The head of public affairs is responsible for ensuring that projects and campaigns are delivered on time and to the highest specification, ensuring clients are nurtured and looked after, and playing a key role in helping the consultancy grow and develop. This role assumes responsibility for ensuring professional client management; the creation and implementation of a robust annual business plan; and the recruitment, training and development of a team.
The ideal candidate will be
- A confident and experienced public affairs professional with a strong record of effective lobbying;
- Experienced at growing and managing a pipeline of clients lobbying the UK Government, Devolved Administrations and the EU;
- Well connected, with an existing client network and the ability to build personal and company networks;
- Commercially and politically knowledgeable and comfortable working with senior politicians and business leaders;
- Digital, social media and technology savvy;
- Self-motivated, self-driven, confident, reputationally sound;
- An excellent communicator;
- Confident in selling substantial value campaigns and lobbying services;
- Strongly analytical, with financial acumen and proven ability to manage to targets and budgets;
- Experienced at writing pitches, creating proposals and understanding and meeting/exceeding client objectives.
Primary duties and capabilities
- Cross-selling and up-selling products and/or services to existing clients, including cold calling, email marketing, creating strong presentations, and responding to RFPs;
- Networking, with a view to building the College Green Group brand, reputation and relational reach to politicians and other key stakeholders, such as prospective clients and referrers of business;
- Delivering results against sales targets;
- Any other duties as reasonably required by a member of the SMT.
Primary characteristics and behaviours
- High level of attention to detail;
- High level of commercial awareness;
- Enthusiasm to learn and develop new skills, competencies and capabilities;
- Proactivity in helping other team members to succeed, generating new business leads, originating revenue-generative ideas and in creating opportunities for College Green Group to grow and develop;
- Demonstrating a desire to be a team player, and to help other colleagues achieve success;
- Commitment to values of integrity and individualism, and to being innovative, inspirational and informative;
- Willingness to go beyond contracted hours in relevant situations.
Core knowledge
- Good understanding of the British political landscape, including the UK Parliament and media landscape;
- Strong working knowledge of Google Docs and other systems and platforms used by CGG;
- Significant previous experience in similar role.
Benefits
- 25 days annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to 30 days;
- Working from abroad policy;
- Unpaid leave policy;
- Personal and professional development budgets;
- Quarterly team training days;
- Additional personal development budget of £1,000 for ad hoc independent learning unrelated to the requirements of the role;
- Cycle to work scheme;
- Travel loan scheme;
- Health insurance;
- Enhanced employer pension contributions (matched up to 7%);
- Employee referral bonus;
- Regular team socials including team trip abroad;
- Sponsorships (for applicants not from UK);
- Flexible working hours/hybrid working (in agreement with line manager);
- CIPR membership;
- Central London location with cooking facilities;
- Showering facilities and off street bike storage.