The Portland Internship

The company

• Portland is a fully integrated communications consultancy trusted by some of the highest profile organisations, governments and individuals in the world.
• We deliver global communications and public affairs campaigns across multiple platforms, helping clients manage their reputation, improve their visibility and achieve their policy goals.
• Our work is both national and international, with global offices in London, Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Washington DC, Singapore, Doha and Nairobi.

The Role

• We are looking for an intern to come on board for 12 weeks who is passionate about pursuing a career in PR and Communications.
• You will be allocated a team to join, gaining experience in various communications projects, for UK and global clients.
• You will be embedded in account teams and your work is likely to include content creation, copywriting, policy research and supporting events.
• The role presents an opportunity to learn from some of the best PR and Communications consultants in the industry.

Key responsibilities

• Monitoring political, parliamentary, media and social media activity, sometimes on a daily basis.
• Conducting research and helping account teams to map relevant stakeholders across the media, politics, policy and specialisms, whether that be Healthcare, Philanthropy, Crisis and Reputation Management, Campaigning, Digital, Financial and Professional Services or Sport.
• Helping to draft media materials, building distribution lists and selling-in press releases and feature items.
• Working with account teams to draft communications content.
• Helping to organise events: parliamentary launches, press conferences, large scale workshops etc.
• Undertaking research for new business and participating in the development of proposals.

Providing a quality service

You must:

• Have a good feel for communications work, preferably with some experience of external communications, for example social media for a charity or university group, speaking to stakeholders as part of a project etc;
• Be organised, with the ability to manage your workload and work to deadlines;
• Have the ability to analyse information and provide concise insight to tight deadlines with accuracy and relevance; and
• Have the ability to communicate confidently with colleagues.

Personal Effectiveness

You must:

• Be logical, quick and flexible in the appraisal of problems;
• Have the ability to present findings and insight clearly and accurately to a range of audiences; and
• Be proficient in the use of database and internet tools, and Microsoft Office (Word, Outlook, Excel, Teams).
• Be able to start immediately (within reason). 

Team working

You must be able to:

• Work with and communicate effectively with others across the agency;
• Take direction and report progress on your work with others.

Qualifications and skills

• We are open to seeing candidates with degrees or the equivalent such as apprenticeships or similar diplomas.
• Previous experience of PR research, working or interning at an agency/press office, managing professional social media channels or a post graduate qualification in a relevant subject area would be an advantage.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills.
• An additional language is advantageous, especially French at full professional proficiency.
• A professional interest in Healthcare, Philanthropy, Crisis and Reputation Management, Campaigning, Digital, Financial and Professional Services or Sport would be advantageous.

What we offer in return

We are committed to employee development and have an open doors culture where you will have the opportunity to learn from some of the most experienced people in the business. We regularly reward and promote success, and actively encourage staff to take on new challenges and responsibilities to aid progression.

At Portland we take a flexible approach to work and encourage our colleagues to do the same. All our roles are open to flexible working requests and we will consider all options during our recruitment process. This includes but is not limited to: flexible hours, home working, compressed hours and job sharing.

Please note:

Unfortunately, due to the high volume of applications we receive it is not possible to respond directly to all applicants, only to those whose candidacy is being pursued. In addition, the length of the recruitment process varies based on the vacancy needs. Traditionally, the process takes approximately 3-4 weeks. Therefore, your patience is greatly appreciated. Please let us know if you require any arrangements and/or reasonable adjustments to be made in order to fully take part in any part of the interview process here at Portland. Please let us know your requirements'.