Corporate Affairs and Strategic Relationships Lead

This is a high-profile, hands-on role with lead responsibility for a portfolio of UKEF's priority accounts broader stakeholder engagement and external affairs activity. You will set the account strategy, coordinate activity across UKEF and ensure these relationships deliver clear value for UKEF, our partners and UK exporters.

You will build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders, develop advocates for UKEF and provide strategic advice to ministers and senior leaders. You'll identify opportunities to strengthen UKEF's reputation, increase influence and support organisational objectives, while ensuring emerging risks and issues are identified and managed effectively.

You will drive forward UKEF's continuous improvement approach to Strategic Relationship Management, embedding best practice in account planning, stakeholder insight, CRM, and performance measurement. Success will be measured through the advocacy, referrals, partnership opportunities, lead generation and business outcomes delivered through stakeholder engagement.

• Build and manage relationships with senior stakeholders across government, banking, industry, trade associations and business networks.
• Manage a portfolio of priority stakeholder accounts (primarily banks and financial institutions), developing engagement plans that deliver measurable outcomes and driving through delivery.
• Act as the senior relationship lead for priority accounts, bringing together product, business development, marketing and senior colleagues across UKEF around shared goals, commitments and delivery.
• Develop advocates and partner organisations that can champion UKEF, extend its reach and strengthen its reputation.
• Lead stakeholder engagement programmes, including product launch, announcements, events, roundtables, speaking opportunities, ministerial visits and executive-level engagements.
• Create impactful content and engagement activity across multiple channels and formats that engages stakeholders and their audiences, raises awareness of UKEF, builds advocacy, strengthens reputation and generates leads.
• Provide ministers and senior leaders with strategic advice, concise briefings, stakeholder insight and high-impact engagement opportunities.
• Use stakeholder intelligence, commercial awareness and horizon scanning to identify emerging risks, opportunities and reputational issues and recommend appropriate action.
• Continuously improve UKEF's Strategic Relationship Management approach, embedding best practice in account management, stakeholder segmentation, CRM and outcome measurement.
• Set clear objectives and KPIs, using insight, data and digital tools to drive performance, inform decision-making and demonstrate impact.
• Lead, coach and develop a high-performing team while contributing to the wider leadership of the Marketing and Corporate Affairs function.

This list is not exhaustive, and the post holder will be expected to respond flexibly to emerging priorities.

Essential

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree or equivalent demonstrable work experience (A,I)
• Evidence of continuing professional development (A,I)

Knowledge

• Substantial commercial and political awareness, with the judgement to identify risks and opportunities and translate stakeholder insight, data and performance information into action and manage reputation (A,I,P)

Skills/Ability

• Excellent communication, organisational and delivery skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities, coordinate others, build a high performance team, and deliver high-profile work at pace (A,I,P)
• Ability to create compelling content, assets, and storytelling across a range of formats and channels to engage stakeholder audiences, as part of our wider integrated campaigns (A,I,P)

Experience

• Significant experience of owning and developing senior strategic external relationships/accounts, with evidence of turning relationship and partnership plans into measurable business outcomes, such as generating referrals, leads, opportunities, advocacy or other demonstrable results (A,I,P)
• A demonstrable track record of building trusted senior relationships, influencing decision-makers and coordinating delivery across organisational boundaries providing trusted advice and briefings (A,I,P)
• Experience leading high-profile stakeholder engagement activity, including ministerial visits, executive engagement, events or roundtables (A,I,P)