We recently welcomed Khadra to intern at Cicero/amo for a month in our public affairs and corporate communications teams, with the following Q&A completed at the end of her time here.

Click here to read Khadra’s account of her experience across the month.

• What was your favourite thing about interning at Cicero/amo?

My favourite thing has been the team culture, as everyone has been super friendly and accommodating, making me feel valued as an intern. In my first week, I had introductory meetings with different members of the Cicero/amo team, and it was so inspiring to hear their stories and passion for their roles. I believe I have met someone from every branch of the Cicero/amo team and it has been so interesting to see how each team has different areas of expertise.

Another thing I have loved about interning at Cicero has been the flexibility and diversity of tasks I have been given which has enabled me to gain a real flavour of both Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. The different tasks I have worked on have enabled me to gain a deeper understanding of key issues and complexities across sectors. I am now leaving Cicero/amo with a broader and more nuanced understanding of FinTech, government, business and defence.

Working remotely, I could connect to my team and easily ask questions which has been useful when working on new and unfamiliar tasks.

• What work are you most proud of?

I am most proud of the different tasks I have completed, from research to stakeholder mapping, summarising reports and reaching out to journalists. This has allowed me to gain an unparalleled insight into Public Affairs and Corporate Communications.

I had never worked on stakeholder mapping, but throughout this internship I have been given lots of opportunities to do so which has enabled me to quickly become skilled at an important task.

• How have you found working with your team(s)?

I have really enjoyed working with each team as they are both friendly, welcoming and funny which made it super easy to fit in. What I have noticed is that both teams are a little competitive and are keen for me to state which team is best which is super funny!

Both teams are super accessible, and each member of staff has gone above and beyond in checking up on me, providing sound advice and giving feedback, which helps me improve.

I have truly enjoyed working with the Public Affairs and Corporate Communications team and it has been an invaluable experience to be part of a global strategic agency.

• What is the most interesting thing you have worked on during the internship?

It’s so hard to pick just one – but the most interesting thing I have worked on has to be the research on cryptocurrency, FinTech and open banking. These are areas that align with my interests and it was so exciting to work with experts in this area and see how my research will impact strategy.

I have found all my tasks across Public Affairs and Corporate Communications dynamic and engaging!

• What are your take-aways from the internship?

My key takeaways from this internship include:

1. Internal communication is key: Throughout this internship, I have made it a priority to keep my manager informed of my current workload, whether I am having difficulty completing a task and whether I would like to work on a different sector.

2. Ask questions: Asking questions about the tasks I have been given, providing regular updates and clarifying them has enabled me to make sure I am on the right path when completing tasks, to produce high quality pieces of work.

3. Reach out to the team: Working remotely has made it easier for me to communicate and schedule calls with my team which has been a useful way to get feedback as well as consolidating the connection with my colleagues.

4. Stay connected: As I have met with most of my team in the office, I have added them on LinkedIn and will stay in touch. I am interested in how the teams will get on in the future and have no doubt they’ll be hitting further milestones.

5. Be proactive: I have always looked for opportunities to learn and support my colleagues in their day-to-day job. This has meant I have helped achieve short turnrounds and have gained team-wide exposure is so valuable as an intern.

This internship was organised through the Taylor Bennett Foundation’s summer stars programme. The Taylor Bennett Foundation is a charity that exists to encourage black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) graduates to pursue a career in communications, seeking to address the need for greater diversity in the public relations industry.

If you would like to find out more about similar opportunities at Cicero/amo, please do get in touch.

H/Advisors Cicero, part of Havas Village Dublin, designs and implements national, regional, and global public affairs and communications campaigns for some of the world’s largest listed businesses, new entrant challengers and technology disruptors.

H/Advisors Cicero works across multiple markets which means our staff gain invaluable experience in international communications from a PR and policy perspective.

As a rapidly expanding PR and public affairs consultancy, we are now looking to hire an ambitious Public Affairs Account Director to oversee multiple client accounts and manage account handling teams in Ireland. This person will oversee domestic public affairs accounts and international accounts. Previous international public affairs experienced not required to apply for this role.

