PR Account Manager

Our client is an award-winning public relations consultancy with offices in London and Edinburgh and is a member of the Public Relations Consultants Association (PRCA) and the International Public Relations Network (IPRN).

The company specialises in providing PR services to financial, professional services and educational companies and organisations.

Recent awards:

• Public Relations Manager of the Year, Professional Pensions magazine UK Pensions Awards 2005, 2007 and 2009.
• PR award winners at the HFM Week Service Provider Awards 2009, 2010 and 2011.  

The role will require the successful candidate to:

• Develop and maintain relationships with key journalists, providing information relevant to their audience.
• Provide advice and expertise to clients on strategies to improve communications activities.
• Proactively craft and place stories, shape broad industry themes and story lines, and negotiate inclusion in coverage.
• Manage day to day client relationships and satisfaction.  Hold regular meetings and maintain regular phone/written contact to keep clients in the picture of work progress.  Assess PR results against client objectives/expectations.
• To project manage and act as a lead on ad hoc  projects.
• Ensure BM guidelines are followed and team productivity and efficiency is managed on a daily basis including timesheet completion, servicing etc.
• Read key publications daily.  Share findings and implications for the business with your client, team or more broadly BM as appropriate.
• Make presentations to groups of all sizes - both client and agency, small large, informal and formal.
• Participate in professional development opportunities for continued personal growth.
• To promote BM in-house new business initiatives.
• Proactively pursue contacts.
• To participate fully as part of a pitch team, coordinate research, internal meetings and rehearsals.  To present a section of the pitch.
• To pitch new ideas/projects to retained clients, where appropriate.
• Coach, mentor and motivate staff.
• Lead and supervise a small account team where appropriate and manage direct reports effectively.
• Train and identify learning opportunities across the agency.
• To be involved with the recruitment process, from candidate short listing, interviews and making the recruiting decision.
• To participate fully in the Weekly Tuesday Meetings and Frontline Forum
• Potential to have a second level responsibility that is business focused will supervise teams, take on new business targets and take ownership of a portfolio of clients. 

You will have at least 2 – 4 years in Financial Communications and have strength of character to entire the business at a senior level.

The role will be offered as a maternity cover contract of 6-9 months initially.