Media Relations & Issues Manager

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Job description

KPMGI Group Context and Background

The world is facing significant social, economic and technological change. As businesses increasingly embrace the concept of stakeholder capitalism, KPMG recognizes that our success is not solely defined in financial terms. Our purpose, to inspire confidence and empower change, defines a broader contribution that encompasses not just the commitment we make to our people and our current and future clients but also wider society and the future of professional services.

Corporate Affairs is at the heart of this work. We identify the people and actions that help shape, promote and protect the reputation of KPMG. We work with all those - internally and externally, directly or indirectly - who influence our reputation and who we must listen to, and constructively engage with, if we are to achieve our trust and growth ambition.

This is why KPMG has brought together a team of experienced professionals from across public affairs, ESG and communications. Together, we form the Global Corporate Affairs Function. Working with colleagues in member firms across our network, we are on a journey to transform the way we engage with all those people who influence our reputation.

KPMG is a global organization of independent professional services firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 144 countries and territories and have close to 236,000 people working in member firms around the world.

Role Summary

Global Communications consists of three specialism-based teams: Strategic Communications, Internal Communications, and Leadership Communications. The Strategic Communications team is comprised of three pillars: the Global Reputation Campaigns and Programs team, the Media Relations & Issues Management team and the Social Media team.

This exciting role sits within the Media Relations & Issues Management team, which supports KPMG to deliver media activations for leading edge campaigns. This team are the "outside-in" thinkers within the wider Global Communications team. This means engaging with channels, communities and stakeholders outside of KPMG to support the design of external communications approaches that will land effectively.

The role will drive communications approaches to protect and enhance the firm's reputation and support its overall Trust and Growth ambitions. Working as part of a talented team, they will take ownership for media relations activity for key areas of our business and deliver proactive media relations activations for KPMG-wide programs and campaigns, and other cross-function and cross-industry activities.

This media relations-centric role will involve day-to-day liaison with KPMG leadership, subject matter experts, national firms and third parties. All outputs and outcomes must be to the highest standard and the successful candidate will need to display exceptional communication and influencing skills, as well as a keen sense of business acumen and professional judgement.

Global Communications operates as an agency model, committed to supporting the career development of our people. Over time, all communication professionals are actively encouraged, and supported, to broaden their primary skill-set and you may be asked - based upon business or personal need - to support or join one of the other teams in Global Communications.

Key Accountabilities

o Works closely with Media Relations and Issues Management teammates to develop and execute media plans for KPMG. Media activations will tend to fall in two categories: campaigns for particular service lines of the business (e.g. Tax, ESG), or company-wide campaigns (e.g. Financial Results, participation at Davos). This role is likely to focus on the former of those categories, but may at times require support on the latter as well.
o Builds and maintains long-term internal relationships with key internal stakeholders and understanding of their business areas. This includes the development of strong external communications programs to support their respective areas with solid ROI.
o Demonstrates strong commercial understanding of key business areas and global priorities.
o Has extensive knowledge of external communications best practices and employs them consistently.
o Understands the interactivity between various business areas and looks for opportunity to promote connectivity and consistency in messaging and narrative.
o Has knowledge and understanding of KPMG's global external communications channels and how to use them to effectively communicate to different external audiences.
o Foster strong relationships with local counterparts to ensure consistency in-market and to maximize the impact of global campaigns.
o Strong understanding of key media outlets and their portfolio of journalists.
o Support the Issues Management side of the team as needed. All members of the team need to be able to handle both proactive and reactive media engagement.

To demonstrate energy, innovation and creativity

o Be an active member of Global Communications, supporting other Communication teams as required.
o Support broader Corporate Affairs commitments and deliverables.
o Champion the use of new, innovative ways of communicating with stakeholders.
o Use KPMG's content management tools and editorial processes to ensure effective project management of campaigns and programs.
o Work with KPMG's Global Functions and Industries to ensure a joined up and integrated approach to communications.
o Put the needs of member firms at the heart of everything you do.

Measurement and resource management

o Oversee Central Services support for your campaigns and programs e.g. Events, Editorial, Design and others comprising a mix of in-house, outsourced and offshored resources.
o Lead engagement with regions and countries on adoption, development and roll-out of programs.
o Establish KPIs for campaigns and programs.
o Oversee measurement and reporting on campaigns.
o Undertake campaigns and program reviews and take learning into future campaigns and programs.

Technical Skills & Qualifications

• MS Office - Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint
• MS SharePoint
• MS Teams
• Business acumen
• Strong writing and editing skills
• Diploma or undergraduate degree.

Experience/Knowledge

o A communications professional with a significant amount of experience.
o Strong track record of delivering media relations results.
o Experience with professional services and/or a B2B environment.
o Experience working with subject matter experts.
o Experience of developing compelling value propositions for services/campaigns.
o Proven project management skills with the ability to get buy-in and support for projects from diverse and often widespread stakeholders. Experience of the above in a global, matrix context would be advantageous.
o Excellent writing and communication skills, with an ability to grasp business objectives and translate into actionable technical and functional requirements.
o Strong influencing and communication skills to act professionally, calmly and persuasively when dealing with key internal stakeholders.
o Comfort with wide variety of cultural differences and skill sets, and willingness to work flexible hours as required - connecting and collaborating with colleagues in different time zones.
o Proven ability to create, engage and maintain a strong professional network to achieve corporate goals.