Head of Strategic Communications, Campaign

VMA GROUP is thrilled to partner exclusively with Prostate Cancer UK to recruit a Head of Strategic Communications, Campaigns & Brand for their Communications directorate. This is a 6-month FTC to start in January 2025.

As part of the newly redesigned Communications Leadership Team, you will take strategic ownership of how Prostate Cancer UK delivers their communications plans.

Collaborating with Heads of Department across the organisation, and supported by a diverse and talented team of Communications specialists, you will develop Prostate Cancer UK’s campaigning, brand and celebrity / influencer strategies and lead the Strategic Communications, Campaigns & Brand team to develop and deliver high profile, complex and impactful campaigns supporting the organisation to achieve its strategic goals in making a difference for men.

Key skills/responsibilities:

• Responsible for the embedding and success of the newly created Business Partner and Planning model ensuring senior leaders across the business see the Communication directorate as a supportive and commercial enabler of their objectives, and ensuring they are actively engaged and bought in to the development of strategies, plans and objectives.
• Oversee the delivery of an effective and transparent strategic plan which is informed by the organisation’s strategy at the ‘top’ and the annual business planning process (which delivers the 3-year strategy) which is driven from the ‘bottom’. Ensuring that there is sufficient capacity to deliver agreed objectives, campaigns and brand moments
• Have responsibility and strategic oversight of all functions within the Strategic Content, Campaigns and Brand team, including the areas of Public Affairs, Brand, Strategic Content and Campaigns, Business Partnering and Planning, and Celebrity Engagement.
• Have accountability for the organisational communications strategy, owning the brand, and planning how the strategic messaging lands throughout the year.
• Have responsibility and strategic oversight of all functions within the Strategic Content, Campaigns and Brand team, including the areas of Public Affairs, Brand, Strategic Content and Campaigns, Business Partnering and Planning, and Celebrity Engagement.
• Establish and drive a culture of continuous improvement and evidence-based communications delivery.
• Demonstrate to leaders and stakeholders across the business the value of brand communications as a long-term driver of organisational growth, through advocacy and measurement including econometric studies.

What you will bring to the role:

• You will bring extensive and demonstrable experience in leading an integrated strategic communications team.
• You will have proven campaigns experience, creating the strategy and working with the wider team to ensure it’s effective and efficient delivery to meet the objectives of the organisation.
• Prior experience building multi-channel public facing campaigns and delivering engagement with relevant audiences.
• Experience managing a brand, being a brand guardian and deliver brand campaigns.
• A highly organised, strategic thinker with the ability to use analytical skills to prioritise the best opportunities and give insight to strategic planning.
• Proven experience in brand reputation and crisis communications management.
• An excellent communicator – confident at communicating complex technical information to general audiences, credible at senior levels and with external stakeholders and partners
• Experience of successfully building trust and connection with community groups, ideally including knowledge of reaching, engaging and activating high risk communities.
• Familiar with the operation of an effective business partnering and planning function, with the ability to lead the implementation of this function using an agile and fast-paced approach.
• A strong collaborator who will engage key stakeholders across the business in developing their plans and strategies.

What’s in it for You?

This is your chance to join a purpose-driven organisation making a real difference in people’s lives. Prostate Cancer UK offers a supportive and flexible working environment, valuing work-life balance while promoting growth and development opportunities.

We offer a competitive benefits package, including:

• Generous leave entitlements that increase with service
• Hybrid working approach – combining the best of flexible working.
• One ‘development day’ a month to use for training or personal development
• Enhanced contributory pension scheme
• Life insurance and group income protection
• Health Cash Plan
• Life and wellbeing advice and support via our Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted gym membership and high street shopping discounts
• Loans for season tickets or cycles

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Prostate Cancer UK believes that equity, diversity and inclusion are essential to building a strong and innovative workplace, that represents and can advocate for the communities they support. Standing against discrimination and prejudice, and championing tolerance, fairness and equality in everything they do. This makes them stronger and helps them reach more people. The team is here for the same reason: to give every man the power to navigate prostate cancer.

Fully committed to righting health inequalities across the UK, starting with those faced by Black men who are at double risk of prostate cancer. This includes ground-breaking research into Black men's risk and working with communities directly to overcome barriers to the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer.

Therefore, we’re particularly interested in applications from those from marginalised and vulnerable communities to support an environment of inclusion where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work, where personal qualities are as important as professional experience, and our people feel seen and heard.

Apply Now

If you’re ready to apply your expertise in an impactful environment, we’d love to hear from you

Due to a high volume of applicants, we are unable to respond to everyone. We will get in touch if you are successful in your application.

VMA GROUP is a leading international interim, contract, temporary and permanent recruitment and executive search specialist. We are specifically focused on providing support to the communications, marketing, digital and change communities.

Our specialist practice areas cover: communications, corporate communications, internal communications, change communications, PR, media relations, financial communications, CSR, public affairs, investor relations, marketing, brand, digital marketing and agency services.

We have a reputation for providing expert consultancy services and advice, supported by in-depth knowledge of the professions we recruit for. Our thought leadership and benchmarking studies have become go-to resources for the communications, marketing, digital and change industries, supporting planning and decision-making for organisations of all shapes and sizes.

In the UK, VMA GROUP has offices in London, Bristol and Manchester and in Europe, VMA GROUP has offices in Amsterdam and Brussels, but we work with organisations and individuals on a global basis.

VMA GROUP is committed to equal opportunities and is an Inclusive+ Recruiter.