£70,000 • Shape History • London
Hey you! Come and change the world with us.
Shape History partners with some of the most impactful organisations on the planet – charities, brands, NGOs, and more – to tackle humanity’s biggest challenges. From Climate Change to Gender Equality, Digital Health to Human Rights, we’re on the frontlines of driving real, measurable change.
To meet these challenges head-on, we’re seeking a dynamic and experienced Director of Accounts and Communications, to lead and grow our communications team, driving strategic vision and ensuring the successful delivery of impactful projects for our partners. This is a pivotal leadership role, responsible for overseeing multiple partnerships, guiding a team of talented communications professionals, and contributing to the overall growth and success of the agency.
This is a full-time role based in London, with a hybrid work model requiring at least two days a week in our office. We have three delivery teams: Communications (where this role sits), Strategy, and Creative.
WHO WE ARE
We’re a full-service, social impact communications agency based in London. We work with partners all over the world – think charities, businesses, UN groups, academic brains, and big-hearted folks – to literally ‘Shape History’.
WHAT WE WANT
As Director of Accounts and Communications, you will be a key member of the leadership team, responsible for the overall strategic direction and performance of the communications department, with a deep understanding of our partners needs You will:
Leadership and Oversight:
- Team Leadership & Management: Lead, mentor, and inspire a team of Associate Communication Directors, Communication Leads, Senior Communication and Communication Execs, fostering a collaborative and high-performing work environment. Provide guidance, support, and professional development opportunities to ensure the team’s continued growth and success. This includes performance management, regular check-ins, and identifying training needs.
- Strategic Leadership: Develop and implement a strategic vision for the Communications department, aligning with the agency’s overall goals and objectives. Identify emerging trends and opportunities in the social impact communications landscape and ensure the agency remains at the forefront of innovation.
- Quality Control:Set and maintain high standards for the quality of all communications deliverables. Provide strategic guidance to the communications team, ensuring all work aligns with partner objectives and the agency’s overall brand. Proactively identify and address potential issues related to scope creep, budget overruns, and timeline delays, asking the tough questions and providing solutions.
- Partner relationship management: Oversee key partner relationships, ensuring satisfaction and long-term partnerships. Serve as a point of escalation for sensitive partner issues, stepping in to address concerns and facilitate difficult conversations with empathy and professionalism, ensuring partners feel heard and valued even when challenges arise. Intervene and provide solutions to complex challenges, ensuring satisfaction and retention.
- Internal Collaboration: Work closely with other department heads (Strategy, Creative, Operations) and the Co-Managing Directors to ensure seamless collaboration and integrated service delivery across all partner accounts.
- Financial Oversight: Work closely with the Operations team to manage the Communications department’s budget, ensuring profitability and efficient resource allocation. You will have a firm understanding and monitor all project budgets and timelines, proactively identifying and addressing potential risks.
- Process development. Collaborate with others in the team to refine processes, training programs, systems, tools, and best practices. Ensure compliance with agency processes, manage scheduling, and time-tracking tools, and collaborate on workflow enhancements.
- Team management. Manage and mentor junior team members, ensuring they have the support, guidance, and training packages needed.
Project delivery:
- Communications Lead: Own and nurture strong, trusted relationships with our largest partners. You will be the primary point of contact, deeply understanding their needs, vision, and audiences. Your proactive communication, responsiveness, and dedication to their goals will ensure they feel heard, valued, and confident in our partnership. As the go-to, leading all communications on all things project-related, such as briefs, approval process, conflict management, sign-off, and more.
- Consultancy and leading workshops: Leveraging your understanding of our partners and our agency’s wider offerings to provide insightful strategic consultation. You will feed into the strategies and campaign narratives we develop, working closely with our Strategy team who will focus more on insights and implementation. Your ability to lead workshops and provide valuable input during regular calls will be crucial.
- Project Management: You will work closely with our Operations team to manage project budgets, contracts, and freelancer negotiations. You will manage project timelines, coordinate effectively between teams, and proactively identify and resolve potential challenges. Your ability to manage scope, mitigate risks, and ensure projects remain profitable will be essential to the agency’s success. A separate dedicated project manager supports retainer partnerships as well as the setup of projects.
- Partnership growth: Be a strategic thinker, identifying and developing opportunities to expand our workstreams with existing partners. Your understanding of their evolving needs and our agency’s capabilities will enable you to create compelling proposals.
- Shape History Collective (freelancers network) : Working together with the Operations team, you’ll work together on the end-to-end outsourcing process, leading the daily comms with freelancers, from drafting contracts, negotiating rates and payment dates to anything related to the project they will be working on.
YOU’RE EXCEPTIONAL AT (ROLE REQUIREMENTS)…
- Leadership & Team Management: Proven ability to lead, mentor, and inspire a team of communications professionals. Experience in performance management, professional development, and team building.
- Partner Conflict Resolution: You possess exceptional interpersonal skills and a calm, empathetic approach that allows you to effectively de-escalate tense situations and navigate difficult conversations with clients, ultimately building trust and finding mutually agreeable solutions.
- Communication & Relationship Building: Whether presenting to a room full of stakeholders or collaborating with team members, your written and verbal communication skills are top-notch.
- Adaptability & Resilience: You stay calm under pressure, manage competing priorities with ease, and thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
- Strategic Thinking. You focus on outcomes, not just outputs, turning partner needs into actionable plans.
- Problem-Solving. Ability to independently identify and solve complex problems.
- Project & Financial Management. Proven ability to manage complex communications projects, including budget management, timeline development, and resource allocation. Adept at leading projects with precision, ensuring all elements stay aligned while proactively identifying and mitigating risks. Strong ability to prioritise tasks, coordinate resources, and keep teams on track to drive efficiency and success.
- Details Matter: You have excellent attention to detail to review deliverables, giving them the nod of approval only when they’re meeting the agency’s standards. Your meticulous approach extends to financial aspects, with a keen eye for budgets and reconciliation practices, ensuring both creative excellence and fiscal responsibility.
- Agency Experience: You understand the dynamics of working within an agency setting.
- Creativity: You’re interested in the creative craft, even if it’s not your own. You bring your creativity to the table and collaborate with the team.
- Facilitation & Mediation: You can cut through complexity to create space for collaboration and problem-solving.
- Empathy & Inclusivity: You foster diverse and inclusive creative environments.
EXTRA BIT OF AWESOME
- What’s that, you say? You have sector-specific knowledge in the social impact/sustainability/charity/political sector?
- Oh, you speak another language?
- You have experience pitching stories to journalists?
Any and all of these things would be the icing on the cake.
SALARY
Base salary of £70K plus yearly discretionary company and personal bonuses
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
- Applications open on Monday, 10th March
- Applications close on Sunday 30th March at 10pm GMT
- A task may be shared to a shortlist of candidates w/c 31st March
- We will interview the shortlisted candidates w/c 7th April