Corporate Affairs & Responsible Business

Practice Director

Do you want to join a team that specialises in building and protecting the reputations of brands seeking to positively transform our world?

Our Corporate Affairs & Responsible Business (CRB) practice offers first-class corporate, sustainability and public affairs advisory to clients spanning fast-growth businesses to household name brands. We create, we campaign, we counsel, we connect. From recasting corporate strategies through to rethinking environmental and societal impact, we deliver the stakeholder confidence required to propel organisations forward and give them the license to transform our world.

We are looking to appoint a Practice Director to join our leadership team who will drive our next phase of growth. Reporting into the practice MD, the successful candidate will be a seasoned corporate advisor, accustomed to leading and growing accounts, building and protecting client reputations and placing purpose at the heart of everything we do. Most importantly, they will be responsible for spearheading new business opportunities, helping our practice build sector specialisms and leveraging their strong network to open and convert new business leads.

We are a dynamic and creative team, focused on using our multi-disciplinary skillsets to deliver the very best communications solutions to our clients. We are true client partners who are just as comfortable delivering purpose-driven campaigns as advising senior stakeholders when the stakes are high. Clients in our team include FTSE 100 businesses such as Experian, renowned multinationals like Arup and Tetra Pak, as well as pioneering technology businesses such as Adyen. We are also, since December 2023, part of the Paritee agency platform, a new kind of agency network that combines the best of large agency thinking and entrepreneurial excellence.

Integration is in our DNA and we pride ourselves on cross-agency collaboration. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work alongside Brands2Life colleagues in the UK and internationally on campaigns and accounts that span a range of disciplines including Digital & Social, Consumer PR and Marketing & Creative Services.

As Practice Director, your role will include:

Team leadership and commercial acumen

• Take a leading role on key accounts, with responsibility for strategic oversight, maintaining excellent client service and upholding industry-leading standards
• Operate as a trusted advisor to clients, adding value to client relationships, offering creativity to communications solutions and providing trusted counsel to senior stakeholders
• Build visibility for the CRB team, contributing towards its strategic goals and strengthening its reputation for industry-leading corporate affairs expertise
• Maximise client and team profitability and work closely with the Finance team on forecasting, revenue recognition and capacity planning

First-class communications delivery

• Demonstrate brand-building expertise, with solid experience of narrative and messaging development, creating robust client communications strategies and over-seeing earned, owned and paid execution
• Act as a key member of our crisis preparation and response team, responsible for assessing, planning and delivering crisis communications plans, alongside providing sound client counsel at the most senior level
• Leverage strong media contacts and executive positioning expertise to enhance client reputations as thought leaders
• Exhibit strong writing skills, with an ability to adopt different tones of voice and adapt your copy to different assignments, from tier one op-eds to high profile speeches
• Foster long-term, trusted relationships with clients, grounded in a passion for their business, a commitment to quality and a focus on constantly adding value

New business

• Take a leading role on driving new business, leading pitches and using your strategic know-how to drive agency differentiation
• Leverage your network to bring in new business opportunities and swiftly build strong client relationships to unlock organic growth
• Take ownership for the CRB team’s marketing and growth strategy, delivered in conjunction with the practice SLT team to drive lead generation, marketing and thought leadership initiatives

Team management and development

• Run cross-functional account teams, responsible for delivering for clients in a fast-paced environment
• Invest in the growth of junior team members, creating an environment of constant learning and demonstrating behaviours consistent with Brands2Life’s values
• Play a visible, senior role across the wider business, contributing to the company’s Senior Management Team and leading company-wide initiatives that enrich our culture.

We love what we do and are looking for a vibrant, ambitious candidate with a proven track record, exceptional leadership skills and a passion for advancing the reputations of the businesses transforming our world.

All employees at Brands2Life are offered a fantastic working environment, excellent long-term career opportunities and highly competitive range of benefits. We offer regular internal and external training (at all levels), 360 reviews, personal development plans, health and dental insurance, flexible working, and plenty of company socials. As well as all of that, we offer a two-month sabbatical after four years (paid!).

As of December 2023, Brands2Life has been part of the Paritee agency platform, a new kind of network that combines the best of large agency thinking and entrepreneurial excellence. Paritee has a vision to create a new breed of agency network and model for collaboration, one that brings together National Champion agencies in each key market and enables them to co-operate for mutual benefit and to provide clients with world-class services and advice, based on deep sector insight.

If you would like to apply to this position, then please send your CV to [email protected]. Alternatively, if this role is not for you but you like the sound of working at Brands2Life then you are welcome to contact us at [email protected].

*Brands2Life is an equal opportunities employer and encourages applications from all backgrounds. We believe a diverse and inclusive workforce enhances our ability to be creative, innovative and entrepreneurial. We do not discriminate against applicants or employees because of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, marital status or citizenship status.