Senior Communications Manager – Premiership Rugby
January 19, 2017
The right candidate will need to:
• have at least five years experience working in a PR or Communications role;
• be able to take a senior strategic role within the Communications Team and constantly initiate projects to strengthen the Premiership Rugby brand;
• have excellent writing and sub editing skills as writing press releases, social media copy and contributing to our website either by writing or sub-editing / proof reading will be a key part of the role;
• be experienced within Social Media and digital platforms, as they will help develop our social media channels which include Twitter, Facebook and Instagram;
• work closely with the Marketing, Commercial, Community and Rugby Departments at Premiership Rugby as well as the Head of Broadcast and Digital;
• manage the Premiership Rugby accreditation system with the Communications Manager;
• manage the PR campaigns for commercial partners Ricoh, Singha and Citizen;
• with the RFU plan the PR strategy around two key announcements we make each year – the Injury Audit and Anti-Doping Report.
Skills Required
• have excellent communications stills, whether working externally or internally with Premiership Rugby and its clubs;
• show that they can work in a pressurised environment;
• have direct experience dealing with the media;
• create great partnerships with Premiership Rugby’s clubs and its commercial partners;
• have strategic input into Premiership Rugby’s new five-year strategic plan which is due to be published in 2017;
• have particular focus on developing news stories and PR angles with our Rugby Department, particularly in the area of player welfare where we would expect a regular flow of news stories;
• have in-depth knowledge of rugby union across the world and be particularly knowledgeable on Premiership Rugby’s clubs and the history of the League
• be able to understand rugby’s complex working environment;
• have excellent writing and subbing skills as part of the role will be supplying content to a number of media platforms and editing a number of publications including the Premiership Rugby Magazine and a the programmes for the Aviva Premiership Rugby Final, Premiership Rugby 7s , and the London Double Header;
• work across a number of different tournaments including Aviva Premiership Rugby, Anglo-Welsh Cup, Singha Premiership Rugby 7s and European competitions;
• develop PR/Communications plans to help the great work done by our Community Department and the programmes they run across all 12 clubs including HITZ, Something to Chew On and Aviva Tackling Numbers.
Day to day duties will also include, dealing with general media enquiries, operating the Premiership Rugby Accreditation system, drafting press releases, filing, handling telephone calls, research and generating reports as required.
S/he will show great attention to detail and be highly organised. Good IT skills and excellent written and spoken English are essential. Knowledge of Word, Power Point and Excel are vital.
The successful applicant will also be able to communicate confidently at all levels, handle confidential information with discretion and manage a busy workload calmly and efficiently.
This role will involve weekend work through the Aviva Premiership Rugby season (Sept to May) as wanting to attend matches will be a key part of the role.
Knowledge of the sport of rugby union is essential.
