Freelance External Communications Manager

This is a six-month contract holding together the external comms function for one of the UK’s regulated infrastructure businesses that delivers gas to millions of people across the UK.

You’d be walking in at the year’s most critical operating period for a gas distribution network. Up until now, the team has been absorbing the external comms workload internally and needs someone experienced enough to pick it up and run it end-to-end with skill.

The Role
You’ll own the press office – reactive media enquiries and proactive crisis comms – and lead campaign planning across press, digital, social, customer and stakeholder channels. The immediate priority is getting the winter campaign finished and out the door, but alongside this, you’ll also prepare materials for MPs and regulators, working alongside a dedicated two-person corporate affairs team and a separate regulatory function who bring the specialist insight.

What matters most here isn’t polished copywriting – it’s critical thinking, awareness of reputational risk, and the ability to distil complex technical information into clear messaging.

The Package
£300 – £350 per day
Hybrid working: 3 days in the office
Six-month fixed-term contract, ASAP start
Ad hoc travel across the network footprint

The Person
You’re a seasoned external comms professional, most likely working in-house at an energy, utility or other regulated infrastructure business. You’ve run a press office, handled crisis comms, and advised leadership on reputational risk.

You plan campaigns and generate content across digital and social, and you’re comfortable working entirely self-sufficiently, with no one to delegate to. You have enough grasp of energy regulation and the political landscape to craft MP-ready messaging while leaning on specialist colleagues for detail.