The Career Works Looking for Public Relations Lead (Auckland) at Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Full Time

• Take your career to the next level by working with Australia’s most revered PR agency and leading the local Kiwi team
• Represent Trans-Tasman multi-nationals in NZ including LEGO, Harley Davidson, AfterPay, GoPro, Samoa Tourism and Cisco along with local businesses like Ngāi Tahu Tourism
• Unique learning and experiences including representation on the AU/NZ Senior Leadership Team
• Flex your muscle on integrated PR, social and creative while learning the ropes on commercial agency management
• Grow and define your own local team with an agency culture that is Limited By Nothing

Thrive PR & Communications is one of the region’s powerhouse public relations agencies with a team and portfolio of clients that is unrivaled in the region. The agency’s founder and CEO is Kiwi born, based in Australia and working with an Executive team to drive the ambitions of the Trans-Tasman and NZ operations.

The agency is seeking to appoint a new lead with both corporate and brand experience for its Auckland operations, leading a small yet mighty team of local consultants servicing both local and Trans-Tasman PR and social clients.

The “Associate Director, Auckland – NZ lead” is a highly skilled and passionate communications professional who is a naturally ambitious leader ready to take the agency into its next phase in the New Zealand market.

Reporting directly to the Executive Director in Australia, with dotted line reporting to the CEO and ELT, the Associate Director helps to manage a team of dynamic consultants, an enviable client portfolio, local operations and business development in the NZ market. The role is one that requires ambitious thinking towards Trans-Tasman opportunities for growth and must have an insatiable appetite to learn, grow, collaborate and leverage relationships, resources and capabilities across the ditch.

The Associate Director, Auckland manages key requirements of the local office operations with the support of the Executive and broader AU/NZ Senior Leadership Team including:

• Local Operations and Finance including developing new commercial and business development skills
• Local People & Culture including diversifying and shaping your own team and tapping into AU/NZ training and experience programs
• Local and Trans-Tasman new and existing business including a cadence of working in Sydney and Melbourne on a desired engagement schedule
• Local Client Service including involvement in marquee client accounts and overseeing strategy and execution delivered by your team
• Leveraging of AU/NZ resources including access to HQ capabilities including HR, Finance, Creative, Digital, Social Strategists and content teams
• Local Client Growth, integrated strategy and retention
• Local Marketing including being the face of the agency locally
• Local Stakeholder management including leveraging Thrive’s extensive network

Key focus areas for this role include local business retention and new business growth, team recruitment and retention, local marketing and operations.

Are you the ideal candidate with a view to create and lead something special for Kiwi comms pros? Thrive is looking for a candidate who…

• Has 10+ years demonstrated experience in agency &/or inhouse running high profile client accounts and managing small, ambitious teams
• Brand and corporate communications experience
• Is a mentor to staff with the ability and tenacity to recruit and mentor teams
• Is a networker outside of their own local contacts ~ someone who thrives on meeting new colleagues and proactively ideating to engage and grow new business opportunities
• Someone who has base understanding of commercials, can manage budgets and local financial targets – is keen to learn and grow their own business acumen and finance expertise
• Is a collaborator across the ditch – a natural relationship builder and solid stakeholder manager who loves the elevation of Trans-Tasman client and team opportunities
• Has media and PR experience developing strategies, injecting creative and delivering beyond traditional earned media including social, digital, influence and content
• Exceptional strategist and writer with excellent presentation skills
• Ideally has experience in verticals including technology, travel and tourism, food & drink, sport & entertainment, automotive and government
• Is values and vision aligned with Thrive….curious, passionate, accountable, of high integrity and with a good lashing of fun and ambition!

Unique to Thrive is the agency’s capacity to co-create and shape roles to play to strengths of its talent.

You are invited to reach out for confidential discussions to explore this opportunity.

This is Thrive New Zealand & Australia

Culture is everything at Thrive. It’s the reason why we have a 100% return rate by working parents, have 89% retention of retainer clients, have had consistent leadership across AU/NZ for more than two decades, embrace diversity in our workplace and have a myriad of Thrive team and client ‘boomerangs’.

Thrive’s founder is Kiwi born, Leilani Abels, and its New Zealand operations are a critical part of Thrive’s current and growing success.

Thrive has a clear vision and mission to deliver impactful work and the agency has grown by continuing to diversify and be early adopters of technology and global trends. Thrive is not a ‘hot then not’ agency. We are not an ad agency trying to be earned and PR specialists. We are uniquely Thrive helping our people, brands and community to do just that. Our team is made up of in-house media, creative and digital specialists who work across five locations in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast and Auckland delivering strategic communications services for brands including Blackmores, ANZ Group, Cisco, FedEx, News Corp, Tinder and Harley Davidson.

Thrive values work-life integration including hybrid flexible working (Mondays and Fridays work-from-home) and delivers many benefits including an additional annual wellness leave, work from any location rotations, early Friday close, various bonus options and more.

Visit us here for more information – @thriveprnz / @thrivepr / www.thrivepr.com.au

CVs to [email protected]