics
• Desc: A general awareness of how public companies operate, the role of the board, and the importance of financial reporting. You don't need to be an expert, but understand the context.
• Area: Social Media Best Practices
• Desc: Understanding effective strategies for engaging audiences on key social platforms, managing comments, and responding to feedback in a professional, on-brand manner.

Regulatory Compliance Regulations

• Reg: GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)
• Usage: Ensuring all communications, especially those involving personal data or distribution lists, comply with data privacy regulations. Knowing when to consult Legal.
• Reg: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Guidelines (if applicable to sector)
• Usage: Understanding the need for accuracy and avoiding misleading statements in financial communications, and knowing when to get sign-off from Investor Relations or Legal.
• Reg: ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) Codes
• Usage: Ensuring any promotional or advertising-like content adheres to standards of honesty, truthfulness, and social responsibility.

Essential Prerequisites

• Proven experience (2-5 years) in a communications role, either in-house or at an agency, where you were responsible for managing projects.
• A portfolio of written work that demonstrates clear, concise, and engaging communication across different formats (e.g., press releases, blog posts, internal articles).
• Experience working with media monitoring tools and understanding basic media analytics.
• Demonstrable ability to work collaboratively with different internal teams to achieve a common goal.
• A solid grasp of British English spelling, grammar, and punctuation.

Career Pathway Context

We're looking for someone who isn't starting from scratch but is ready to step up and own projects. You should have a foundational understanding of how corporate communications works and be eager to deepen your expertise. This isn't an entry-level role, but it's also not about managing a team just yet. It's about becoming a really solid, independent comms professional.

Qualifications & Credentials

Emerging Foundation Skills

• Skill: Prompt Engineering & AI Content Curation
• Why: AI tools are already drafting content faster than humans. Your value shifts from generating every word to guiding the AI, refining its output, and knowing what to keep and what to discard. This isn't just about using ChatGPT; it's about making AI a true co-pilot.
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Effective prompting techniques', 'description': 'Learning how to give clear, specific instructions to AI models to get the best possible output for different comms tasks.'}, {'concept_name': 'AI output validation', 'description': "Knowing how to quickly check AI-generated content for accuracy, tone, and brand consistency, and spotting 'hallucinations'."}, {'concept_name': 'Ethical AI use in comms', 'description': 'Understanding the implications of using AI for sensitive topics, avoiding bias, and maintaining transparency.'}, {'concept_name': 'AI for content repurposing', 'description': 'Using AI to quickly adapt a single piece of content (e.g., a press release) for multiple channels (social, internal memo, blog).'}]
• Prepare: This month: Experiment with ChatGPT/Claude for drafting internal announcements or social media captions. Focus on refining your prompts.
• Next month: Use an AI tool (like Jasper or Copy.ai) to generate 3-5 variations of a press release headline and intro paragraph. Compare and critique the outputs.
• Month 3: Take an online course or tutorial on advanced prompt engineering. Share your learnings with the team.
• Month 4: Start using AI to summarise long documents or meeting transcripts, then refine those summaries for internal use.
• QuickWin: Start using AI to brainstorm ideas for tricky messages or to generate bullet points for a presentation. It's a low-risk way to get comfortable with the tech.

Advancing Technical Skills

• Skill: Advanced Media Measurement & Analytics
• Why: Simply counting media clips isn't enough anymore. We need to show the *impact* of our comms. This means moving beyond basic metrics to understanding sentiment trends, share of voice against competitors, and how media coverage correlates with business outcomes (even if indirectly).
• Concepts: [{'concept_name': 'Sentiment analysis nuances', 'description': 'Understanding how to interpret positive, negative, and neutral sentiment, and recognising the limitations of automated tools.'}, {'concept_name': 'Share of Voice (SOV) competitive analysis', 'description': 'How to accurately measure our media presence compared to key competitors and identify opportunities to increase it.'}, {'concept_name': 'Correlation vs. Causation in comms data', 'description': 'Learning how to draw meaningful (but cautious) links between comms activities and business results, without overstating impact.'}, {'concept_name': 'Custom dashboard creation', 'description': 'Building simple, clear dashboards in media intelligence tools to track key metrics relevant to specific campaigns or ongoing reputation.'}]
• Prepare: This month: Dive deeper into Cision/Meltwater's advanced analytics features. Explore how to set up custom dashboards.
• Next month: Conduct a competitive Share of Voice analysis for one of our key product areas. Present your findings to your manager.
• Month 3: Research the latest best practices in comms measurement, perhaps reading up on the Barcelona Principles 3.0.
• Month 4: Propose a new metric or reporting method for one of your ongoing projects that goes beyond basic clip counts.
• QuickWin: Start adding a 'key takeaways' section to your weekly media monitoring reports, highlighting trends or significant shifts, rather than just listing clips.

