About the role
Six Nations Rugby is recruiting for a Communications and PR Manager to join the Corporate and Communications team at an incredibly exciting time for the business, and sport.
The roster of annual Championships and events that Six Nations Rugby is responsible for are continually growing, with global audiences and levels of fan engagement increasing confirming the prestige and status of these competitions alongside some of the greatest events in the annual sport and entertainment calendar.
The role of Communications and PR spans every area of Six Nations Rugby, with a critical role in promoting and protecting the reputation of the organisation, its competitions, partners and stakeholders. As such, this Manager position will play a central and important role in generating positive news, managing a year round in house press office, servicing each of the member unions and federations, and driving collaboration across the Six Nations Rugby business, to support business objectives.
The Communications Manager will be a highly motivated and entrepreneurial individual with an understanding and passion for the media landscape, media relations experience, a proactive approach to bringing a communications strategy to life, and an ability to identify opportunities for creative storytelling across different verticals and markets, to grow rugby’s audience on a global scale.
Six Nations Rugby has an established press office function within the business, but this role offers the opportunity for the Manager to shape the evolution of this area to meet the objective of engaging a broader global audience of fans and audience members, alongside proactive PR campaigns.
The Manager will need to have strong planning skills, and the ability to translate a communications strategy into reality, that delivers measurable success. These measures of success include generation of earned media across core and target markets, that drives key messaging and prompts action and engagement from audiences. There are several milestone events in the Six Nations calendar that support this objective, namely annual Championship media launch events, and the Manager will have the opportunity to be a lead team member in planning and delivering these events.
Six Nations Rugby exists to support its member unions and federations, and stakeholder management is fundamental to this remit. As a member of the Communications team, the Manager will play a major role in supporting each of the Six Nations unions and federations, as well as internal teams, partners, broadcasters and broader rugby stakeholders. As such, collaboration, proactivity, professionalism, and ability to manage multiple work streams and projects in tandem and against strict deadlines are essential traits and skills.
The Communications and PR Manager role offers and incredible opportunity for the right candidate to join an organisation at the forefront of a hugely significant point in rugby’s global growth and carries the potential for that person to develop within a team constantly looking for ways to improve and develop how the sport engages new demographics and audience members.
As Communications Manager you will:
* Play a key role in shaping and then bringing to life strategies designed to tell the story of Six Nations Rugby and its Championships
* Lead and develop the Six Nations Rugby press office function, encompassing news generation and distribution, act as a key point of contact with media, and help deliver activity to promote the organisation, its Championships and stakeholders
* Play a lead role in planning and delivery of Championship media launch events, partner activation and company announcements
* Support each of the Six Nations unions and federations throughout the calendar year and the roster of Championships, competitions and events
* Have a proactive approach to your work, setting timelines, respecting deadlines and be an example of collaboration with internal teams and stakeholders
* Be proactive in forging relationships with media, spanning different verticals and across key markets
* Take ownership in measuring success, through effective reporting and measurement of projects and activity, to support organisational objectives
The candidate we are looking for is:
* A diligent project manager with a proven track record of success in delivering against a communications plan, whilst working with multiple stakeholders, and meeting target objectives
* Excellent written and presentation skills, and experience in press release writing, producing briefing materials, editorial copy writing and reporting
* Clear understanding of the media landscape, changing trends and the role of a press office function to service media and stakeholders
* Experienced in working closely with international media, on a consumer and corporate basis, to manage enquiries, facilitate opportunities, and proactively develop ideas that can generate meaningful earned coverage
* Experience managing media events and activity, from conception and planning through to delivery and then reporting and coverage measurement
* Eager to lead a Six Nations Rugby press office, including managing the output from the organisation, specifically during Championships.
* Understanding of the sports and entertainment industry, extending to media rights, sponsorship and commercial partners and the role Communications plays in supporting these areas
* A proactive approach to work, willingness to work with different teams and departments and a self-starter who relishes the opportunity to develop in their role and within a supportive environment
* Ability to read, write and speak French and Italian are not essential, but would be beneficial