Head of PR & Influencer Relations

We’re FORMA. An incubator, accelerator, and curator of today’s beauty brands.

We celebrate, support, and seek those changing the world through creative expression. Each brand in our portfolio is thoughtfully selected, acquired, or created because of the products it offers, the stories it tells, and the beauty it spreads.

We’re a team made of: Equal parts thinkers and doers. Visionaries and operators. Strategists and creatives— we're united by a fierce entrepreneurial spirit. Our dive in, roll your sleeves up, get your hands' dirty approach to every project leads to extraordinary outcomes, and to some of the most popular beauty products on shelves today. We're a creative, professional, highly collaborative, seasoned, well-oiled team. We're in the business of beauty for a reason. There's nothing our team of 200+ people loves more than a good challenge, a great product, and the opportunity to make, celebrate, and spread beauty at scale.

Summary of Position:

The Head of PR & IR will be responsible for developing and executing the PR & IR strategy and campaigns throughout the EMEA & ANZ Region in support of the global strategy, driving brand awareness and sales for Morphe. This role will oversee regional PR, including local agencies and pertaining to retail/wholesale partnerships. Additionally, this position plays a key role in identification and management of brand-aligned regional influencer partnerships, securing, developing, nurturing and growing those relationships to deliver increased consumer engagement and commercial success as measured by regular performance reporting and analytics.

The Head of PR & IR acts as an expert on the brand in the market, products and PR & Influencer-worthy initiatives in order to effectively liaison with agency partners, and other key stakeholders. The role-holder will be responsible for all aspects of PR & IR strategy, planning, campaigns and earned content and UGC creation within EMEA & ANZ. The role will include regular liaison across departments, including Marketing, Ecommerce, Retail, Education and Wholesale teams.

This is a hybrid role with minimum three days per week in our Marylebone office/other work location and other days from home.

Principle Accountabilities:

PR (35%)

• Oversee the PR function for EMEA & ANZ, leading internal and external partners to deliver FORMA’s public relations strategies and goals
• Lead a regional team to deliver operational PR activities which support brand growth and positive brand awareness.
• Review agency partners to ensure delivery of substantial positive PR results whilst maintaining value for money; renegotiating, ending or creating new partnerships as appropriate
• Lead approvals for press related activities and events, with ultimate accountability for delivering ROI on all budgeted activities
• Contribute to all regional social media activity, in partnership with Global and aligned with brand strategies and goals

Influencer Relationships (20%)

• Contribute to FORMA global influencer programmes and seasonal activations in local markets, partnering with global team on implementation of micro-influencer programmes
• Build and maintain effective relationships with key industry influencers on behalf of FORMA throughout EMEA & ANZ, as pre-agreed with Global through strategic review and in partnership with 3rd party agencies
• Manage paid influencer relationships within the EMEA & AUS region, from securing talent, negotiating contracts and executing content, in alignment with the global team
• Maintain strong understanding of the influencer landscape within beauty across local markets, ensuring all relevant social activity is tracked and escalated as appropriate
• Monitor, report and evaluate influencer social platform usage, content creation patterns, and broader activity within the market
• Act as the regional lead for delivery of local influencer programmes by identifying and nurturing local influencers (directly in the UK and in partnership with agencies in EMEA/ANZ) segmented by channel, region & demographic (key Journalists, Editors, Bloggers, Vloggers, VIP professionals, Celebrities, MUA’s etc)

Contribute to campaign ideation and tactics and lead related in-market brand events (20%)

· Lead regional team across the full remit of influencer and PR, developing and managing that team effectively to deliver on departmental goals

· Create, plan and manage execution of events as needed, with the support of the PR & IR Coordinator

· Attend influencer and PR events both domestically and internationally

· Work with internal cross-functional teams to communicate and execute key campaigns and initiatives: Retail, ECommerce, Digital Marketing, Wholesale, Education, Supply Chain & Operations, Visual Merchandising

Data Tracking and Performance Analysis (15%)

• Monitor, track, and communicate new and ongoing trends in influencer marketing and social media, using platforms and technologies that connect with brand voice and strategy
• Track and analyze outreach performance to evaluate ROI, to inform recommendations for future strategic direction (EMV, etc)
• Perform competitive analysis, industry research and assessment of best practice
• Utilize social tools, including Tribe Dynamics, to monitor conversations, measure influencer activity against brand KPIs and identify new engagement opportunities to maximise brand and influencer coverage
• Develop recommendations informed by data analytics, KPIs and consumer insights
• Monthly, quarterly and annual reporting to include post-campaign analytics aligned with global reporting

Line Management (10%)

• Line manage the PR & IR Coordinator who will administer stock, coverage, materials, and reporting as well as supporting across all PR & IR activity
• Inspire, motivate and develop the PR & IR Coordinator, providing guidance and mentorship wherever necessary
• Conduct regular 1-1s, jointly setting objectives and performing annual/bi-annual performance reviews
• Ensure the PR & IR team are adhering to FORMA Brands vision, values, mission, culture and policies

Budget Owner? Y

Fiscal Accountabilities:

• Management of regional PR & IR budgets including campaign, paid/earned media and event budgets
• Management of regional PR stock budget

Key Working Relationships:

• Global Brand & Marketing team
• Global Social Media & Influencer Relations teams
• External agency partners
• Influencers and micro-influencers
• All regional stakeholders, including Marketing, Retail, Ecommerce, VM, Education, Supply Chain and Operations
• Retail partners

Required Skills & Experience:

• Proven experience in PR/Comms/Influencer Management essential, at a management level. Previous experience in a young, dynamic beauty brand desirable
• Must possess an in-depth understanding of the beauty market and social media/influencer landscape within the UK (and ideally Europe/ANZ)
• Experience of identifying and establishing new influencer relationships strongly preferred, with a proven track record in nurturing influencer relationships for mutual success
• Leadership skills, demonstrating maturity and composure in a diverse range of situations, acting as a supportive advisor/mentor to the PR & IR Coordinator and other junior members of the team as they develop their career
• The ability to remain calm under pressure, to quickly identify solutions to challenges and to work with a diverse range of stakeholder demands
• Diplomacy, tact, team support and spirit; an overall can-do attitude
• Must be a strong advocate of FORMA vision, values and culture with the ability to truly understand and communicate the Morphe brand to a broad audience
• Previous experience in a very fast-paced, agile work environment, with the ability to switch between granular, detailed work and strategic thinking swiftly and frequently
• Excellent communicator and natural networker with proven results, and the ability to build effective internal and external stakeholder relationships at all levels, both locally and remotely
• Commercially minded with prior experience of delivering proven financial results through social/PR activity
• Previous experience of tracking, analyzing and evaluating reporting data. Familiar with industry KPIs (i.e. EMV, etc). Capable and comfortable in regularly manipulating available data to develop insight driven recommendations and action plans
• Proven success in managing and developing people, with experience of driving and motivating team members to deliver results
• Skilled in Word, Powerpoint, Outlook and Excel as well as experience with media monitoring and influencer platforms (preferred)
• Highly organized and detail oriented with deep knowledge of social content, best practices and digital trends
• Extensive experience in budget management and event planning
• Time management skills with ability to prioritize and multi-task across multiple workstreams.
• Self-motivated, with an enthusiastic and self-starter attitude
• Flexibility in working hours and travel

Travel Requirements:

• Attend influencer events both domestically and internationally
• Travel as required by the business up to 25%