Senior Public Relations Manager

Senior Public Relations Manager 

Contract type:  12 months Fixed Term Maternity Cover, 35 hours per week

Location: London, United Kingdom. Subject to right-to-work.

UK hybrid working – a minimum of 40 % of working time is spent face-to-face (London office, external meetings or travel). 60/40 hybrid working at WaterAid means roughly three days wherever you work best and two days together in person.

Salary: £48,867 – £51,439 per year with excellent benefits

Change starts with water. Change starts with you.

Every day, millions of people live without clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid exists to change that – for everyone, everywhere. Join us, and your energy will help unlock people’s potential and create a fairer future.

About WaterAid

We’re a global federation driven by one vision: a world where everyone, everywhere has clean water, sanitation and hygiene by 2030. Powered by our values of Respect, Accountability, Courage, Collaboration, Integrity and Innovation, we work alongside communities, partners and supporters to make change happen.

About the team

The media team strategically leads on both proactive and reactive media activity, engaging with journalists to support WaterAid’s mass engagement, partnerships, brand awareness and political influencing. 

As our Senior PR Manager, you will lead the public relations function for WaterAid and work closely with the three senior media officers you manage, to drive sustainable change.

In this role, you will:

• Lead on developing and delivering innovative integrated, digital first PR campaigns that achieve impactful national, international, local and digital coverage, to support our fundraising and public engagement activities, build WaterAid’s profile, and align with wider organisational aims 

• Manage our media around our high-profile strategic partnerships to deliver media projects that meet shared objectives and help our partners become influencers in their sector to drive change 

• Work with the Celebrity and Influencer team to develop effective ways to work with high-profile supporters to build awareness of WaterAid and our work 

• Act as a media spokesperson for WaterAid as required, briefing journalists on and off the record and giving media interviews where necessary 

• Provide professional advice and support to colleagues in the UK, including our Chief Executive and within the WaterAid federation involved in media relations work, and identify opportunities to coordinate media moments across the organisation 

• Manage reputational issues where appropriate in coordination with the Head of Media 

• Write and edit copy as required for print and web outlets 

• Monitor and evaluate coverage and the wider impacts of our media work to guide future strategies 
• Build and maintain relationships with key journalists and broadcasters including the planning and managing of trips to country programmes with journalists, celebrities or for content gathering 

• Join the 24/7 on-call rota and be prepared for travel in the UK and overseas - usually around two weeks per year - as well as some work outside normal office hours, as necessary 

• Undertake any other responsibilities, tasks or activities as reasonably required, including deputising for the Head of Media 

• Champion WaterAid’s commitment to equity, inclusion and safeguarding.

To be successful, you will need:

• Experience of leading, managing and motivating others and driving change 

• Considerable proven experience of working in an in-house media team or PR agency 

• Proven experience of creating and delivering effective and innovative integrated, multi-channel media campaigns with digital media at their core 

• Proven experience of liaising with journalists of all levels especially national and consumer media 

• Experience of utilising digital and social media to deliver PR objectives and aligning media work with owned, shared and paid activities 

• Proven ability to prioritise workload and work under pressure 

• Proven ability to organise, coordinate and evaluate successful projects 

• Strong leadership skills and the ability to motivate and inspire others 

• Excellent verbal communication skills 

• Excellent command of written English to produce written media work of high quality 

• Ability to forge effective working relationships within the team, wider comms department and with colleagues from across the organisation as well as external stakeholders 

• Commitment to personal learning, development and improvement in pursuit of own objectives and those of the team and organisation 

• Commitment to WaterAid’s values and a working style that reflects these 

Although not essential, we’d prefer you to have:

• Experience of international development issues and/or working in the voluntary sector in a communications role 

• Background in journalism 

View the full job description here

Closing date: Applications close 12:00 PM UK time on Monday 10 November 2025. Interviews are expected to take place week commencing 17 November 2025.

How to apply: Click Apply to complete the pre-screening questions and upload your CV and cover letter.

Can I use Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in my application?

At WaterAid, we strongly advise against using AI technology at any stage of the recruitment process. Our goal is to ensure a fair and transparent process that provides every applicant with an equal opportunity to succeed. We value hearing about your unique experiences and perspectives in your application, and, if shortlisted, during the interview as well.

Pre‑employment screening

To apply for this role, you must be able to demonstrate your eligibility to work in the respective country. All pre-employment checks will be carried out according to local law and WaterAid’s Safer Recruitment policy. All UK based roles require a basic Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

• 36 days’ holiday (including 8 Bank Holidays)
• Option to buy an extra 5 days’ annual leave
• Employer pension contribution up to 10 %
• Flexible and hybrid working arrangements
• Season ticket loan
• Free annual eye tests
• ‘Give as you Earn’ charitable giving scheme
• Enhanced parental leave (maternity, adoption/surrogacy, shared parental and paternity)
• Sabbaticals
• One paid volunteer day each year

As part of our annual leave policy, all employees receive three additional days of annual leave on top of their standard allocation of 25 days. These days are designated to cover the period when our UK office closes between Christmas and New Year, allowing all UK WaterAiders to take a well-deserved break.

These days are automatically scheduled and cannot be changed or moved. Annual leave is accrued based on your start date. If sufficient leave has not been accrued by the time of the closure, the 3 days will be taken as unpaid leave or pro-rated, depending on your circumstances.

Our Global Commitment:

Our people promise

We will work with passion and focus to make sure everyone everywhere has clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene. WaterAid is a place of purpose – where people have a real commitment and shared responsibility for the impact we have. We are a global community with diverse backgrounds and perspectives, motivated by inspiring, stimulating work. We are determined to be a place where people feel safe and able to contribute their voice and truly live our values.

Equal Opportunities

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, beliefs, customs, traditions, ways of life and status. This includes, but is not limited to, race, ethnicity, caste, colour, gender, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability status, neurodiversity, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation.

Safeguarding

We are committed to protecting everyone we come into contact with. We have a zero- tolerance approach to abuse of power, privilege or trust across our global work, and to any form of inappropriate behaviour, discrimination, abuse, bullying, harassment, or exploitation. Safeguarding the people and communities we work with, our staff, volunteers and anyone working on our behalf is our top priority, and we take our responsibilities extremely seriously. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references and appropriate screening checks (which can include counterterrorism, safeguarding and criminal records checks).

Together, we’ll change the world through water.

Join us and be part of the change !