Public Affairs Manager Career Profile | Career Advice and Help Australia CareerNav

Public Affairs Manager *

Last modified: November 07, 2011, 01:25 PM

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This is an ideal career for intuitive thinkers. A Public Affairs Manager looks after the reputation of a business. You assist an organisation to plan and enhance their reputation, company image and communicate the organisation’s key messages. Your primary task is keeping everyone who needs to know informed on any matter that can impact on the organisations image.

Typical Career Progression in a Large Organisation

	Position	Remuneration	Experience	Education
Start Position	Intern	Very Little	None required. Enthusiasm needed. Listen, learn, volunteer and work hard	Seconday School or above
1st Promotion	Public Affairs Officer	$30,000 to $45,000	Either a background in media required or strong performance as an intern	Degree
2nd Promotion	Public Affairs Manager	$80,000 to $100,000	A few years overseeing individual projects, building relationships and demonstrating the potential to nurture others	Degree and can demonstrate personal development and ability to manage others
3rd Promotion	General Manager Public Affairs	$100,000 to $150,000	Extensive experience of business world, managing large public affairs teams, acquired reputation for successful handling of major issues	Ongoing personal development courses, sometimes linked to specific business or methods of problem solving
4th Promotion	CEO, Public Affairs Consultancy	Name / negotiate your fee!	Your views are in such demand and your experience is sufficiently varied that you and your team consult to a wide variety of businesses, who want your expert advice	You create courses or are invited to lecture to the next generation of public affairs practitioners

*The above table is to be used as a guide only

Typical Accountabilities and Responsibilities

Intern	Administration and back office collation work assisting public affairs officer – can sometimes assist in launches and promotions
Public Affairs Officer	Front of house interface for enquiries of a public nature. Low level projects; innovation and idea generation necessary
Public Affairs Manager	Close working relationship with senior management and General Manager, generally managing group of officers. Implementing projects and strong relationship with media and public opinion leaders
GM Public Affairs	A “fixer” with impeccable contacts throughout the media and opinion leaders. Often the right hand of the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
CEO Public Affairs Consultancy	Entrepreneurial, complete grasp of all facets of public affairs – persuasive at all levels of society

*The above table is to be used as a guide only

Career Path Options & Employment

Once you enter into the world of public affairs or the communications industry as a whole, there are a variety of career routes open to you. You could go into public relations, corporate affairs, communications and other related jobs. The important thing to remember is that businesses are always concerned about their reputation, and this is why public affairs is a great career to be in. Working in a major corporation, major bank or even in a sporting organisation is a great role.

About the Author

Philip Pope

Philip Pope, Public Affairs Manager at Cricket Australia divides his time between office-based corporate communications and on-the-road media management with the Australian cricket team. Philip's experience includes being the Head of Media at the British Olympic Association, the Chief Press Attaché to the Great Britain Olympic Team at the Athens Olympics and Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and also directed communications for the embryonic London 2012 Olympic Bid.