External Communications Manager

About the Role
In this role, you will lead the delivery of external communications for the company and its portfolio companies, transforming the Group's communications strategy into impactful plans. Your focus will span media relations, public affairs, corporate communications, digital content, and events. You will work closely with the Global Head of Communications to execute and refine strategies while becoming one of the Group's senior media voices. This position offers the chance to influence reputation management across 30 countries and act as the primary contact during crisis situations.

Key Responsibilities
Planning and Delivery

• Translate the Group's external communications strategy into an annual plan with clear priorities, owners, and measures.
• Own the plan’s delivery rapidly, emphasizing impact while balancing multiple brand and market priorities.
• Contribute to the development of strategy, narratives, and messaging frameworks, gradually assuming ownership of defined areas.
• Implement the Group's messaging framework uniformly across all businesses, enabling each brand to communicate its unique voice while maintaining a cohesive Group story.
• Collaborate with brand and marketing teams to align commercial goals and identify cross-brand opportunities.
• Coordinate with Internal Communications, ensuring that significant news reaches colleagues first and announcements are consistent internally and externally.

PR and Media Relations

• Manage a proactive and reactive press office.
• Build and maintain senior media relationships internationally.
• Lead campaigns, announcements, and thought leadership initiatives from inception to media coverage.
• Draft and approve press releases, statements, Q&As, briefing notes, and leadership content.
• Prepare and brief spokespeople, including media training and interview preparation.

Corporate Communications

• Deliver communications for GSA and corporate activities, including capital raises, joint ventures, acquisitions, and disposals.
• Collaborate with the Investor Relations, Legal, and Finance teams to ensure consistent, accurate messaging while protecting sensitive information.
• Monitor policy and regulatory developments in priority markets and evaluate their implications for the business.
• Develop policy positions, briefings, and key messages alongside the Global Head of Communications and business leaders.
• Coordinate consultation responses and participate in sector forums and coalitions.

Reputation, Issues, and Crisis

• Support issues and crisis communications planning, protocols, scenario playbooks, and holding statements.
• Identify reputational risks early, advising on mitigation strategies while collaborating with Legal, Compliance, Operations, and brand leaders.
• Lead communications responses to live incidents across time zones, including out-of-hours situations.
• Conduct post-incident reviews and maintain up-to-date protocols.
• Support regular reputational risk reporting to leadership and the Board.

Insight, Listening, and Measurement

• Convert insights from data into actionable recommendations.
• Establish KPIs against an agreed baseline, reporting on performance that aligns with clear business outcomes.

Digital, Content, and GEO

• Oversee corporate websites and social channels, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and strong governance in adherence to brand guidelines.
• Manage content creation in various formats including written, visual, and video.
• Lead Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) to enhance the company and its brands' visibility in AI search tools.

Events and Platforms

• Shape the events, speaking engagements, and awards programs across the industry, investor, higher-education, and policy sectors.
• Oversee event communications, spokesperson positioning, and follow-up content.

Developing Others

• Coach and develop junior colleagues, enhancing their writing, media, and insight capabilities within the team.

Experience and Knowledge
Essential

• 8–10 years in external communications (in-house or agency) with a proven record of executing communication plans.
• Experience across multiple regions (e.g., UK, Europe, Middle East, US, APAC), working across different time zones and cultures.
• Exceptional writing and editing skills, with the ability to adapt tone for diverse audiences.
• Strong relationships with media and a history of achieving high-quality coverage.
• Proven background in crisis management, demonstrating sound judgment under pressure.
• Corporate/B2B media experience within one or more sectors such as real estate, financial services, or hospitality and leisure.
• Understanding of institutional investor audiences and real estate investment; experience collaborating with Investor Relations, Finance, or Legal on corporate announcements.
• Exposure to public affairs, government relations, or policy communications.
• Willingness to work flexibly, including out-of-hours when crises occur.

Desirable

• B2C communications experience in customer-facing operations.
• Familiarity with media and social listening tools for translating data into insights and recommendations.
• Experience in video storytelling, including planning, scripting, and directing content.
• Awareness of GEO, SEO, or AI search visibility strategies.
• Background in sustainability/ESG communications.
• Proficiency in additional languages relevant to the markets.

Personal Attributes & Competencies

• Delivery-focused, efficiently prioritizing and achieving results with minimal resources.
• Curious about the business with a commercial mindset, eager to develop strategy over time.
• Confident and credible adviser to senior leaders, with the ability to challenge constructively.
• Calm under pressure, exercising sound judgment.
• Insight-led, comfortable interpreting data and producing actionable insights.
• Capable of influencing across brands, functions, and countries without formal authority.
• Possess a global mindset and cultural sensitivity.
• Committed to mentoring and developing team members.

What Success Looks Like in Year One

• An external communications plan delivered in line with agreed priorities, alongside a rolling 90-day calendar.
• Established issues and crisis protocols with scenario playbooks and an out-of-hours rota in place.
• A functional media and social listening platform that produces regular insight reports for leadership.
• Observable growth in quality media coverage and share of voice relative to initial benchmarks set within the first 90 days.
• Monitored and established public affairs positioning framework for key markets and issues.
• Smoothly executed corporate and investor announcements in collaboration with Investor Relations.
• A GEO baseline established, showcasing measurable enhancement in AI search visibility for the company and its brands.
• Ownership of specific areas within the annual external communications strategy acquired.