I agree with Prague, coming from a small unit in a large ad agency that's geared to branding will probably mean her focus will be on the "experience" to bring in new customers, cue cheerleaders and goal music. Hope she has the remit to engage with fans of the club.
This is the kind of cv I have to consider every day. It's a good one. A record of recognition and promotion at a respected and professionally demanding agency (albeit a small specialised unit within that agency). She has, IMHO taken a gamble with a promising career.
it's important to note that the agency unit is not about PR and corporate communications, which would be the competence most sought if your main concern was better communication with disgruntled "customers". It is more about using sport to develop brand image.
It suggests to me that her main tasks will be to make the most of the Charlton "brand" as KM understands it . It means, if I would put it cynically, whether we have the right colour of sofa, whether we have the right mix of music in Crossbars, can we orgainse family BBQs, US style, in the car park.
Better communication with us will be well down her list of priorities.
Let's not be too quick to give her a hard time. It's just another poor hire.
Interesting view from a marketing recruiter.
I wonder if, having done a sports journalism degree but not really fully utilised it in her marketing roles, she wanted this job as a change to do what she trained to do.
One of the reasons the post has been vacant for so long was that KM was looking for a marketing person and the comms people who applied didn't want to do that. Now, finally she has a marketing person but with some journalism credentials.
Surprised this is our Head of Communications, she's strikes me as very inexperienced for such a role. Having just dealt with her former M&C group on a project we had no dealings with anyone at her level, so still seen as junior within the agency.
I'd somehow assumed they'd be after a grizzled comms type to actually make positive change to the club, formulate a strategy and action it. But then i saw how little they were paying (surprise). So what we have off the field mirrors on the field.
Clearly a bright person. Good luck to her. She's going to have her work cut out.
I'd somehow assumed they'd be after a grizzled comms type to actually make positive change to the club, formulate a strategy and action it. But then i saw how little they were paying (surprise). So what we have off the field mirrors on the field.
Clearly a bright person. Good luck to her. She's going to have her work cut out.
I seem to remember that the advertised salary wasn't that great. So unlikely to get a hardened, massively experienced person. Probably a financial step-up for her - but lots more responsibility/pressure - hope she's ready for what she has taken on...
Sorry - but there is no way a 27 year old should be Head of Communications at a club the size of Charlton - especially in our current state.
I work in Corporate Affairs for a major corporate and our 27 year olds are still four rungs down the ladder - they are not even managers let alone running the fucking Comms strategy.
Let's be clear this is another puppet whose strings KM and RD will be pulling.
Let's be honest here, she is just going to be another 'yes man' hired by KM.
*edit Just remember, KM hires people and gives them a lot more money than they would get anywhere else so in return she gets loyalty. It's an old trick and unfortunately it means that poor staff stay on regardless while good staff leave (Does that sound familiar..??)
I'm an MD at a global PR agency and I was interested in the job when I first heard about it.... I would have expected a pay cut of course and would have taken it to work for CAFC but when I saw the level that was being offered, it was the equivalent of someone with about 4 or so years experience, not the 20 or so that they need (and I can offer....). When the sh!t really started to hit the fan with the regime back in Oct/Nov, I offered my services free of charge to KM in an effort to help the club and stop it from falling apart..she never replied to me, and here we now are.....
So now you need 20 years experience and must be old and gnarly to be Head of Comms at Charlton ?
If they'd put the role out at £80k to £100k plus 100% bonus everyone would have gone barmy about it being a waste of money.
We're not FIFA or Starbucks....and aside from that the protest doesn't ask for improved communication anyway, it just wants the entire club handed over to someone else to own and run so what do the militia care for what this person is or isn't going to do ?
So now you need 20 years experience and must be old and gnarly to be Head of Comms at Charlton ?
If they'd put the role out at £80k to £100k plus 100% bonus everyone would have gone barmy about it being a waste of money.
We're not FIFA or Starbucks....and aside from that the protest doesn't ask for improved communication anyway, it just wants the entire club handed over to someone else to own and run so what do the militia care for what this person is or isn't going to do ?
