Awards Manager

Hybrid (London, UK) D&AD

Job title: Awards Manager

Reports to: Head of Awards

Location: Hybrid, remote working + 2 days in the London office (E2), flexibility is required when working at events.

Job Type: Full-time, permanent

Salary: £28,000-36,000 per annum - depending on experience plus benefits

Hours: 09.30-17.30 (Standard office hours) flexibility is required when working to deadlines and covering team hours.

This year, you must be free to work over D&AD Awards Judging and Festival which is from Saturday 23 to Wednesday 26 May 2027, the Festival which is Sunday 27 June to Wednesday 1 July 2027 (Please note dates of key events vary each year) Your hours may be rearranged or you will get time back in lieu for weekend work and overtime accrued.

Summary

The Awards Manager is responsible for managing the delivery and project management of jury selection across the D&AD Awards & New Blood Awards. The Awards Manager will drive the research, analysis and development of the judge strategy, manage the recruitment and management of all awards juries and judge communications, support awards product development and contribute to the annual awards review.

Overview

We operate a hybrid working policy, and are happy to talk about flexible working arrangements between working from home and from the London office (E2). Please note that the number of days in the office may increase during busy periods and according to the needs of the business. You must be available to work over the judging period, which covers one weekend per year.

Dimension of Role:

• The Awards Manager is required to curate and manage approx. 60 juries for the D&AD Awards and New Blood Awards in a year-round cycle, applying critical thinking in the selection and assessment of over 400 low/mid/senior industry Judges to align with the requirements of D&AD.

• They are required to have a good knowledge of industry luminaries, influencers and others who would lend the right expertise to judging in order to propose suitable Judge recommendations for approval by leadership.

• Conducting effective research and analysis and using critical thinking in the selection and assessment of Judges will be essential in understanding both Judge and category effectiveness, in making recommendations for future cycles and developing the Judge Strategy for approval by leadership.

• They are required to be a strong written and verbal communicator with the ability to manage projects, in order to effectively manage the participation and communication with Judges.

• Having the confidence to steer the creation of Juries and the ability to anticipate and overcome challenges will be essential to ensure the judging product moves at a timely pace. Having the ability to multitask and to support fellow team members during busy months leading up to judging (March-May) and launch (October-November) will be vital.

The role requires external outreach to the industry with regards Judge recommendations, invitations and category development. This can take the form of email, phone calls including zoom or similar platforms, face to face meeting, or assisting at round tables or focus group style events. Frequency will be dependent on time of year with almost daily communications coordinated from September through June.

Internal communications with the Awards team on a weekly basis will be required. This includes meeting with the wider Awards team and meeting with direct reports for 1:1s. You will also need to attend a monthly All Staffer with the wider business. Internal communications take place over email, Zoom, Slack or telephone, and/or in person when required.

Responsibilities & Duties

Main accountabilities/responsibilities of the role include, but are not limited to:

Recruitment & Management of Juries:

• Develop the Judge selection strategy document to inform Jury recruitment, ensuring it aligns with organisation-wide targets

• Brief the Business Development team on Judge requirements, to be collated and placed into Juries

• Build Juries in accordance with the Judge selection strategy

• Undertake industry research to inform Judge selection

• Collaborate with the wider team to ensure judging schedules are agreed and communicated to relevant parties

• Manage the booking for judges accommodation

• Manage travel reimbursements for judges and guests

• Manage the collation and display of judge profiles

• Manage creation of internal Judge documents to be shared with Jury/Master Hosts

• Manage judges on site during events where required

Communications:

• Manage the year-round judges communication plan and implementation of it

• Ensure an excellent standard of year-round communications to Judges and entrants

• Manage the training of additional team members (both temporary and permanent)

• Manage the preparation and communication of Judge guides and other collateral,

ensure judges have and understand all relevant information pertaining to judging events

Outreach & Partners:

• Manage ongoing relationships with industry networks and holding companies to

ensure fair talent representation

• Oversee the promotion of the Awards on social media amongst our judges

• Represent D&AD at external events where necessary

• Identify and manage outreach with potential Judge networks or organisations that

can support Judge selection

• Attending events and networking to identify current industry ‘movers & shakers’ to

include in Judge selection

Events & Administration:

• Manage the programming of Judges for Insight sessions, ad hoc events and the

D&AD Festival & New Blood Festival

• Keep an holistic view on events when selecting judges, keeping in mind who might

also work as a potential speaker

• Support recruitment of seasonal staff to ensure there is enough resource to cover

project needs when required

• Support in the task management of seasonal staff during the awards production entry

project, working alongside the Production Manager

• Support operations in the accurate cataloguing, storage, processing and

warehousing of all awards entries in your category area ensuring these are ready for judging and presented to