External Communications Manager

The opportunity

University of the Arts London (UAL) is seeking a motivated and talented External Communications Manager to join our dynamic communications team. Reporting to the Head of External Communications you will play a crucial role in enhancing UAL’s reputation through press and our social media channels.  

You will use your proactive media skills to create relationships with journalists and influencers, source, develop and sell in stories to raise the profile of our impactful research, innovative practice and thought leadership, and build social purpose partnerships that can deliver on our strategic objectives.   

The post sits within the University’s recently formed Social Purpose Group. The group brings together communications, the new Social Purpose Lab, fundraising and UAL’s recently launched Storytelling Institute. Together, the group will enable UAL to change and shape the world for the better. 

The communications department is a collaborative, creative and inclusive team who understand the role of communications in championing the transformative power of creative education. We speak on behalf of the creative industries across all platforms and cultivate relationships with some of the country’s leading experts and opinion formers. 

The communications team has a vital role to play. We want to bring high quality education to more students than ever before and give our students the education they need to flourish in a changing world.  

This role is based at High Holborn, but is part of the wider Communications community at UAL. As a community, we are embarking on a transformation programme to become a single university-wide team which will improve the reach and impact of our communications.

About you

As an experienced communications professional, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Experience of success in similar management roles, fostering relationships with both internal and external stakeholders while consistently delivering impactful communication materials.
• A track record leading campaigns, crafting effective communication messages, and collaborating with journalists to secure media coverage.
• Skill in writing compelling copy, simplifying complex concepts, and nurturing a passion for our organisation’s purpose and values. 

Additionally, you will have exceptional organisational, planning, and project management skills, adept at forward-thinking, prioritisation, flexible and accurate execution even in high-pressure situations. 

Supporting colleagues across the University, you must be able to collaborate effectively with various teams across diverse professional disciplines.

If you have any queries about this role or need any reasonable adjustments for your application, please contact Hazel Bailey, Resourcing Adviser via email at Socialpurposestaffrecruitment@arts.ac.uk.

We are UAL

University of the Arts London (UAL) offers an extensive range of courses in art, design, fashion, communication and performing arts. We are a collegiate University spread across London with six Colleges, four Institutes and five Research Centres. UAL also has two subsidiary companies, delivering specialist activities – UAL Short Courses Ltd, and UAL Arts Temps Ltd.

We’re made up of all types of people, coming together in London, the world’s creative capital. We are designers, artists, performers, thinkers, researchers and makers. Our students, staff and graduates form a global network of creatives, entrepreneurs and leaders. Together, our ideas change the world. Because the world needs creativity.

We are ranked highly across the board. We are ranked first for specialist art and design, second in the world for Art and Design in the 2023 QS World University Rankings (for the fifth year in a row), ranked fifth in sustainability and two of our colleges were rated in the top three fashion schools in the world.

Our culture

We have become one of the world’s most international Universities, welcoming over 22,000 students and 6,000 staff from 130 countries. And, as a global university, staff and students learn from different cultures and perspectives, which leads to new conversations and innovative work. At our very core, everything we do seeks to challenge the status quo by driving social purpose and standing up for what matters.

We welcome applicants from all backgrounds including those who may feel underrepresented in the workforce due to their socioeconomic circumstances such as those from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (B.A.M.E.) backgrounds. We aim to be a university where everyone can be themselves and are supported to reach their full potential.

With our commitment to inclusion and diversity, we are proud to be a Race Equality Charter (REC) member to help us reduce barriers that negatively impacts B.A.M.E. staff, a Stonewall Diversity Champion to ensure all LGBTQ+ people are valued at work, a Disability Confident Scheme Committed employer and member of the Business Disability Forum which help us to improve the lives of disabled people in the workplace.

Apply

Candidates are advised to submit applications early.

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