I would be guessing that on London wages you'd be looking at about £75,000 plus to get the right sort of candidate for this role - that is someone who can come in and take charge of the entire Comms strategy, right across the board.
This is not just about communicating with current Charlton fans, they need to re-engage the disillusioned and bring new people in - that's before you even talk about engaging with all the other stakeholders (wanker word, I know).
But, of course, KM doesn't want someone who will do any of that, she wants someone to say, "Yes, Katrien, I think making the disabled fans pay an extra £20 to bring their wheelchairs in is pure fucking PR gold, let's do it."
So now you need 20 years experience and must be old and gnarly to be Head of Comms at Charlton ?
If they'd put the role out at £80k to £100k plus 100% bonus everyone would have gone barmy about it being a waste of money.
We're not FIFA or Starbucks....and aside from that the protest doesn't ask for improved communication anyway, it just wants the entire club handed over to someone else to own and run so what do the militia care for what this person is or isn't going to do ?
Well, I've taken some extracts from the job vacancy listing (the emphasis is mine):
"What we’re looking for:
- A commercially aware, experienced and energetic communications professional;
Key requirements:
At least 6 years’ experience in a senior corporate or agency communications/PR role; A natural leader who has experience of managing a team; A strong communicator who can converse at senior levels with strong written and presentation skills; A people person who has the ability to build strong relationships across all internal and external stakeholders; Experience of developing, managing and executing integrated communication strategies and tactical plans; A track record of delivering high profile, innovative communication campaigns that have delivered results and achieved business objectives; - Knowledge and experience of managing website content, email and social media programmes;
- An understanding and experience of agency content and design production processes."
I can't say whether the new person meets some of these requirements, but from her age and background, it seems fairly certain that she hasn't got the experience and there's no evidence that she's been anywhere near managing web content.
So, it can be argued that the club haven't employed someone who meets their own requirements which is odd. A case of beggars and choosers I suppose.
Sorry - but there is no way a 27 year old should be Head of Communications at a club the size of Charlton - especially in our current state.
I work in Corporate Affairs for a major corporate and our 27 year olds are still four rungs down the ladder - they are not even managers let alone running the fucking Comms strategy.
Let's be clear this is another puppet whose strings KM and RD will be pulling.
This is the kind of cv I have to consider every day. It's a good one. A record of recognition and promotion at a respected and professionally demanding agency (albeit a small specialised unit within that agency). She has, IMHO taken a gamble with a promising career.
it's important to note that the agency unit is not about PR and corporate communications, which would be the competence most sought if your main concern was better communication with disgruntled "customers". It is more about using sport to develop brand image.
It suggests to me that her main tasks will be to make the most of the Charlton "brand" as KM understands it . It means, if I would put it cynically, whether we have the right colour of sofa, whether we have the right mix of music in Crossbars, can we orgainse family BBQs, US style, in the car park.
Better communication with us will be well down her list of priorities.
Let's not be too quick to give her a hard time. It's just another poor hire.
One of the more poignant cock up's of recent times was the Crossbars disco. There you have the mix of supporters who Katrien hates and wants to get rid of wanting a nice pre match chat, a drink, and maybe a game of cribbage or something, and there is a disc jockey playing music and shoving it down everybody's throats. If the new head of communications is about ideas then god help us if the ideas are like that and those mentioned by Prague. the new Head of Communications ought to start off by being receptive and reactive before she dreams up ideas. Then those ideas would be better to be road tested in some way before we have yet another forlorn initiative embarrassing the hell out of all of us.
Sorry - but there is no way a 27 year old should be Head of Communications at a club the size of Charlton - especially in our current state.
I work in Corporate Affairs for a major corporate and our 27 year olds are still four rungs down the ladder - they are not even managers let alone running the fucking Comms strategy.
Let's be clear this is another puppet whose strings KM and RD will be pulling.
I don't think her age should be a factor. Her experience, skills and knowledge should. Yes, it takes time to gain those but I wouldn't write off someone because they are 27.
Its not this person's fault she got hired and at 27 it probably seems like a massive opportunity.
