Media and stakeholder engagement manager

Media and Stakeholder Relations Manager Role Description

Title: Media and Stakeholder Relations Manager

Reporting to: Chief Sustainability Officer

Salary: £60,000 - £80,000

Location: Home based with UK wide travel (up to 50% of role)

About Viridor

Viridor is one of the UK’s leading innovators in resource recovery. We operate the largest fleet of Energy from Waste (EfW) facilities in the UK. Through our fleet of 12 EfW facilities, we process over 3.4 million tonnes of waste and recycling a year, producing enough energy to power c. 800,000 British homes. Viridor’s purpose is to build a world where nothing goes to waste. Viridor has an ambitious decarbonisation plan and has committing to reaching Net Zero by 2040 and to become the UK’s first carbon positive waste management company by 2045.

Role Context

Viridor is the UK’s largest operator of Energy from Waste facilities with a c. 22% market share. The waste sector is facing an increasing reputational issue. Growing waste crime especially fly tipping have heightened the focus on waste and waste misuse. In Energy from Waste, the sector has a small but very vocal opposition which often grabs media attention.

Viridor wants to openly challenge the negative perception of Energy from Waste based on four key areas:

• Excellent operational and safety performance diverting millions of tonnes of waste from landfill.
• Our care for our communities through WeShare (our community led funding scheme), our volunteering work and excellent environmental performance.
• Our commitment to drive out fossil-based carbon emissions from our operations to achieve net zero by 2040.
• Our major and ongoing investment into the UK.

The perception of EfW and the waste sector more broadly needs to be tackled head on, dispelling myths and demonstrating the dedicated work of our incredible teams across Britain.

Role Purpose

Lead Viridor’s media, social media and stakeholder relations activity, alongside local PR and community reputation management, ensuring a proactive and coordinated approach that strengthens external perception and supports the company’s social licence to operate.

Key responsibilities

• Lead delivery of national, regional and trade media engagement, including proactive campaigns and reactive press handling

• Act as a point of coordination with external communications and public affairs agencies, ensuring clear direction, strong outcomes and consistent messaging

• Manage day to day press enquiries, issue handling and reputational risk, responding at pace to negative or inaccurate coverage

• Translate business priorities into clear external messaging for media, stakeholders and partners

• Own Viridor’s social media channels, including LinkedIn, overseeing content planning, copywriting, scheduling and publishing in line with external priorities

• Deliver a consistent pipeline of high quality content, including site stories, video and leadership visibility, to strengthen the company narrative

• Build and maintain relationships with key journalists, industry bodies and priority stakeholders

• Working closely with the ESG team and sites, lead local PR activity around sites, including community stories, announcements and positive coverage to improve sentiment in host communities

• Support site level stakeholder engagement through strong storytelling and media amplification, rather than direct delivery of engagement programmes

• Support CEO and senior leadership media profiling, identifying opportunities and preparing briefings, messaging and lines to take

• Ensure all external communications meet legal, regulatory and brand requirements, protecting the company’s reputation

• Monitor media and social sentiment, producing regular insight and recommending actions to improve perception

• Play a central role in crisis and incident communications, including media handling during live issues and preparedness planning

Skills and experience

• Strong experience in media relations, stakeholder engagement and campaign delivery

• Proven ability to manage reactive issues and reputational risk in a fast-paced environment

• Experience running social media channels and delivering content strategies aligned to external objectives

• Excellent writing and proof reading skills, with the ability to translate technical or operational issues into clear, simple and relevant external messaging

• Experience working with agencies and delivering integrated communications activity

• Confidence working with senior stakeholders and advising on external positioning

• Understanding of local PR and community-based storytelling, ideally in infrastructure, waste, energy or other regulated sectors

Success in this role looks like

• Increased volume and quality of positive media coverage

• Clear improvement in sentiment at both national and site level

• Strong, consistent measurable presence across social media channels

• Effective handling of negative coverage and issues

• Delivery of a regular pipeline of high-quality content showcasing sites, people and impact

• Increased visibility and credibility of senior leadership across media and stakeholder channels