Senior PR & Communications Manager

We are Pernod Ricard, a leading company in the global wines and spirits industry with over 19,000 employees globally. We own 16 of the world’s top 100 Spirits Brands and hold one of the most prestigious and comprehensive brand portfolios in the industry with 240 premium brands available in over 160 countries, including: Absolut vodka, Ballantine’s, Chivas Regal, Royal Salute, and The Glenlivet Scotch whiskies, Jameson Irish whiskey, Martell cognac, Havana Club rum, Beefeater, Malfy and Monkey 47 gins, Malibu liqueur, Mumm and Perrier-Jouët champagnes as well Jacob’s Creek, Brancott Estate and Campo Viejo wines.

Here in the UK

In the UK, Pernod Ricard is made up of 4 businesses:

• Pernod Ricard UK, which markets, sells and distributes our products in the UK market
• Chivas Brothers, the largest brand company in the Group, responsible for the production and management of our award-winning Scotch whisky portfolio
• Pernod Ricard Global Travel Retail, the global and EMEA home of the group’s duty free, air travel and cruises business.
• The Absolut Group, the brand owner of our global white spirits portfolio, whose Gin brand unit and Business Acceleration team sit in London.

We are an organisation of 2,000 employees in the UK, headquartered in London, in a brand-new office designed with sustainability, ‘conviviality’ and collaboration in mind. We also have offices in Scotland and various distilleries and production sites across the UK from Plymouth to London to Speyside.

Your new team

This position sits in our Chivas Brothers business. At Chivas Brothers, our 1,600-strong team across 27 sites is committed to upholding the heritage of Scotch and ensuring its sustainable future, as well as opening it up to new audiences across the globe.

The dynamic Communications Department at Chivas Brothers brings together a team of talented individuals with expertise in global brand, corporate and internal communications, workplace culture and social sustainability. Responsible for driving engagement across the full suite of stakeholder groups, the Communications team is adept at relationship building, message crafting and storytelling, finding new and innovative ways to develop compelling narratives, engaging experiences and creative content about our company and our wonderful range of spirits brands. The result is advocacy and third party endorsement internally and externally.

Together the team sits at the heart of our company, reporting to the Chairman & CEO while providing consultancy and support for the entire business.

Your unique contribution

Role purpose:

To lead on strategy and oversee delivery of the external corporate communications, portfolio and prestige acceleration workstreams, which act to protect and enhance corporate brand reputation.

This includes but is not limited to: development of creative PR campaigns which continue to elevate Chivas Brothers’ leadership in the areas of sustainability, luxury and innovation; to provide counsel to stakeholders in risk mitigation and in times of crisis; to curate speaker programmes which act to influence key audiences in alignment with the strategy; to deliver strategic programmes which build prestige associations for Chivas Brothers and its portfolio.

During this maternity leave cover (12 months), you will primarily be responsible for the delivery of:

Financial results: distribute full year (September) and half year (February) results in collaboration with Group Communications in Paris and other UK affiliates

Corporate reputation management: proactive and reactive media engagement on key topics; profiling and speaking opportunities for our CEO and leadership team; risk management and crisis planning/ live support as needed

Portfolio communications: bring corporate and key strategic brands closer together by deftly managing global trade and business titles, identifying portfolio-level features and thought leadership opportunities from individual brand campaigns

Prestige acceleration: establish best practice internally to build associations of luxury for Chivas Brothers and its key strategic brands, as well as leading roll-out of the prestige influencer programme

Who you’ll be working with

Internally, you’ll be part of the Communications Leadership Team and will work with a large range of stakeholders including partner Communications functions (consumer and internal) as well as sustainability and responsibility, public affairs, HR, finance, manufacturing, production and a large suite of market-based Communications teams.

You will oversee a team of two full time staff as well as an intern.

Externally, you will manage our agency partners, covering communications, social media and website remits

Your blend of talent

This position could be right for you if:

• You’ve built a body of experience (10+ years agency or in-house) in senior Communications roles which demonstrate your ability to influence and interface with CEO/ exec level individuals

• You have proven experience in managing local/ international teams to deliver global Communications strategies (PR and social media), while demonstrating their effectiveness back to the business

• You are exceptionally well organised with the ability to work autonomously and prioritise a busy workload

• You have impeccable attention to detail and can think creatively to deliver the best outcome for the story at hand

Our mix of benefits

For your health, we offer private medical insurance, income protection and a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme.

Our lifestyle benefits include 28 days’ annual holiday, your employee pension, share incentive plan, season ticket loans, payroll giving and more!

You can access lots of gifts & discounts, including an allowance each year to spend on our brands in our staff shop and employee discounts from a range of high street retailers.

We have regular events in our very own office bar, employee-run networks, a culture of flexibility and trust and a variety of tools and resources to help you focus on your wellbeing and mental fitness.

Conviviality: the Pernod Ricard Way

We have our own way of doing things. We call it conviviality! It’s our way of being, and something unique you feel and experience when working for Pernod Ricard.

We’re committed to conviviality, and with this, you’ll be Proud to Belong to our Pernod Ricard family. You’ll be Empowered to Perform, supported to succeed, and acknowledged for the value you bring.

We combine all this with our Commitment to Care: we are unlocking the magic of human connection to transform our industry and make a positive impact on the world though our strong focus on sustainability and responsibility.

We’re committed to diversity and inclusion

People are at the heart of everything we do at Pernod Ricard and are the foundation of our collective spirit as ‘Créateurs de Convivialité’.

We promote diversity and inclusion throughout our business and supply chain. In our teams, we proactively foster a diverse work force and an inclusive culture – an environment where we can truly be ourselves. 

We will assess your application for this role based on your skills, experiences and achievements, not your gender, age, ethnic or educational background or any other such factors. Please feel free to leave these off your CV and application form if you so wish.

Similarly, if you would like to discuss opportunities for flexible working or require accommodations or support to complete our application process, please let us know.

Responsible drinking

As ‘Créateurs de convivialité’, we want to turn social interactions into genuine and friendly experiences of sharing and wellbeing.

In our culture, we want to create diverse teams in which our differences contribute to our success. Therefore, all are welcome at Pernod Ricard, regardless of your religious beliefs or personal choices on the consumption of alcohol.

In our business, we work together with industry members, civil society, governments, local authorities and UN bodies to promote responsible drinking. 

Job Posting End Date:

2024-11-27

Target Hire Date:

2025-03-01

Target End Date:

2025-03-03