Associate Director - Stakeholder Engagement

As our Stakeholder Engagement team continues to grow, we're looking for an experienced leader to help shape its future and support the delivery of impactful engagement programmes for some of the UK's most significant utilities and infrastructure projects.

Working with high-profile clients, you'll support the delivery of strategic communications, stakeholder engagement and community relations programmes that shape conversations, build support and deliver meaningful outcomes.

Collaborating closely with the Stakeholder Engagement Director, you'll play a key role in ensuring the successful operation and growth of the stakeholder engagement business line.  You’ll support the development of client relationships, provide leadership to delivery teams and ensure programmes are delivered to the highest standard, while helping to build the systems, capability and operational foundations needed to support future growth. 

This role is about more than delivering great work. We're looking for someone with energy, ambition and the commercial mindset to help build a growing business. Someone who wants to understand what drives clients’ success, develop people and processes and create an environment where great work can thrive. 

You'll be a natural relationship builder, confident engaging with clients, stakeholders and colleagues alike. Equally comfortable leading teams. Solving operational challenges and spotting opportunities to add value. You’ll bring strong communications instincts, commercial awareness and a proactive approach to continuous improvement. 

This is an excellent opportunity for an ambitious communications, PR or stakeholder engagement professional who wants to combine client leadership with operational responsibility, working alongside the Director to help shape and grow an ambitious, evolving business line.

Growth & Impact

• Act as the trusted deputy to the SE Director, helping shape, build and grow our Stakeholder Engagement offer.
• Bring commercial awareness, energy and entrepreneurial thinking to identify opportunities, strengthen client relationships and support sustainable growth.
• Develop a deep understanding of clients' organisations, challenges and objectives to provide strategic insight and practical solutions.
• Support business development activities, including identifying opportunities, contributing to tenders, pitches and developing proposals.
• Help raise the profile of the business across target sectors and support continued evolution of the service offering.

Clients

• Provide senior oversight and direction across stakeholder engagement, communications, consultation and public affairs programmes.
• Build trusted client relationships and support the development of long-term partnerships.
• Develop and present strategic recommendations, plans and solutions to clients.
• Drive projects forward, ensuring objectives, budgets and deadlines are met.
• Manage issues and sensitive situations confidently, resolving challenges and removing barriers to delivery.
• Ensure all programmes are delivered to a consistently high standard and achieve measurable outcomes.

Commercial Performance

• Support the financial performance of the business line, ensuring strong commercial outcomes and high-quality delivery.
• Monitor project performance, utilisation, forecasting and profitability, taking action where required.
• Work with the Director to achieve growth objectives and support the expansion of the service offer.
• Ensure robust evaluation, measurement and reporting across all programmes.

People

• Lead and develop a high-performing team, promoting a culture of ambition, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Oversee recruitment, resource planning and team capacity to support delivery and growth.
• Ensure projects are appropriately resourced and delivered efficiently and consistently.
• Establish scalable processes and ways of working that support operational excellence and future growth.

Essential

• Significant experience within stakeholder engagement, communications, consultation, public affairs or PR consultancy.
• Experience working with clients across infrastructure, utilities, energy, planning or environmental sectors.
• Experience supporting major infrastructure projects and complex consultation programmes with a strong understanding of comms and engagement best practice and the consenting environment, including major infrastructure projects.
• Proven experience leading and developing teams within a consultancy, agency or professional services environment.
• Strong operational leadership experience, including resource planning, team management and business performance oversight.
• Solid commercial and financial management skills, including budgeting, forecasting and profitability management.
• Excellent communication, relationship management and engagement skills.
• Experience supporting business growth through bids, proposals, client development and service improvement initiatives.

Desirable

• Experience helping scale or grow a consultancy team, business unit or service line.
• Experience of organisational change, service development or business planning.
• Existing network of contacts within the infrastructure, utilities or planning sectors.

Success in the role will be measured through:

• Delivery of projects on time, within budget and to agreed quality standards.
• Achievement of operational KPIs and business objectives.
• Strong employee engagement, retention and development outcomes.
• Effective resource management, workforce planning and utilisation.
• Successful recruitment, onboarding and retention of team members.
• Achievement of utilisation, revenue and profitability targets.
• High levels of client satisfaction and cNPS performance.
• Growth and development of the Stakeholder Engagement business line.
• Strong stakeholder relationships and positive client feedback.