Undoubtedly Katrien wouldn't want someone in who was older and more experienced than her anyway as it will just show up even more how incompetent she is.
Good luck to her, but I'm not holding out hope that the communication strategy with fans will change whatsoever.
Then it's worth highlighting that the requirements of providing communications strategy for a entity the size of a Championship football club are probably above average themselves.
@PL54 I think that the more experience you can offer, the better.
Over-recruiting a role is as damaging and risky as under-recruiting one.
The person hired should be as close a match to the skills required in the specification allowing for some learning and growth.
From the excerpt given by @cafcfan above the appointment looks about right.
This is all dependent on the specification being correct of course and as His Lordship says above, we are SME in size and not very complex.
The Comms job isn't too big and despite some dissent in the car park, not very challenging. That said it can make a big difference in a largely Business to Consumer (B2C) environment. I would have written Business to Fan (B2F) but for the tears and upset it would have created....however, perhaps as supporter revenue is thought to be a small % of overall income we should be considered B2B really ?........
Sorry - but there is no way a 27 year old should be Head of Communications at a club the size of Charlton - especially in our current state.
I work in Corporate Affairs for a major corporate and our 27 year olds are still four rungs down the ladder - they are not even managers let alone running the fucking Comms strategy.
Let's be clear this is another puppet whose strings KM and RD will be pulling.
I don't think her age should be a factor. Her experience, skills and knowledge should. Yes, it takes time to gain those but I wouldn't write off someone because they are 27.
And Charlton are in business terms an SME.
Agree age should not be a factor but at 27 it is very hard for anyone to have enough experience to meet the club's own requirements for the post. So either she interviewed brilliantly or she is a bargain hiring who will do as she is told, boosting her CV in the process. Now who else in the club could that apply to?
The Comms job isn't too big and despite some dissent in the car park, not very challenging. That said it can make a big difference in a largely Business to Consumer (B2C) environment. I would have written Business to Fan (B2F) but for the tears and upset it would have created....however, perhaps as supporter revenue is thought to be a small % of overall income we should be considered B2B really ?........
Perhaps the job in normal circumstances would not be overly complex but the situation is. There is a massive disconnect between company and customer, there have been a string of PR gaffs which have alienated fans and left the club open to ridicule in the media, and generally the brand, to use the buzzword, is toxic. In view of that, I would suggest KM needs experience in PR as well as crisis management. Which makes the hiring of someone who I m sure is competent but lacking the requisite experience rather odd. At least she hasn't come out and professed her love for Charlton yet.
Sorry - but there is no way a 27 year old should be Head of Communications at a club the size of Charlton - especially in our current state.
I work in Corporate Affairs for a major corporate and our 27 year olds are still four rungs down the ladder - they are not even managers let alone running the fucking Comms strategy.
Let's be clear this is another puppet whose strings KM and RD will be pulling.
I don't think her age should be a factor. Her experience, skills and knowledge should. Yes, it takes time to gain those but I wouldn't write off someone because they are 27.
And Charlton are in business terms an SME.
Agree age should not be a factor but at 27 it is very hard for anyone to have enough experience to meet the club's own requirements for the post. So either she interviewed brilliantly or she is a bargain hiring who will do as she is told, boosting her CV in the process. Now who else in the club could that apply to?
I agree that it would be difficult to have the right level of experience at that age but without seeing the CV and the job spec in full it is hard to say.
I do fear that it is someone Katrien feels she can work with because she is even, younger, even less experienced and cheap so KM won't feel intimidated as she does with most people who know more than her.
Comments
I wonder if, having done a sports journalism degree but not really fully utilised it in her marketing roles, she wanted this job as a change to do what she trained to do.
One of the reasons the post has been vacant for so long was that KM was looking for a marketing person and the comms people who applied didn't want to do that. Now, finally she has a marketing person but with some journalism credentials.
I'd somehow assumed they'd be after a grizzled comms type to actually make positive change to the club, formulate a strategy and action it. But then i saw how little they were paying (surprise). So what we have off the field mirrors on the field.
Clearly a bright person. Good luck to her. She's going to have her work cut out.
Her face showed her disappointment.
