In-House Public Affairs - 2020 Market Review
by Warren Madlin, Director MadlinHanna Consulting
2019 saw the public affairs industry perform well with the general election, Brexit uncertainty and big tech throwing money at fighting regulation. Re-shuffles, changes in leadership and consistent uncertainty were the backdrops for a great year for agencies. Here we take a quick look back but also assess what’s in store for 2020.
Sectors
For the past year, the biggest in-house public affairs budgets have been coming from our clients in technology, transport and healthcare and we expect this to continue as those companies look to increase their influence and get their voice heard. The charity sector and membership bodies are also keeping us busy although most opportunities here are at the mid-level as they look to maximise more limited budgets.
Location
Understandably, the bulk of government relations roles remain London-centric. We are often approached by firms outside of the capital looking for corporate affairs talent for their headquarters but without an obvious secondary hub elsewhere in the country, these one-off vacancies prove harder to fill with limited pools of local, qualified professionals.
The newly enjoyed certainty around Brexit seems to have done nothing to quell the mad scramble by numerous London-based public affairs shops to upskill their EU affairs offerings. Few have success offering this service from a London-based team and even the newer agencies on the block are opting to open offices on-site in Brussels, with talent hired from within the city.
Level
Senior-level lobbyists continue to face the pressure of the necessity to manage corporate comms and sustainability if they are to move up the ladder. There is increased competition for the ‘Head of Corporate Affairs’ title from their media relations and corporate communications peers. As time goes on, the higher up the ladder you move, the more integrated the responsibilities are becoming. Only the junior to mid-level roles are remaining pure public affairs in their focus. Our advice to those in the mid-level is to stick your hand up for all opportunities for exposure to media relations, crisis comms, financial PR or ESG to broaden your expertise.
Pay
Below are approximate salary bandings we have seen for recent placements. Individual offers at each level varied greatly depending on the sector, size of the company, team structure and responsibility:
Public Affairs Exec/Officer (£25k - £35k)
Public Affairs Manager (£40k - £55k)
Senior Public Affairs Manager (£60k - £75k)
Head of Public Affairs (£80k plus)
Head of Corporate Affairs (£100k plus) (Encompassing some combination of public affairs, corporate/financial/internal communications, digital and ESG)
SpAds Update
A number of our clients in particularly highly-regulated industries continue to show interest in our network of special advisers. With a reshuffle around the corner, we expect a phone call or two from hiring managers looking for those policy specialists who have insider intelligence from the Johnson government so watch this space. With the ever-changing political scene, those special advisors from Theresa May’s days are just beginning to lose their value.
For a more specific conversation about opportunities in public affairs, please get in touch here.
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.