Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & PR, National Infrastructure Business

Senior Manager, Corporate Communications & PR

A high-profile national infrastructure business is looking for a senior communications leader to own its corporate reputation, stakeholder trust, and licence to operate across a complex and politically sensitive external environment.

This is a business at a genuine inflection point — transitioning from a well-established telecoms infrastructure company into a broader digital infrastructure platform, moving into entirely new sectors and markets while maintaining a critical role at the backbone of the UK’s mobile network. Backed by major private equity, it carries significant national responsibility and operates at a scale most communications professionals will never experience. The environment is flat, fast-moving, and startup in feel.

The Corporate Communications function is one of four pillars in a newly built marketing and communications team, and this role sits at its head, reporting directly to the Chief Customer Officer. You’ll own the corporate narrative, lead issues and crisis readiness, govern communications standards across the organisation, and act as the primary communications adviser to the CEO and senior leadership. You’ll oversee internal communications and community relations through direct reports, and work closely with a newly appointed Public Affairs Lead and General Counsel.

Key responsibilities for Senior Corporate Communications Role include:

• Owning the corporate narrative and reputation strategy, including proactive positioning on sustainability, safety, digital inclusion, and social impact
• Leading issues management and crisis communications — developing playbooks, holding statements, escalation protocols, and rapid-response coordination
• Managing a broad external stakeholder landscape: national and regional media, local authorities, MPs and councillors, community groups, public services, industry bodies, investors, and commercial ecosystem partners
• Protecting the organisation’s licence to operate — handling planning disputes, local objections, competitor misinformation, and sensitive community communications with speed and credibility
• Advising the CEO, CFO, and SLT on reputational risk, decision thresholds, and communications governance
• Supporting executive communications including speeches, stakeholder briefings, media lines, and major announcements
• Building and maintaining communications governance frameworks, policies, and escalation models
• Leading comms strategy for major investor and industry announcements, thought leadership, and executive profiling

What we’re looking for in this communications position:

Significant experience leading corporate communications, PR, or corporate affairs in a complex organisation — ideally one operating under public or political scrutiny. You’ll have a strong track record in issues management and crisis response, real confidence advising at C-suite level, and the governance instincts to build policy and process discipline into a comms function. Experience in infrastructure, utilities, regulated industries, or public sector-facing environments is an advantage. Agency or in-house backgrounds are equally welcome.

Critically, this is a role for someone who thrives in ambiguity and wants to build — not someone looking to inherit an established function and manage from behind a desk. You’ll be joining a team that is being constructed around you, working directly with senior leadership from day one, and shaping how a nationally significant business communicates at a pivotal moment in its growth.

Location: Theale, Berkshire — three days per week in office, two days from home. Candidates must be within realistic commuting distance

Apply

If you have the relevant experience and this opportunity sounds interesting to you, please get in touch with our team, including a copy of your CV as soon as possible via the form below.

Hanson Search is a globally recognised, award-winning talent advisory and headhunting consultancy. Our expertise lies in building successful ventures worldwide through our recruitment, interim and executive search in communications, sustainability, public affairs and policy, digital marketing and sales and commercial.

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