They will normally manage a team who do the individual bits for them.
This role will need someone who can do the stuff themselves as I cant see much of a budget for her to spend.
Good luck to her, she's going to need it!
I work in Corporate Affairs for a major corporate and our 27 year olds are still four rungs down the ladder - they are not even managers let alone running the fucking Comms strategy.
Let's be clear this is another puppet whose strings KM and RD will be pulling.
*edit
Just remember, KM hires people and gives them a lot more money than they would get anywhere else so in return she gets loyalty. It's an old trick and unfortunately it means that poor staff stay on regardless while good staff leave (Does that sound familiar..??)
If they'd put the role out at £80k to £100k plus 100% bonus everyone would have gone barmy about it being a waste of money.
We're not FIFA or Starbucks....and aside from that the protest doesn't ask for improved communication anyway, it just wants the entire club handed over to someone else to own and run so what do the militia care for what this person is or isn't going to do ?
This is not just about communicating with current Charlton fans, they need to re-engage the disillusioned and bring new people in - that's before you even talk about engaging with all the other stakeholders (wanker word, I know).
But, of course, KM doesn't want someone who will do any of that, she wants someone to say, "Yes, Katrien, I think making the disabled fans pay an extra £20 to bring their wheelchairs in is pure fucking PR gold, let's do it."
"What we’re looking for:
- A commercially aware, experienced and energetic communications professional;
Key requirements:
At least 6 years’ experience in a senior corporate or agency communications/PR role;
A natural leader who has experience of managing a team;
A strong communicator who can converse at senior levels with strong written and presentation skills;
A people person who has the ability to build strong relationships across all internal and external stakeholders;
Experience of developing, managing and executing integrated communication strategies and tactical plans;
A track record of delivering high profile, innovative communication campaigns that have delivered results and achieved business objectives;
- Knowledge and experience of managing website content, email and social media programmes;
- An understanding and experience of agency content and design production processes."
I can't say whether the new person meets some of these requirements, but from her age and background, it seems fairly certain that she hasn't got the experience and there's no evidence that she's been anywhere near managing web content.
So, it can be argued that the club haven't employed someone who meets their own requirements which is odd. A case of beggars and choosers I suppose.
But you're probably right.
If the new head of communications is about ideas then god help us if the ideas are like that and those mentioned by Prague. the new Head of Communications ought to start off by being receptive and reactive before she dreams up ideas. Then those ideas would be better to be road tested in some way before we have yet another forlorn initiative embarrassing the hell out of all of us.
Maybe we have a Siobhan Sharpe, we shall see.
And Charlton are in business terms an SME.
Undoubtedly Katrien wouldn't want someone in who was older and more experienced than her anyway as it will just show up even more how incompetent she is.
Good luck to her, but I'm not holding out hope that the communication strategy with fans will change whatsoever.
Head of Commercial,
Head of Ticketing,
Head of Comms,
Head of HR
Head of Finance
Someone better tell James Brown upstairs that its no longer a man's world....
Median for the UK, for Director of Communications, is £63k according to this site -http://www.payscale.com/research/UK/Job=Director_of_Communications/Salary - although I'm not signing up to see what the average is for the London specifically, but I'd assume it's a fair bit more.
Then it's worth highlighting that the requirements of providing communications strategy for a entity the size of a Championship football club are probably above average themselves.
The person hired should be as close a match to the skills required in the specification allowing for some learning and growth.
From the excerpt given by @cafcfan above the appointment looks about right.
This is all dependent on the specification being correct of course and as His Lordship says above, we are SME in size and not very complex.
The Comms job isn't too big and despite some dissent in the car park, not very challenging. That said it can make a big difference in a largely Business to Consumer (B2C) environment. I would have written Business to Fan (B2F) but for the tears and upset it would have created....however, perhaps as supporter revenue is thought to be a small % of overall income we should be considered B2B really ?........
I do fear that it is someone Katrien feels she can work with because she is even, younger, even less experienced and cheap so KM won't feel intimidated as she does with most people who know more than her.
But that's not Mel's fault.
Let's see how she performs