External Communication Manager

Company DescriptionWe're re-imagining mining to improve people's lives. That includes the lives of everyone who works for Anglo American. We strive to be a great company where employees are happy, inspired to do their best work. A place where every colleague can grow, develop and realise their potential. To live up to our Always with Purpose employee value proposition, we're putting the development and growth of colleagues first by ensuring everyone at Anglo American has the career experience they deserve.
Job DescriptionPurpose of the role: The purpose of this role is to actively lead Anglo American's external and PR strategy – which includes the evolution of the narrative, reputation, and profile in South Africa. A key aspect of the role is to be conversant with key issues and themes pertaining to Anglo American in South Africa – including political and economic shifts that have a bearing on the company or the communities where we operate.
This dynamic and exciting role demands agility, flexibility, and the ability to think on your feet. You will need to influence a wide range of individuals, from senior leaders (C-suite) to external stakeholders such as the media and opinion-makers. Success in this position requires the capability to navigate and synthesise complex concepts and issues, all while managing ambiguity effectively.
In this role you will be required to help define the company's position on any given issue by assessing the often-competing needs and potential for different reactions from our brands range of stakeholders. You are required to make critical judgments to determine the most appropriate path to deliver the optimal outcome for the business, working across all relevant functions and with different subject matter experts. Working with other members of the team, you will identify trends and generate insights that shape our reputation and explore how these might impact our external communication approach and positioning.
You will lead the drafting of press releases (regulatory and non-regulatory), speeches, briefing papers for executive leaders, translating often complex, detailed, and sensitive topics into clear and effective statements for a wide variety of stakeholders, while working with sensitive and confidential information that will require your prudence.
Together with your line manager – the Head of Corporate Communication in South Africa, you will drive constant vigilance over the external environment to ensure message congruence; and staying apace with public perception about Anglo American or its leaders, understanding sentiment and tailoring communications accordingly, whether tactically or strategically.
Fostering strong relationships within the organisation, being curious and adopting a learning-focused mindset will help ensure smooth information flow to support you in effectively communicating insights to empower informed action, while contributing towards a high-energy and professional communications team with a shared passion for excellence.
Key Responsibilities: Build an understanding of Anglo American and its strategy whilst building a network of relationships.Build and maintain detailed knowledge and understanding of Anglo American's business priorities and performance within the context of the mining industry to enable effective articulation of positioning to the media.Identify, build, and maintain effective media relationships in South Africa, including timeous and accurate responses and where necessary, briefings.Build a network of trusted relationships internally (subject matter experts and leaders) and externally (media and key opinion leaders).Identify and proactively manage matters of current and potential media interest (related primarily to corporate issues, business priorities, transformation, and sustainability performance).Flag and manage issues of interest within SA which may impact Anglo American as a business – political, economic, socio-economic.Strategically work with consultancy partners and advisors to optimise reputational outcomes.Reputation protectionProactively anticipate, identify, and help resolve reputation issues quickly before they have an undesirable impact on Anglo American in South Africa and its business units.Manage crisis planning and execution of crisis communication plans as and when crises occur.Provide a high-level understanding of issues affecting Anglo American and South Africa through drafting materials to support various Anglo American teams.Ensure adherence to and enforce Group Media and Disclosure and Group Social Media policies, guidelines and procedures to manage reputation.Leading PR activities for Anglo American in South Africa and the groupResponsible for the development and execution of suitable PR programmes to leverage the company's strategy and enhance reputation.Lead the preparation of materials, such as speeches, talking notes, position papers and stakeholder engagement plans to support external communication activities.Work with cross-functional teams to provide communication expertise and support as a business partner.Stay abreast of trends and developments shaping the communications landscape and contribute to the body of knowledge and growth of the function as appropriate.Assess trends and drive the adoption of relevant innovation and the application of technology – such as generative AI – to improve efficiency.Professional advisory and steer to businesses in the South Africa regionProvide guidance and advice to business communication teams to guide communication strategies which could impact Anglo American's communication profile in South Africa externally.Act as the point of call for providing steer to businesses in the South Africa region on a range of tactical and strategic external communication issues – including ensuring appropriate disclosure (in line with the Group Media and Disclosure policy) and providing inputs into a range of materials produced by the businesses in the SA region, including financial results and reporting materials, AGM materials, annual reporting and other such content pieces.Support and build the health of the external communication sub-discipline in SA region by finding new ways to incorporate best practice.Raising awareness and understanding of reputational risk management – and providing counsel in this regard to the businesses in South Africa.PeopleDemonstrate behaviour in line with the Group's values, standards, and professional workplace.Participate as an effective team member in working collaboratively with your leader, peers, and relevant others (including individuals from other teams) to achieve business goals.Display a high level of EQ and professionalism with all stakeholders – internal or external.Health, Safety & EnvironmentDemonstrate behaviour in line with health, safety, environmental standards and Group's values.Set the health, safety and environmental expectations for your team and monitor behaviour so that it meets the required standards.Participate in relevant safety audits, inspections and observations, and address issues as part of demonstrating safety leadership.Work processes.Fully understand the policies, processes and systems which apply to your team's work.Identify any issues around these that interfere with the ability of your team to complete work or meet the plan/strategy.For processes within your responsibility, make the required changes for improved efficiency. For others, escalate these issues to seek action and/or look for alternative solutions.Experience: 6 – 8 Years' experience, with a minimum of two years' experience working in a management role.Experience managing a team is favourable.QualificationsBachelor's degree from a recognised and reputable institution. A degree in Communication, Media, Social Science or Political Science is preferable but not necessary.Additional InformationWho we are: We aim to lead the industry by pursuing ever safer and more responsible ways of working, demonstrating integrity and showing care and respect for people and the planet. That means we are constantly seeking new opportunities to mine and process our products sustainably, using less water, less energy and more precise extraction technologies. As the custodians of coal and other precious natural resources – diamonds (through De Beers), copper, platinum and other precious metals, iron ore and nickel – our extraordinary teams work safely and collaboratively, with the utmost consideration for local communities, our customers and the world at large.
How we are committed to your safety Nothing is more important to us than ensuring you return home safely after a day's work. To make that happen, we have the most rigorous safety standards in the industry. Not only that, we're also continually investing in new technologies – from drones to data analytics – that are helping to make mining safer.
Inclusion and Diversity Anglo American is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to promoting an inclusive and diverse workplace where we value and respect every colleague for who they are and provide equality of opportunity so that everyone can fulfil their potential.

#J-18808-Ljbffr