Job Description
Consultation Manager
Reporting to: Communications Manager or Programme Controller
Role and Responsibilities:
- Overall responsibility for development, delivery and evaluation of a high quality far-reaching consultation across multiple geographical areas
- Ensure all plans, activity and outcomes are designed to deliver legal compliance and best practice for obtaining relevant consent or approvals for major infrastructure
- Aim to deliver high level of responses from comprehensive consultation exercise including provision of supporting information materials in printed and digital format
- Manage relationships with senior community, business, industry, and political figures
- Ensure communication and engagement strategies leading up to and supporting the public consultation are outcome based, delivered to timeframes, and meet business needs as well as relevant guidelines
- Manage procurement of consultation data analyst consultancy to prepare coding and consultation analysis report
- Manage procurement and effective use of on line platform for consultation in addition to traditional methods
- Prepare and implement logistics plan for road shows, exhibitions, meetings etc as part of consultation including venues, transport, etc…
- Manage coordination with technical work streams for production of all required materials
Experience and Skills Required:
- Significant experience of designing, managing and evaluating public consultation on major infrastructure, working with latest digital techniques.
- Experience of managing and negotiating with a range of internal and external stakeholders at high level and working with technical teams across different work streams and disciplines.
- Confident management and delivery of consultation activities in a fast-moving project environment and ability to respond to change rapidly in time-critical situations.
- A proven track record of leading a high performing team in a communications or business management role, ‘inspiring and developing’ the people you manage.
- Equally comfortable representing the organisation externally with politicians, members of the press, and members of the public, with a thorough understanding of politics.
- Ability to make often complex language accessible and understandable to a broad range of people.
- Track record of establishing individual and departmental priorities, objectives and targets and motivating teams to achieve.
- Proven ability to perform and multi-task under pressure, respond quickly to changing situations in complex project environments, prepare responses/narrative quickly and clearly and use personal initiative.
Knowledge required
- Degree qualified or equivalent experience; preferably in a communications or business management role
- Understanding of politics and the political environment nationally (especially within the major infrastructure context) and in relevant regions, and knowledge of local authority structures and processes
- Good understanding of both the legal and political dimensions to consultation and engagement
Skills
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Ability to build relationships quickly and effectively at all levels right across the organisation
- Ability to effectively represent the client externally at senior level (e.g. politicians, resident associations, boroughs), in particular where there is potential for controversy or where contentious topics are anticipated
- Ability to handle complex political and public relations issues and resolve conflict
- Emotional intelligence in dealing with all stakeholders
- The role holder must be able to respond to emergency requests and work out of normal hours if required