External Communications Manager - Media Relations (12 month FTC)

at  Arcadis

Arcadis is the world’s leading company delivering sustainable design, engineering, and consultancy solutions for natural and built assets.
We are more than 36,000 people, in over 70 countries, dedicated to improving quality of life. Everyone has an important role to play. With the power of many curious minds, together we can solve the world’s most complex challenges and deliver more impact together.

QUALIFICATIONS & EXPERIENCE:

We are looking for an all-round communications professional with a strong desire to develop. In a fast-paced international environment, you will be able to work with a professional marketing communications community and senior company leadership, to achieve the ambitious goals of a growing organization. The role offers a broad variety of topics and tasks, giving responsibility and great opportunity to grow your skill set.

Further required competencies and experiences:

• 7+ years corporate communications and content creation experience either in-house or agency.
• Educated to degree level.
• CIM or CIPR qualification or equivalent desirable.
• Communications skills – high quality of written and oral communication; passion for storytelling.
• A strategic thinker with strong interest in current affairs.
• A curious mind that understands business – ability to translate commercial business goals into ideas that can generate publicity.
• Proven track record in producing content that has generated high quality media coverage in trade and national media.
• Experience of working in a demanding corporate environment, on a broad range of topics, with a great variety of internal and external stakeholders.

· Experience in managing media relations. · Strong interest in social media and professional experience in creating content for use on social channels (organic and paid).
Why Arcadis?
We can only achieve our goals when everyone is empowered to be their best. We believe everyone’s contribution matters. It’s why we are pioneering a skills-based approach, where you can harness your unique experience and expertise to carve your career path and maximize the impact we can make together.
You’ll do meaningful work, and no matter what role, you’ll be helping to deliver sustainable solutions for a more prosperous planet. Make your mark, on your career, your colleagues, your clients, your life and the world around you.
Together, we can create a lasting legacy.
Join Arcadis. Create a Legacy.
Our Commitment to Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging
We want you to be able to bring your best self to work every day which is why we take equality and inclusion seriously and hold ourselves to account for our actions. Our ambition is to be an employer of choice and provide a great place to work for all our people. We believe that by working together diverse people with different experiences develop the most innovative ideas. Equality, diversity and inclusion is at the heart of how we improve quality of life and we work closely with our people across six ED&I Workstreams: Age, Disability, Faith, Gender, LGBT+ and Race. A diverse and skilled workforce is essential to our success.

ROLE DESCRIPTION:

Reporting to the Communications and Marketing Director UK & Ireland, this corporate communications role focuses on activities to support the development of Arcadis’ profile and reputation with external stakeholders including the media, clients, partner-organizations, stakeholders, and third-party influencers. Activities will include media relations, PR, media monitoring, drafting of press releases, interview support, and events.

ROLE ACCOUNTABILITIES:

To support the UK&I and Global Corporate Communications team in executing overall global strategy for Arcadis corporate communications.

• To develop newsworthy Arcadis content, including press releases, media comment, opinions, viewpoints, and other related press materials.
• To proactively identify issues on which Arcadis can comment or develop a view on, coordinating a response with the businesses leading experts, working with GBA Communications Directors where necessary, and ensuring desired coverage is achieved.
• To ensure cross-promotion of relevant Arcadis news content across all related channels, including social media and through liaison with internal communications colleagues as required.

· To act as the primary contact for UK&I media enquiries, liaising with colleagues to provide information and coordinate interviews to deliver an efficient and appropriate response. · To establish relationships with, and understanding of, target media across different industry sectors, with a focus on international titles and/or leveraging global spokespeople.

• To establish strong relationships with key internal stakeholders, including working closely with the wider GBA Communications Directors and Corporate Communications Community of Practice to identify and leverage in-country stories globally and execute media opportunities for global spokespeople locally.
• To work with the wider Corporate Communications Community of Practice to ensure alignment with global processes and procedures, and to provide support in ensuring consistency of approach by embedding use of global tools across the function.
• To record outputs of corporate communications activities for internal reporting. Media/Corporate Communications
• Protect, promote, and enhance Arcadis’ corporate reputation.

· Support spokespeople in scouting, preparing, and managing media opportunities such as interviews. · Produce high-quality written media and digital news content that delivers increasing levels of engagement across key external audiences.
· Media monitoring and development of distribution lists · UK&I press release distribution · Supporting local teams with press release distribution where required
· Co-manage Arcadis’s direct, day-to-day relationships with relevant national and trade journalists, ensuring Arcadis is the go-to commentator on key themes. · Improve the visibility of the Arcadis brand in line with clear deliverable and measures.