External Communications Manager

Legal & General (L&G) is a leading UK financial services group and major global investor.

We’ve been safeguarding people’s financial futures since 1836, and strive to build a better society, while improving the lives of our customers and creating value for shareholders.

We are one of the world’s largest asset managers and provide powerful asset origination capabilities. Together, these underpin our retirement and protection solutions: we are an international player in pension risk transfer, in UK and US life insurance, and in UK workplace pensions and retirement income.

L&G Asset Management is one of Europe’s largest asset managers, providing clients and partners with complex, responsible investment solutions, across public and private markets. As a global investor, we are present where our clients most need us – from Hong Kong and Singapore, to Chicago and major European financial hubs.

Created by combining our investment management (LGIM) and asset origination (LGC) capabilities, our Asset Management division works with our Institutional Retirement and Retail divisions to benefit our clients and customers – which include individual savers, pension scheme members and global institutions – and deliver enhanced shareholder returns.

Joining us means becoming part of a market-leading team, with capabilities across the full spectrum of asset classes, with an enduring commitment to responsible investment and creating long-term, sustainable value for our clients and partners.

We’re recruiting for a External Communications Manager to join us. This is an external communications role within L&G’s Corporate Affairs function, and will support L&G’s asset manager, a major global investor with £1.122 trillion in assets, across public and private markets.  By engaging with various external audiences, including media, public audiences and working with international agencies, your role is key in maintaining our brand profile and reputation as a leading responsible investor. Creativity, agility, and understanding of regulatory contexts are beneficial. We believe reputation is a long-term investment. Fulfilling L&G’s purpose, and delivering our strategy, depends on being trusted, valued and championed by stakeholders, clients, customers and employees. 

What you’ll be doing:

• Providing strong external communications skills to protect and promote the firm's profile and reputation demonstrating strategic communications, media engagement, and execution of the corporate affairs plan focussing on asset management.  This includes managing risks, fostering journalist relationships, supporting business line and corporate communications in line with the company strategy
• Working proactively with stakeholders across the Group including marketing, content, public affairs and employee communications to help identify opportunities and create engaging content for dissemination; this may involve tactics such as researching on topics and gathering information from a wide range of internal and external sources, to identify news stories and news angles in line with business requirements
• Managing the promotion of the products and business priorities that will highlight the business's proposition and external profile, image and reputation through strategic communications, whether this is news, campaigns, connecting what we do with social media and employee communications for a more cohesive story, whilst also drawing on the resources available which will include working with external agencies on their planning, and delivery as the business requires
• Within a planned and evaluated approach,  supporting pensions and investment external communications, showcasing expertise, insight and commentary from those who are trained as asset management spokespeople.  As part of this, important media coverage will need to be shared in a timely manner with relevant stakeholders, and this will be incorporated into insightful, and robust evaluation and measurement
• Ensuring adherence to timely communications processes which will need to have been processed through compliance, governance, risk policies and frameworks aligning decisions with business ethics, values, and stakeholder requirements as required
• Collaborating with the wider Corporate Affairs community and the marketing team, proactively working closely with delivering on campaigns and the corporate affairs plan in line with our business strategy

Who we’re looking for:

• Knowledge of external and employee communication, campaigns, PR approaches, and media relations practices and tactics
• Strong understanding of UK pensions landscape, financial adviser and or investments industry. Knowledge of any of the following sectors would also be beneficial: Real estate (specialist commercial and residential), Private Credit, Venture Capital and Infrastructure
• Preference for demonstration of experience in a communications consultancy or media relations role within financial services, a global asset management company, or an agency serving this sector
• Experience in developing and executing PR strategies and campaigns for high-profile organizations in UK markets
• Strong relationships with key media contacts in the UK (and ideally further afield)
• Global mindset and exposure to other geographic markets is an advantage
• Team player, with a strong work ethic, who takes a collaborative and joined-up approach to tasks but is also comfortable working independently
• Organised and detail-oriented, with the ability to prioritise effectively, multi-task quickly and efficiently, adapt to new situations in a fast-paced environment

Whatever your role, we reward performance and behaviour with a package that looks after all the things that are important to you. Here are some of the benefits we offer:

• The opportunity to participate in our annual, performance -related bonus plan and valuable share schemes
• Generous pension contribution
• Life assurance
• Healthcare Plan (permanent employees only)
• At least 25 days holiday, plus public holidays, 26 days after 2 years’ service. There’s also the option to buy and sell holiday
• Competitive family leave
• Participate in our electric car scheme, which offers employees the option to hire a brand-new electric car through tax efficient salary sacrifice (permanent employees only)
• There are the many discounts we offer – both for our own products and at a range of high street stores and online
• In 2023, some of our workspaces were redesigned. Our offices are great spaces to connect and collaborate and have your wellbeing at the heart

At L&G, we believe it's possible to generate positive returns today while helping to build a better future for all. 

If you join us, you’ll be part of a welcoming, inclusive culture, with opportunities to collaborate with people of diverse backgrounds, views, and experiences. Guided by leaders with integrity who care about your future and wellbeing. Empowered through initiatives which support people to develop their careers and excel.

We care passionately about outcomes rather than attendance and are therefore open to discussing all kinds of flexible working options including part-time, term-time and job shares. Although some roles have limited flexibility due to customer demand, we accommodate requests when we can. 

It doesn’t matter if you don’t meet every single criterion in this advert. Instead, think about what you excel at and what else you can bring in terms of strengths, potential and connection to our purpose.