External Relations Leader IBM East Africa at IBM

The External Relations Leader leads external communication activities supporting business issues of major consequence to IBM and the business units. They will act in a consulting capacity, providing communication advice and counsel to executive line management. They will be recognized by line management for knowledge and understanding of the business.
Responsible for:

• Coordinating and leveraging relationships with key influencers (primarily media and analysts) as part of IBM's market conditioning in East Africa,
• Creating and driving a pro-active programmer of external relations initiatives such as media announcements, executive interviews, by-liner article placement etc.
• Managing projects such as press conferences, thought-leadership events, executive interviews as well as issues management.
• Writing and localizing strategic press materials such as press releases, by-lined articles, speeches and briefing documents which can be leveraged in East Africa,
• Maintaining strong personal relationships with key media and analysts.
• Ensuring activities are in line with IBM's corporate strategy and vision while benefitting local business growth and leveraging local experience and expertise.
• Ensuring horizontal interlock with the East African Country General Manager, business executives, sales leaders, other support functions etc.
• Ensuring vertical interlock with the IBM External Relations function and ensuring adherence to IBM guidelines and standards.

Essential skills:

• Advanced media relations skills
• PR in-house or agency, analyst relations or journalism experience
• Team coordination and management skills.
• PR agency management skills.
• Event management skills.
• Advanced writing skills.
• Deep understanding of East African business, political, social and cultural issues and ability to translate IBM global themes/messages into locally relevant material.
• Ability to form meaningful relationships with various stakeholder groups.
• Understanding of the application of technology and familiarity with the IT business sector.
• Strong team player, able to work effectively as part of a local team and a large, global enterprise.
• While this person must display a strong degree of independence and pro-activity in order to succeed, he/she must also be also to work in a complex corporate environment and be willing to develop an understanding of and passion for IBM’s global communications strategy, principles and approaches.
• As External Relations is a critical discipline of IBM Marketing & Communications, it is essential that the candidate for this position should possess strong interpersonal, writing and editing skills along with sound organizational abilities. The candidate will work closely with MEA and Global communications specialists, marketing managers, IBM executives, media outlets and analyst organizations to establish a full network of contacts.

Personal attributes

• Strong interpersonal skills – an energetic and enthusiastic ‘people’ person
• Networking skills – the ability to network effectively and build relationships
• Teaming skills – the ability to be accessible and responsive; be prepared to act as a support for the External Relations discipline and team and/or give assistance on projects, and share information, knowledge and experience with broader communications teams.
• Proactive, productive and results oriented – must be able to take a hands-on approach to projects/programs and see them through to completion.
• Collaborative – works well as part of extended teams - ability to work with colleagues in other countries.
• Service oriented – must be able to execute work quickly and maintain high service levels with an ability to provide value to the business

Knowledge:
Principles of Communications, Analyst Relations, Media Relations, large company processes, IT industry knowledge. A sound understanding of IBM’s business is highly desirable.

Desired Skills and Experience

Good Communication Skills
Good presentation Skills
Networking Skills