Senior PR & Communications Manager – 50 Best

We are the leading expert in the global Food & Drink industry.

From manufacturing through to retail and hospitality – we provide the inspiration, insight and connections to power our customers’ success.

Our specialists are deeply engaged in their markets and are recognised as the most trusted professionals in their field.

50 Best is the global leader in premium hospitality awards events, widely recognised as the leading innovator within its field. Its brand portfolio now includes The World’s 50 Best Restaurants, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants, Middle East & North Africa’s 50 Best Restaurants, 50 Best Discovery, as well as The World’s 50 Best Bars, Asia’s 50 Best Bars and North America’s 50 Best Bars. The team launched the inaugural edition of The World’s 50 Best Hotels in 2023, marking the brand’s first foray into the travel sector.

Position

Position: Full time (35hr per week), permanent.

Location: Hybrid: Office based Crawley (2 days) plus additional day in either our Crawley or London Office. For commuting to the Crawley office, we have a minibus service which provides convenient transportation to and from the nearest station (Three Bridges) at the start and end of each day.

Communication is at the heart of the strategy to cement the 50 Best brand’s position as the leading global and regional authority in the restaurants, bars and hotels spaces, and to further establish the brand as a positive force in gastronomy – 50 Best is as much about building community within the hospitality sphere as it is about producing rankings – while delivering ROI-driven, multi-channel communication campaigns for its sponsors.

Due to exceptional growth, the need has arisen to hire an experienced in-house Senior PR & Communications Manager to work as part of the PR team alongside the Director of PR, Assistant PR & Communications Manager and PR Account Executive.

The role will involve managing our communications operations with our network of international PR agencies, managing our global communications plan in collaboration with the Director of PR, and executing effective programmes to increase awareness and develop a positive, credible and influential brand image amongst the media. The Senior PR & Communications Manager will be expected to generate creative ideas for media engagement, manage project coordination, oversee the Assistant PR & Communications Manager, PR Account Executive, and to liaise with 50 Best internal teams to ensure smooth rollout of communication plans.

What you’ll be doing:

• Establish good working relations with all contracted PR agencies through regular contact
• Attend and lead calls and meetings with contracted PR agencies regularly
• Ensure overall PR timeline across the brand portfolio is kept updated, overseeing coordination with the Assistant PR & Communications Manager and PR Account Executive, and with the PR agencies
• Manage agencies involved in the media relations of our events/activities from start to post-event reports
• Assist PR agencies in arranging media interviews with key 50 Best spokespeople, chefs, bartenders and sponsors (when relevant) pre, during and post-awards events and ongoing in general for 50 Best brand
• In conjunction with PR agencies, develop key media messages, FAQs, media kits, and other necessary materials to support media pitching, story development and key interviews
• Proofread and provide feedback on press materials drafted by PR agencies
• Coordinate events media relations (on-site or remotely depending on the event) including event PR agency briefing and coordination, Press Conference and selection and distribution of assets (with support from your Manager and the Assistant PR & Communications Manager and PR Account Executive)
• Work with Director of PR to set KPIs for PR agencies including the most effective ways we can measure our PR success

Public Relations

• Support Director of PR in developing brand communication, vision and action plan across the brand portfolio
• Deputise for Director of PR on calls, in meetings, progressing projects and managing PR agencies, independently, when required
• Drive and facilitate press release development with Content and Partnerships teams from briefing to translations and approvals
• Assist with writing high quality and grammatically correct press materials
• Maintain and deliver appropriate media lists for invitation or press release distribution, when an external PR agency is not under contract
• Manage process of liaising with Cision and ensuring media monitoring is up to standard for 50 Best brand and sponsors (with support from PR Account Executive)
• Oversee organisation of media guestlists for awards, liaising with the Partnerships team and PR agencies to ensure media guestlists for all events are coordinated and the process is streamlined
• Develop and maintain global press contacts through frequent communication and regular proactive contact with the media
• Continue to build a global database of media/influencers contacts from events and activities
• Monitor and delegate media queries as needed to Assistant PR & Communications Manager and PR Account Executive or PR agencies
• Liaise with chefs/bartenders, our key sponsors and their PR agencies where required
• Oversee (with support from Director of PR) hosted media programme for each awards, working in collaboration with host destination partner
• Ensure each brand in the 50 Best portfolio receives sufficient time and attention to achieve the required results defined by your Manager
• Support Director of PR in managing process of countering negative publicity and crisis management overall (in alignment with Director of Content)

Management & Administration

• Manage Assistant PR & Communications Manager and PR Account Executive on day to day task execution and administrative duties.
• Oversee management of the Media Centre in collaboration with Assistant PR & Communications Manager and PR Account Executive
• Meet team and company deadlines
• Communicate effectively and transparently with your team
• Attend weekly team meetings and report on activity
• Assist Head of PR and PR Account Executive in ensuring that all PR agencies preliminary and post-event PR reports are completed to a high standard and include all relevant data

General

• To maintain an awareness of hospitality industry news in relevant markets
• Review publications and share relevant articles of interest with wider team
• Keep abreast of relevant industry events where 50 Best should have a presence
• Keep abreast of global media developments including changes to journalist’s roles and the changing media landscape, where possible

Requirements

What you’ll need:

• Extensive experience working in communications and publications (agency or in-house)
• Exposure to international communication including international PR, knowledge of media landscape outside the UK, managing PR events outside the UK
• Experience in PR event communication with significant attendance
• Proven track record in developing and delivering consumer-facing brand PR campaigns both at local and international level which deliver results.
• Experience and understanding of media needs and relationships on an international basis
• Strong communication and presentation skills – written and verbal
• Excellent collaborative team-working skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to communicate and forge relationships with the internal team and externally with media
• Ability to thrive under pressure and to work at speed around events and on the ground at events
• Excellent organisational and planning skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously and forward plan
• Responsible and accurate with attention to detail
• The ability to keep information confidential
• A keen interest in the world of restaurants, bars and hotels
• Excellent knowledge of Cision (or equivalent media monitoring platforms), PowerPoint, and Adobe packages is desirable
• Language skills a major advantage

Other information

Company Benefits Include:

• 25 days annual leave in addition to bank holidays- increasing by one additional day after 6 years, up to a maximum of 30 days.
• An additional day of leave for you to take on a cultural celebration day or on your birthday if you like. A day for you! At William Reed, we call this our “MeDay”.
• A volunteer day to take for supporting a chosen charity and giving back to the community.
• Opportunity for hybrid working
• Contributory Pension
• Life Assurance Scheme
• Group Income Protection
• Enhanced family-friendly leave pay entitlements
• Wellbeing benefits, including: A health care cash plan, Employee assistance programme and a 12-month wellness calendar for company-wide health, wellbeing, diversity & inclusion awareness dates.
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Electric Car Scheme

Why work for us:

We provide a supportive work environment and are committed to maintaining a healthy work/life balance for all of our employees. Working for William Reed means that you will be joining a stable organisation that is committed to developing its employees and brands.

We warmly welcome and encourage applications from talented individuals of all backgrounds and characteristics.

If you need any support in accessing this opportunity, please do not hesitate to discuss this with us.