Account Director, Strategic Communications & Political Insights

We’re looking for a passionate, experienced and organised Account Director, someone who can help to lead and shape client programmes, respond to new business briefs, monitor and provide political intelligence and help to guide our client offer. This is a senior role within our team and we’re looking for someone with good experience who in time would be looking to push up towards Associate Director level, helping to drive our offer and generate new business income.

We work with a range of exciting clients across the built environment, from public sector local authorities who need help communicating their property and housing ambitions, to corporates needing help engaging with industry and political stakeholders through to large, listed companies acquiring assets and progressing development proposals.

Your duties will include, but will not be limited to:

• Policy advice: on key issues impacting clients in the built environment, offering relevant insights and guidance to clients together with other senior team members
• Undertaking stakeholder mapping and relationship building engagement programmes – local, regional and central government focus including the GLA
• Media relations: being an informed and knowledgeable advisor, consistently securing coverage in the relevant nationals and trade publications for clients as well as guiding on how to stay out of the news
• Developing strategic programmes for clients that leverage a variety of tools and tactics to target stakeholders, including arranging roundtable events, leveraging research, one-to-one relationship building programmes, organising events and more
• Offering relevant reputation management and political stakeholder advice to clients, together with other senior team members
• Developing messaging and narratives to help with overarching corporate and political engagement strategies
• Supporting and driving our new business strategy by developing industry networks and leading pitches
• Together with our Director of Insights and Director of Strategic Communications, developing a robust and clear thought leadership position for the agency around political insights and expertise
• Overseeing strategies for targeted, engaging and effective content (press releases, blogs and social media posts, thought leadership articles) on behalf of clients
• Develop and implement creative, integrated engagement strategies and communications campaigns, working collaboratively and effectively with our in-house studio, planning, placemaking and political insights functions
• Identify opportunities for clients and Kanda to build their profile at industry and political events, conferences etc (UK REiiF, Labour Party Conference, LGA Conference and more)
• Strategies to capitalise on local and central government opportunities as part of our wider new business approach
• Managing up and down to ensure that projects are completed to a high standard and in a timely fashion
• Line manage junior team members, supporting their work and career progression
• Supporting Kanda’s marketing and new business strategy through event participation, digital content delivery and other outputs
• Participation within our Senior Management Team monthly meetings 

Key Attributes and Skills:

• 6+ years in communications / agency environment
• Experience working with government and managing political stakeholder relationships, with broad experience of engagement across local, regional and central Government including the GLA
• A good understanding of political structures within central government/parliament
• Proven delivery of public affairs, media relations and corporate reputation management
• Extensive B2B experience
• Entrepreneurial work ethic – unafraid to voice opinions and progress ideas, and a keen eye for new business leads
• Works collaboratively; good team player
• Excellent communication (written and oral) skills including an ability to advise at a senior level
• Excellent time management and ability to work in fast paced and varied environments