Director – Africa Specialist at Portland

The role

• We are looking for an established Director, to lead and work from our Nairobi office on a number of our prestigious clients in Africa.
• We are looking for someone with at least eight years’ previous communications experience, who is able to play a key, senior role in managing teams, accounts and projects, coordinating client relationships, to help devise and manage strategic communications campaigns, and to provide day-to-day media handling advice.
• This role will focus on accounts within our international team, though the successful applicant may have opportunities to work with other teams across a range of clients, issues and disciplines – e.g. development, global health, corporate, crisis, sports.
• We have a track record of delivering pan-African and regional programmes right across the continent for high-profile individuals, multi-national investors and campaigning organisations. As well as specialist Africa expertise in our London office, Portland’s Nairobi team acts as a valuable resource for insight, news and information on Africa, guiding client strategies and providing world-class tactical capability in Kenya and East Africa.
• We are looking for candidates with strong entrepreneurial spirit who can participate in and lead new business efforts across the continent.
• The role will also involve coordinating and developing our network of local partner agencies and other agencies of the Omnicom Group across the continent.

Key Responsibilities

• Leading our Nairobi office, managing the team and spearheading new business and marketing efforts across the continent;
• Manage relationships with key pan African and global clients;
• Helping to devise, manage and implement proactive media engagement strategies;
• Dealing confidently with key contacts, providing day-to-day media advice, placing stories and mitigating negative coverage;
• Coordinating research, media materials, news stories and other written outputs;
• Responding quickly and accurately to client requests;
• Managing the work of more junior team members to implement client programmes
• Liaising day-to-day with our office in London, the wider network and our partners in the African region
• Managing relationships within key African media
• Strong commercial understanding and ability to manage key contracts

Person Specification

Competences applicable to the post:

Providing a quality service

• Have strong commercial acumen - utilised with bottom line figures in mind as well as continued high standard service offering to clients;
• Be able to anticipate clients’ challenges and develop strategies to solve them;
• Have the ability to communicate confidently with Portland staff, senior clients and other stakeholders;
• Demonstrable ability to lead teams to achieve results for clients.

Personal Effectiveness

• Be a credible and confident adviser on media and reputation;
• Have strong commercial awareness and ability to support aggressive new business drive;
• Have a network of contacts to help fill pipeline and pull in new business;
• Be media smart with good contacts in national and international print and broadcast;
• Be able to sensitively navigate stakeholder engagement, with particular experience in working with NGOs/non-profits and the challenges that can bring;
• Be able to lead accounts and manage clients – a track record of agency experience handling is not essential but would be beneficial.

Team working and projects

• Be able to work with and communicate effectively with the Nairobi office and others across the agency;
• Be an excellent decision maker with a real ability to lead and mentor a team across different client accounts;
• Develop collegial relationships with individuals at various levels throughout the agency;
• Have excellent interpersonal skills with a real flare for pitching and presenting ideas and business plans;
• Focus on organic growth and development of team, have experience of being a line manager to junior team members.

Qualifications And Skills

• At least eight years of relevant, senior level PR experience gained from an agency, in-house or government facing role;
• The ability to be a key influencer with the gravitas to provide senior leadership and counsel on major complex accounts;
• Excellent client servicing and interpersonal skills, as well as a real ability to lead pitch teams;
• Proven ability to grow and lead teams;
• Tenacity to drive marketing and business development;
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills, excellent client-consultation skills as well as client and agency growth and development.