Media Relations Manager (x2 Posts)

About us

UCL is a radically different university. Founded in 1826 in the heart of London, we were the first university in England to welcome students of any religion and the first to welcome women to university education. Today UCL has over 40,000 students and 13,000 staff and is one of the world’s top 10 universities. The Vice-President External Engagement (VPEE) team delivers communications and marketing activity for UCL, working to ensure UCL’s public prominence, reputation and influence reflects the university’s excellence in knowledge creation, education, and innovation.

About the role

UCL Media Relations Managers are responsible for planning and implementing media relations strategies on a diverse range of issues, working to deliver positive coverage of the university.

To achieve this the post holders will work with the appropriate national, international, regional and local media to ensure that UCL’s key messages are delivered to its range of audiences. They respond to a variety of calls on a daily basis, write and edit news releases and press statements, update web pages, organise media briefings and develop and maintain excellent relationships with the media and the UCL community, using expertise and creativity to advise on appropriate media handling whenever necessary. They are also responsible for all media activity for an appropriate number of UCL Faculties, to be determined in discussion with the Executive Director of Media and Public Affairs and Head of Media Relations.

Holders of the role are required to build strong internal networks with academic and professional staff – mainly focused around their areas of responsibility - as well as external networks with journalists and external stakeholders such as partner institution media teams.

They will also be required to provide strategic advice to academics on media engagement and profile raising – including delivering developmental media training within their faculties and areas of responsibility.

We have one full-time permanent post that is available to start from the end of June 2025 and we have one full-time fixed term post which is available from 23 June 2025 to 21 June 2026.

About you

The successful candidate will have significant experience of working within a busy news environment, for instance a press office, or as part of a communications team.

Excellent understanding of the workings of the external media (print, broadcast, online, social), demonstrable evidence of having taken a strategic approach to communications activity as part of wider strategy to secure high-profile coverage and deliver organisational objectives and editorial experience of conveying subject matter concisely and compellingly to audiences with wide-ranging degrees of interest and expertise are all essential.

What we offer

Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/rewards-and-benefits 

Our commitment to EDI

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce.

These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

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