Q3 Public Affairs – The 5 Most in Demand Hires

by Warren Madlin, Director MadlinHanna Consulting

We are in a tumultuous political environment and the public affairs industry has had to work hard to be prepared for the several possible scenarios we could be encountering over the next few years. With so much new territory, the focus of hiring has been to strengthen the diversity of expertise, prepare for any possible government and snap up experts who can advise whatever happens next! These are the most in-demand hires of Q3.

Senior Pollsters

We have all learnt to treat polls with caution, but that isn’t stopping our agencies taking on the big guns – step aside ComRes and YouGov. The last few weeks have seen Lexington hire Greg Cook and Portland promote Nick Hargrave into a role that will focus on fast-tracking their polling offer (alongside recently poaching Nick Bonstow from Hanbury). FTI Consulting are another to watch in this space as they develop their offering.

May-era SpAds

The change of administration gave us a flurry of fantastic advisors on the market, the very best were snapped up fast. However, a couple of agencies are due to announce some exciting names over the next few weeks so watch this space! Headland recently announced the hire of Kenny Ferguson, former special adviser to Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay, so even incumbents are getting poached as agencies look to add those with substantial knowledge of the current regime to their ranks.

EU Lobbyists

The case for EU Public Affairs being done from London has always been an odd one, the wisest choice for influence in Brussels has always been to go to Brussels for it but the norm is shifting. Some huge brands are resorting to the comfort of their UK agency teams for their relations with continental parliament and this may well continue as we get closer to B-Day. Whilst languages aren’t essential, we do know that those with exposure to international media landscapes do particularly well in these roles.

Corbyn Insiders

The race to bolster agency teams with big Labour names has ramped up ten-fold over the last month. Those slow off the mark have lost out on the people with the best access to Corbyn’s inner circle. Up-skilling the team to have a convincing client offer in every scenario is tough, but acting fast is your best friend as the only certainty at the moment is uncertainty. We hear of clients getting nervous when an agency has no Labour connection and to lose accounts for that reason would be damaging and is highly preventable.

Senior leadership (with strong commercial acumen)

It’s not all about poaching the party faithful with strong networks. Our clients are desperately looking for agency veterans with exemplary commercial acumen. You can’t win the accounts without the new business knowledge and having the ability to convert is crucial in this fiercely competitive environment. There are lots of shiny challengers cropping up so those well-established agencies need to watch out as their top performers will get approached!

The public affairs industry is fluid, growing and proving its worth in a period of time where there is no precedent to refer to. Those who move fast, strive to be ahead of the curve and prepare for uncertainty are in the best position to succeed.

MadlinHanna Consulting is a recruitment consultancy specialising in corporate affairs, covering public affairs, corporate communications and financial PR. Contact us on 020 8088 4102 for more information or a confidential conversation.