Education Requirements

• Level: Minimum
• Req: A Bachelor's degree (or equivalent OFQUAL Level 6 qualification) in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, English, or a related field.
• Alts: We're open to candidates with exceptional professional experience (4+ years) in a relevant comms role, even without a degree. If you've got the track record and can show us your work, that counts for a lot.
• Level: Preferred
• Req: A Master's degree in a communications-related discipline.
• Alts: Relevant professional certifications (e.g., CIPR Diploma) or extensive experience working in a highly regulated industry (like finance or healthcare) where precise communications are paramount.

Experience Requirements

You'll need roughly 2-5 years of hands-on experience in a corporate communications, public relations, or internal comms role. This isn't an entry-level position, so we're looking for someone who has already managed projects independently, drafted a variety of content, and has a good grasp of media relations. Experience working in a fast-paced environment, perhaps within a tech company or a large agency, would be a definite plus. We want to see that you've been in the trenches and know how to get things done.

Preferred Certifications

• Cert: CIPR Diploma in Public Relations
• Prod: Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR)
• Usage: Demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of PR theory and practice, showing a commitment to professional development in the field.
• Cert: PRCA Diploma in Communications
• Prod: Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA)
• Usage: Similar to the CIPR Diploma, it signals a strong foundation in strategic communications and industry best practices.
• Cert: Google Analytics Certification
• Prod: Google
• Usage: Useful for understanding website traffic and content performance, especially for owned media channels like blogs or newsrooms.

Recommended Activities

• Regularly read industry publications and thought leadership (e.g., PRWeek, Comms Leader, Harvard Business Review's comms articles).
• Attend relevant webinars or virtual conferences on topics like AI in comms, crisis management, or internal engagement.
• Join professional networking groups (e.g., local CIPR/PRCA chapters) to learn from peers and stay current.
• Seek out opportunities to take on new types of comms projects, even if they're outside your comfort zone, to broaden your experience.

Career Progression Pathways

Entry Paths to This Role

• Path: Communications Coordinator / Executive (Agency Side)
• Time: 2-3 years
• Path: Internal Communications Specialist (In-house)
• Time: 2-4 years
• Path: Marketing Communications Specialist (In-house)
• Time: 3-5 years

Career Progression From This Role

• Pathway: Senior Corporate Communications Director
• Time: 3-5 years in current role
• Pathway: Communications Manager (Specialist Stream)
• Time: 4-6 years in current role

Long Term Vision Potential Roles

• Title: Head of Internal Communications
• Time: 5-8 years from current role
• Title: Head of Media Relations
• Time: 6-9 years from current role
• Title: Director of Corporate Communications (Level 6)
• Time: 8-12 years from current role

How Zavmo Delivers This Role's Development

DISCOVER Phase: Skills Gap Analysis

Zavmo maps your current competencies against all requirements in this job description through conversational assessment. We evaluate your foundation skills (communication, strategic thinking), functional skills (CRM expertise, negotiation), and readiness for career progression.

Output: Personalised skills gap heat map showing strengths and priorities, estimated time to competency, neurodiversity accommodations.

DISCUSS Phase: Personalised Learning Pathway

Based on your DISCOVER results, Zavmo creates a personalised learning plan prioritised by impact: foundation skills first, then functional skills. We adapt to your learning style, pace, and neurodiversity needs (ADHD, dyslexia, autism).

Output: Week-by-week schedule, each module linked to specific job responsibilities, checkpoints and milestones.

DELIVER Phase: Conversational Learning

Learn through conversation, not boring modules. Zavmo uses 10 conversation types (Socratic dialogue, role-play, coaching, case studies) to build competence. Practice difficult QBR presentations, negotiate tough renewals, and handle churn conversations in a safe AI environment before facing real clients.

Example: "For 'Stakeholder Mapping', Zavmo will guide you through analysing a complex enterprise account, identifying key decision-makers, and building an engagement strategy."

DEMONSTRATE Phase: Competency Assessment

Zavmo automatically builds your evidence portfolio as you learn. Every conversation, practice scenario, and application example is captured and mapped to NOS performance criteria. When ready, your portfolio supports OFQUAL qualification claims and demonstrates competence to employers.

Output: Competency matrix, evidence portfolio (downloadable), qualification readiness, career progression score.