Communications Manager

The Organisation

Melbourne Fashion Festival Ltd. is Australia’s largest major fashion event, with the purpose of developing, supporting and showcasing local and emerging fashion talent and delivering growth to the entire Australian fashion industry. A not-for-profit organisation, the Festival joyously delivers an unrivalled world-class event that celebrates and elevates every aspect of fashion and creativity, and proudly reinforces Melbourne’s position as Australia’s fashion capital.

Role Objective

The Communication Manager is responsible for the planning, development and delivery of the Festival’s integrated public relations, media partnership and talent engagement functions, ensuring all activity is strategically aligned, creatively compelling, commercially effective and operationally excellent.

The role reports into and works in close collaboration with the Head of Marketing to translate the Festival’s vision, brand and programming into impactful campaigns that drive brand awareness, audience growth, ticket sales and stakeholder engagement.

The role requires an experienced communications expert with a deep understanding of public relations, media partnerships, talent engagement, partnerships marketing, and corporate and crisis communications, alongside proven experience delivering integrated campaigns within major events, fashion, arts, cultural or entertainment organisations.

To apply, please email your CV and cover letter to ***email_hidden*** with the subject line "Communications Manager".

Key Responsibilities

Communications Strategy & Campaign Delivery

• Work closely with the Head of Marketing to develop and deliver the Festival’s integrated PR, media partnership and talent strategy, annual planning calendar and go-to-market critical path.
• Lead the planning and execution of multi-channel communications campaigns that drive audience acquisition, ticket sales, brand engagement and commercial partner outcomes.
• Identify opportunities to grow audience reach, engagement and conversion through innovative communications initiatives.
• Ensure all PR, media partnership and talent activity is coherent, high-quality and aligned with the Festival’s business strategy, desired, brand positioning and values, and creative standards.
• Work collaboratively with Marketing, Creative, Programming, Partnerships, Ticketing and Event Operations teams to ensure consistent messaging and integrated campaign delivery.

Public Relations

• Develop and execute an integrated public relations strategy that builds awareness of the Festival, its programme, partners and broader brand, ensuring proactive media engagement and delivery against agreed objectives.
• Day-to-day management of the Festival’s external PR agency, working closely with them to develop and deliver publicity campaigns that maximise media coverage, audience reach and brand awareness.
• Identify storytelling opportunities that generate compelling earned media and strengthen the Festival’s cultural relevance.
• Oversee development and distribution of strategic media messaging, press releases, media alerts, briefing documents and spokesperson talking points.
• Cultivate and maintain strong relationships with journalists, editors, producers and key media outlets to maximise quality coverage.
• Work closely with the PR agency to plan and coordinate media events and calls, photo opportunities, spokesperson and talent interviews, and media attendance throughout the Festival.
• Oversee the PR agency’s development of media target lists and guest lists, ensuring accurate, timely and strategic distribution of media communications, invitations and event opportunities.
• Oversee the PR agency’s media accreditation process and media operations with the PR agency during the Festival.
• Ensure the appropriate media monitoring and reporting processes are in place to track earned media performance against agreed objectives.

Media Partnerships

• Identify, negotiate and manage multiple new and existing media partnerships that extend the Festival’s reach and profile and deliver contra advertising and editorial placement.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with media partners, acting as the primary day-to-day contact to ensure clear communication, collaborative planning and successful delivery throughout the partnership lifecycle.
• Develop and manage detailed media partnership plans, coordinating the delivery of all contracted promotional, editorial and experiential benefits across owned, earned and partner channels, while ensuring obligations are met on time and to a high standard.
• Coordinate integrated promotional activity with media partners, including editorial opportunities, competitions, content collaborations, advertising, interviews, ticket giveaways, event attendance and cross-channel campaigns to maximise audience engagement and campaign impact.
• Monitor media partnership performance against agreed objectives, tracking campaign outcomes, audience reach, media value and delivered benefits, and prepare post-campaign evaluations and recommendations to inform future partnerships.

Talent Engagement

• Oversee a tiered talent engagement strategy ensuring talent activity supports programming, marketing, PR, partnership and ticket sales objectives.
• Identify and secure high-value publicity opportunities, ambassador relationships and talent-led storytelling initiatives that enhance the Festival’s cultural relevance and national profile.
• Identify and engage talent opportunities that enhance the Festival programme, marketing campaigns and brand profile, working collaboratively across programming, partnerships and marketing teams.
• Develop and manage relationships with Festival ambassadors, influencers and content creators, ensuring authentic engagement, campaign alignment and successful delivery of agreed activities.
• Coordinate the engagement and management of talent, ensuring a professional and seamless experience from invitation through to event delivery.
• Manage talent schedules, briefing materials, accreditation and logistics, while coordinating interviews, media appearances, content opportunities and public engagements.
• Oversee talent agreements and deliverables, maintaining strong relationships with talent, agents and publicists while ensuring contractual obligations are delivered to a high standard.

Partnership Marketing

• Contribute to the development of compelling partnership proposals that articulate the value of PR, media and talent initiatives to attract and secure new and retain existing partners.
• Ensure partnership PR, media and talent deliverables and brand integrations are executed effectively across all Festival channels and touchpoints, in a way that delivers partner value, enhances audience experience and aligns with Festival brand values.
• Contribute to the delivery of communication plans, contracted marketing commitments and post-Festival reporting for all government and commercial partners.
• Monitor and evaluate the performance of partnership PR, media and talent activity, providing insights and recommendations to support future partner growth and retention.

Corporate & Crisis Communications

• Work closely with the Head of Marketing to deliver corporate communications initiatives that support organisational reputation and stakeholder engagement.
• Develop and manage communication strategies for key organisational announcements and initiatives.
• Support crisis communications planning and response, ensuring timely, accurate and effective stakeholder communication and community engagement, working in collaboration with external consultants when required.

Reporting & Governance

• Establish and maintain PR, media and talent performance reporting frameworks, providing regular insights and recommendations to senior leadership, the Board, partners and key stakeholders on effectiveness, outcomes and continuous improvement.
• Manage communications budgets, timelines and external suppliers relating to PR, media partnerships and talent.
• Work cross-functionally with Marketing, Programming, Partnerships, Event Operations, Ticketing and Finance to ensure marketing supports commercial, audience, brand and stakeholder objectives.
• Ensure all PR, media and talent activity complies with relevant Festival policies and procedures, including event policies, diversity, equity and inclusion requirements, accessibility standards and participant obligations.

Key Skills and Experience

• 8+ years’ marketing experience: including experience with major public events, fashion and consumer brands, arts / culture, or media / editorial publications.
• Tertiary marketing course equivalent: including marketing, communications, public relations and / or journalism.
• Strong knowledge of the Australian fashion industry and media landscape, with an informed understanding of global fashion trends and market dynamics.
• Technical skills: experienced in Social Media Platforms (Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok); Squarespace, Mailchimp, Canva, and proficient in Microsoft Office (particularly PowerPoint and creation of presentations); Adobe Creative Suite; and Monday.com work management platform.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple timelines, priorities and dependencies.
• Strong commercial judgement and the ability to develop communications that support audience, partner and business outcomes.
• Exceptional attention to detail and a commitment to high-quality execution.
• Excellent written, verbal, presentation and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to develop compelling proposals, briefs and presentations for internal and external stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and diagnostic capability, with an aptitude for problem-solving and practical decision-making.
• A collaborative working style and the confidence to operate as part of a senior leadership team.
• A calm, professional and solutions-oriented approach under pressure.