Strategy and Communications

Strategy and Communications sits at the centre of the organisation, bringing together several teams with organisation-wide remits and mutual collaboration opportunities.The work of the directorate’s teams includes delivery of major events, designing and leading public affairs or marketing campaigns, providing data, evidence and analysis, leading cross-organisational programmes, to making sure we plan for and can respond to emerging events or emergencies in our city.

About the team

The Digital Communications team, an integral part of the External Relations directorate, is dedicated to strategically amplifying the Mayor’s initiatives, policies, and events to engage and inform London’s diverse and vibrant population. Through the creation of world-class, innovative digital content, the team leverages a dynamic array of platforms including social media, email, digital advertising, and emerging channels, ensuring impactful communication that resonates with Londoners across the capital and beyond.

About the role 

To lead both the Mayor of London’s and the broader Greater London Authority’s digital communications strategy projects and programmes to meet our strategic marketing and communications goals. These include extending our reach, driving engagement, and ensuring Londoners have access to the benefits of the work of the GLA and the Mayor of London.

What your day will look like / Principal accountabilities:

Lead the digital advertising strategy for the Mayor of London and City Hall (@LondonGov) channels:

Liaise with senior management to identify strategic goals

Develop the audience engagement strategy

Define the channel strategy

Craft the targeting and segmentation

Define the creative strategy based on best practices and previous high-performing campaigns

Commission and oversee the production of creative assets for the advertising campaign, including graphics and videos

Lead the sign-off process with senior colleagues, including with Mayoral Directors and Senior Advisors in the Mayor’s Office

Launch the campaigns

Manage and optimise those campaigns

Provide regular reporting on lessons learned

Lead the digital advertising strategy for all other GLA-based teams (e.g. policy teams, London Elects), who have their own significant communications goals and digital advertising requirements.

Manage digital advertising budgets for campaigns run across the organisation, from Mayor of London to London Gov and policy teams. Ensure budgets are well-organised and finance protocols are properly followed.

Develop and lead on the implementation of the GLA’s email engagement strategy on Mailchimp, our CRM tool:

Develop highly-targeted, highly-personalised campaigns and appeals

Craft new email products to engage London’s diverse communities

Drive performance and efficiency through optimisation and regular reporting

Manage and maintain strong relationships with external agencies to deliver our digital advertising and email engagement strategies.

Advise the Head of Digital Communications and Deputy Head of Digital Communications on how to develop and deliver the Mayor of London and City Hall’s digital communications strategies across social media, email, digital advertising, web, video, photography and more including emerging channels, with a particular focus on paid media.

Play a proactive role in running the Mayor of London and City Hall’s day-to-day digital newsroom.

Liaise directly with senior colleagues in the marketing campaigns team to ensure that digital channels are integrated appropriately into wider marketing activity, advising and supporting on the use of digital for marketing campaigns, in particular paid social.

Line-manage colleagues in our growing in-house digital advertising team.

Work with the Digital team to ensure public-facing digital products and user journeys are optimised, engaging and integrated into our broader communications and marketing activity.

Regularly develop and plan audience growth initiatives, working with stakeholders to ensure that data capture is a priority in our engagement with Londoners so that we can maintain relationships with them over time.

Create digital communications best practice guidelines and develop and implement training and support packages to enable the successful uptake and use of digital communications tools across the organisation.

Develop and manage relationships with a cross-section of City Hall staff including the Mayor’s Office, senior staff and policy leads. 

Deputise for the Head of Digital Communications and the Deputy Head of Digital Communications at meetings with senior external and internal stakeholders, including the Mayor’s Office. 

Support the Digital Performance Analyst in analytics and performance reporting, championing results and insights to improve future effort.

Help procure, implement and maintain digital tools ensuring they are cost-effective and meet different user needs, and hold client relationships with external suppliers.

Create and maintain financial documentation for contracts and procurement, including budgets and decisions forms. 

This role is based at City Hall, in the Royal Docks (Kamal Chunchie Way, London, E16 1ZE)

Skills, knowledge and experience

To be considered for the role you must meet the following essential criteria:

Significant experience in developing and executing digital advertising strategies in government, the third sector or via other purpose-driven organisations. In particular, across Meta channels, Snapchat, YouTube, TikTok and Google, preferably with some experience in overall paid social management within an organisation.

Significant experience in using social media and other digital communications outputs for communications and integrated marketing initiatives, and in scoping, planning and delivering digital communication programmes.

Significant experience in email marketing, with demonstrable experience in email stewardship and mobilisation.

Significant experience working under pressure and in a changeable environment, with an understanding of politically sensitive work and the role of digital communications professionals in this context.

Excellent communicator with the ability to educate and gain buy-in to new ideas and new ways of doing things, and with excellent copywriting and editing skills. Good design skills and working knowledge of design tools such as Photoshop is desired.

Line management experience.