Media Relations Manager Background Job description. For over a century the Whitechapel Gallery has premiered worldclass artists from modern masters such as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko and Frida Kahlo to contemporaries such as Sophie Calle, Lucien Freud, Gilbert & George and Mark Wallinger. With beautiful galleries, exhibitions, artist commissions, collection displays, historic archives, education resources, inspiring art courses, Café/Bar and bookshop, the Gallery is open all year round, so there is always something free to see. The Gallery is a touchstone for contemporary art internationally, plays a central role in London s cultural landscape and is pivotal to the continued growth of the world s most vibrant contemporary art quarter. Role The Media Relations Manager sits within the Communications department, which consists of: Head of Communications, Design & Production Manager, Marketing Manager, Media Relations Manager, Press Officer, Communications Trainee, Digital Marketing Apprentice and Design & Production Intern. Working as part of the busy Communications team the Media Relations Manager will undertake a range of media relations activities. Working with the team they will promote the Gallery's exhibitions, educational activities, events and projects by devising and executing successful, proactive and timely media campaigns. This includes securing positive press coverage, managing the effective running of the press desk by maintaining image and information resources, updating the media database, and supervising the compilation of press reports and cuttings. Accountability The Media Relations Manager is line managed by the Head of Communications..
Duties and Responsibilities Media Relations Managing proactive media relations activity for all aspects of the Whitechapel Gallery s programme and activities: developing media relations strategies specific to each exhibition and project, with achievable and strategic timelines for individual media campaigns and media activity as a whole. Effective and timely communication to the media of all aspects of the Whitechapel Gallery including Exhibitions, Projects, Education, Public Events, Membership, Venue Hire, Whitechapel Ventures and the Whitechapel Café/Bar Managing the scheduling and logistics of all media events including, press views, photocalls, press trips, briefings and advocacy events and 1-2-1 meetings with editors Liaising with key partners, galleries, peers and consultants on the delivery of media relations campaigns, and collaborating with external PR agencies to deliver projects and joint initiatives Working with the Head of Communications to manage the reputation of the Whitechapel Gallery, ensuring that the service provided to members of the press is excellent, exhibitions and projects are communicated effectively and striving to ensure media coverage of the Gallery is positive Working with the Head of Communications to ensure that the Whitechapel Gallery, artists, artworks, sponsors and partners are fully and correctly credited in media coverage Working with the Communications team to maintain relationships with media partners and ensure that agreed partnership outputs are delivered In liaison with the Head of Communications, planning strategic effective and timely media relations campaigns. Overseeing press contact reports for each campaign and reporting on all press coverage to the Head of Communications, staff and the Board of Trustees. Writing press materials according to the in-house templates Ensuring the sourcing of information by the Press Officer, such as artists biographies, press cuttings on previous exhibitions by the artist, catalogues, images and other materials from colleagues and partners, is done in a timely manner for use by the team and Gallery staff in communications campaigns. Supervising the sending all listings information and images to all short and long lead press by the Press Officer and Communications Trainee and supervising the uploading of all online listings by the Communications Trainee.
Supervising the sourcing and maintaining of a resource of highresolution images by the Press Officer for members of the press relating to the exhibition and education programmes as well as corporate images and events. Ensuring all images are correctly captioned, accredited and available to press via email, on CD or online image banks on request and to Whitechapel Gallery staff when required. Keeping files and records of image requests and downloads. Overseeing the postal and email distribution of press materials and press view invitations. Overseeing subscriptions and press office copies of key titles for the Communications team, and regularly reading and monitoring the media to be well informed and foresee opportunities for publicising the Whitechapel Gallery Supervising the organisation of all press cuttings both paper and digital copies - and circulating weekly and monthly reports on coverage, as well as making cuttings available to Whitechapel Gallery staff through Network Resources, maintaining additional copies on file for packs, and available to Trustees in advance of quarterly meetings. Recording and filing broadcast coverage relating to the Gallery. Supervising the compilation of On Record and Director s Reports Managing press events and compilation of media packs Attending private views and special events at the discretion of the Head of Communications Administrative support Assisting the Gallery at private views, meetings and events Evaluating the effectiveness of media relations and marketing campaigns with the Communications team, and implementing improvements accordingly Database Supervising the data entry and research of contacts for the Gallery s media database of 1200 contacts via online and telephone research & ensuring all contacts have address, phone and email details, are tagged appropriately as correct media, mailing and event type and with notes on lead time, specific requirements and VIP status Other Carrying out any other duties as deemed appropriate by the Head of Communications.
Personal Specification Essential Outstanding proven experience of delivering strategic, timely and effective media relations campaigns Enthusiastic, interested in the visual arts and in working in arts PR Long-standing professional relationships with relevant key members of the media and understanding their needs Thorough knowledge of leading art critics, art journals, national, consumer, broadcast and online media Thorough knowledge and understanding of how the media operates from what makes a good story to the impact of social media Confident and an excellent communicator Proven experience of writing effective and informative materials for the press Experience of delivering successful media events including media views, photocalls, announcements, press trips, briefings and 1-2-1s Outstanding proven project and time management skills Demonstrable enthusiasm, professionalism and application to work Able to use initiative and generate ideas, specifically how to generate news stories from the Whitechapel Gallery s programme and offer Good organisational and practical skills Ability to work as part of a team and independently, remaining calm under pressure Good at ensuring deadlines are met and liaising with people at all levels with discretion, tact and diplomacy Meticulous attention to detail Excellent, proven, knowledge and experience of using databases, preferably Raiser s Edge Experience of MS Office Suite Desirable Knowledge and experience of other sectors of the media e.g. fashion and consumer press and international media Passion for and knowledge of contemporary visual arts Graduate in related subject e.g. journalism, arts administration or arts marketing Experience of web uploading, CMS systems and the generation
An aptitude and excitement for technology Good, proven project management and budgetary experience Knowledge and experience of marketing and/or media principles and practice, preferably in the arts or creative industries Computer literate in word, excel with good image artworking experience using Adobe Photoshop and scanning images Conditions of Work Permanent contract Hours of work: 9.30am 5.45pm, Monday to Friday, plus some occasional weekend and evening work, which will be compensated by time off in lieu. Salary band: 26,000-32,000 The period of notice is 2 months in writing on either side, 2 weeks during probation period Probation period: 6 months In addition, the benefits you are eligible to receive are, subject to availability: 20 days annual holiday (pro rata for part-time staff) in the first year of employment, increasing to 25 days in the second year (pro rata for part-time staff). You will be eligible to participate in the group personal pension scheme, with the Gallery contributing an amount equal to an additional 4.5% of your gross salary 6 months after your start date, (or when probation has been successfully completed, whichever is later.) Research trips Discount from Whitechapel Gallery bookshop Discount from the Whitechapel Gallery Café/Bar Discounts on editions (one per edition) and publications Training opportunities Option to participate in the Busy Bees Childcare Voucher scheme. Deadline: Midday Wednesday 12 March 2014