Main Purpose of Job:

This role sits within the heart of our busy and dynamic Media, Communications & Marketing (MCM) section, working to deliver high quality strategic communications for all teams across the British Embassy Tokyo and British Consulate General Osaka (collectively the Japan Network).

Through excellent project management skills and knowledge of communications and marketing, the job holder will ensure that the Japan Network’s strategic marketing and communications plans, activities and campaigns are delivered and evaluated. The intended audience for these initiatives will range from Japanese businesses, government and academia to influencers and the general public. 

Coordinate the detailed analysis of our communications efforts through regular evaluation of our priority campaigns, using monitoring tools and designing bespoke reporting products which effectively measure success and inform important lessons for improvement on outputs.

Manage the internal coordination of communications requests from within the Japan Network, distributing the delivery of this work through Communications Officers, and supporting them to deliver effective results.

Provide expertise and guidance to others in the communications department and the wider Japan Network in the creation of communications products, from digital marketing to events.

Work with a diverse range of stakeholders, including collaboration with external agencies/organisations, liaising with teams in the UK, across the APAC region and within the Japan Network itself.

What the Jobholder will be Expected to Achieve:

Excellent people management (20%)

• Line management of two communications staff; encourage and support staff development and upskilling.
• Capable of selling marketing activities to Japan Network colleagues and managing expectations on non-priority requests.
• Confidently represent the British Embassy and have the ability to negotiate with external partners and sponsors.
• Adopt a creative and flexible approach; be confident engaging with senior management; demonstrate effective reporting and recommendations; support the Head of Brand and Marketing in finding solutions when resources are under pressure.

Excellent project management of strategic communications (25%)

• Project manage the implementation of effective communications activities to support a range of Japan Network objectives, holding responsibility and sight of the social media grid to ensure key communications are scheduled appropriately and achieving maximum impact at the right time.
• Deploy key skills in digital communications and marketing to enhance the reach of our messaging through paid promotion or leveraging new digital platforms to share our messages. Expand channel options for direct marketing influence and gain.
• Be responsible for triaging communications requests for secondary priority projects, balancing resource pressures and strategic needs. Be confident to say no or delay some requests where it does not make sense to take forward or is not aligned to our agreed communications strategy.
• Coordination and editorial guidance/sign-off on our Japanese language communications products such as our regular Department for Business & Trade (DBT) newsletter.

Leading insight and evaluation of communications work (40%)

• On a monthly basis commission evaluation work to Communications Officers and coordinate the overall reporting and dashboard mechanism to produce useful insight into performance and success.
• Lead the key analysis of this evaluation, offering lessons learned and ensure these lessons are adopted for continual improvement in our communications.
• Monitor local trends and marketing best practices towards a Japanese audience to ensure plans and outputs are cutting edge, innovative and highly engaging.
• Work with HQ/Regional teams on yearly evaluation reports, dissecting key information on how the UK is perceived in Japan and use this information to further enhance our communications and marketing strategies in the future.

Stakeholder engagement and relationship building (10%)

• Engage regularly with London HQ, regional APAC Marketing Hubs and global marcomms colleagues to understand the latest information on campaigns, content and emerging projects.
• Develop close relationships with our existing network of agencies and suppliers to continue to gain value for money outputs and increase our efforts on sustainable production methods for physical materials.
• Build new relationships with relevant stakeholders/agencies that can further advance our marketing work or wider Japan Network Country Plan objectives.

Wider support for visits, events and team (5%)

• Support large visits and events with bespoke content, digital tools and evaluation options.
• Show flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances or pressures around large visits, such as stepping in to take on front line media handling or working to support branding efforts at major programme moments.
• Deputise for the Head of Brand and Marketing during periods of absence.
• Leadership and support of Japan Network initiatives/corporate projects which require communications/marketing input and steer.

Resources Managed (Staff and Expenditure):

• Line management x2; (One Communications Officer AO and One Communications Assistant AA)
• Quality Assurer of One Communications Officer with dual role
• Budgets: Access to yearly marketing spend within Media, Communications & Marketing section and Department for Business & Trade section

• At least 5 years’ experience in public relations, marketing or digital communications with a public or private-sector organisation
• Experience managing diverse staff
• Proven skills in project management and campaign execution. Experience in Japanese language content creation
• Strong experience with evaluation platforms and tools to perform effective media/social media monitoring and detailed analysis
• Country knowledge and proven ability to engage Japanese, UK and international audiences
• Well-developed skills in IT, communications, branding, social media, and familiarity with latest digital tools
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to develop good relationships with key stakeholders and clients
• Experience of working in an English-speaking environment
• Budget management skills and experience

Language Requirements:

• Japanese and English
• Level of language required: Native-level in either language tendersglobal.net Business-level in English (TOEIC 900+) or Japanese (JLPT N1)