This job is for an ambitious public affairs account manager ready to move up a step or for an existing account director that wants to move over to a rapidly growing team, gain international policy and communications experience and be part of one of the largest communications companies in the world – Havas. See below for more information on Havas Village.

The role:

• Playing a senior role in the public affairs and corporate communications arm of H/Advisors Cicero team within Havas Village Dublin
• Taking an active role in developing and winning domestic and global new business. Playing a key role in pitches, identifying, and converting perspective new business targets.
• Leading accounts and managing your account handling teams and account delivery.
• Developing and managing strategic and creative public affairs campaigns (legislative and non-legislative)
• Helping to grow the team and supporting junior member’s progress
• Key support for the Ireland Director.
• Helping to grow H/Advisors Cicero and Havas Village Dublin in Ireland

The ideal candidate will have:

• 4-6 years’ experience in public affairs, preferably in agency but in-house also accepted.
• A working knowledge of Irish political and regulatory system.
• Experience in new business and actively winning and growing new accounts
• Experience in healthcare public affairs a bonus and should be highlighted on application
• Experience in corporate communications in Ireland and/or other markets
• Good knowledge of EU public affairs a bonus

Key Competencies:

• An ambitious person who has the drive to drive a high growth potential part of the business
• A “get up and go” attitude.
• Excellent written and communication skills.
• Accuracy and attention to detail.
• Proven management and leadership skills with the desire to manage a team.
• Excellent relationship building skills.
• A strategic and entrepreneurial mind-set.

Salary

Competitive and dependent on experience.

Travel

Depending on where you are based, you will be required to travel to Brussels, Dublin, and London on an ad hoc basis.

Remote Working

You would begin your career with H/Advisors Cicero working remotely part-time and in the office two days a week. This is negotiable depending on the right candidates’ circumstances.

Equal opportunities

At H/Advisors Cicero, we pride ourselves on being committed to offering equal opportunities to all potential employees and have zero tolerance for discrimination. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity, disability, and other factors that have no bearing on an individual’s ability to perform their job.

Due to high volume of applications, only eligible or matching candidates will be contacted by us.

About Havas Village Dublin

Havas Village Dublin offers a unique proposition in the Irish market as it provides marketing, consulting, and communications services under one roof with the ability to bolt on international capabilities through an extensive global network under one PLN.

In Ireland, we offer a range of services within Havas Village delivered by our network of dedicated teams.

• Public affairs and corporate Communications delivered by H/Advisors Cicero
• Business Transformation consulting delivered by Gate One
• Media buying and advertising delivered by Havas Media
• Creative and digital delivered by Havas Creative

The Village model gives us the distinct advantage to both create and capture value for clients across the total marketing, consulting, and communications ecosystem.

About Havas Group – the Global Network

Havas Dublin is linked to 75 other Havas Villages across the world which gives us access to global talent, skills, and knowledge. We are owned by the French entertainment giant Vivendi which also allows us to draw on the groups’ media and creative content insights from the music, gaming, and film industries.

H/Advisors Cicero is looking for a dynamic Senior Account Executive to join its fast-growing EU Public Affairs team.

In this role, the successful candidate will work as a key member of our client account team, assisting with client management, account deliverables such as stakeholder mapping, drafting client briefing materials and organising meetings and events, policy research, and monitoring the busy EU Public Affairs landscape.

The successful candidate will deliver excellent insight and assist in providing strategic direction to our clients in a variety of sectors, including Fintech/Digital finance.

The team location and client delivery are in Brussels; however we would consider candidates based in London.

H/Advisors Cicero is an integrated communications agency based in London, Brussels and Dublin and is part of one of the world’s largest communications groups, Havas.

Key responsibilities:

• Coordinating and managing daily client deliverables.
• Organising meetings and client calls; writing and circulating meeting agendas and taking notes and action points in client calls and meetings.
• Being an active client facing team member on public affairs campaigns.
• Developing detailed knowledge of a number of policy and legislative issues around policy areas such as financial services, the digital economy and finance.
• Helping the team to develop Cicero/AMO’s external presence including drafting briefings for public distribution, generating marketing content, and supporting the development of our social media profile.
• Keeping up to date with political and current affairs and flagging important developments to the team and clients.
• Supporting the team in new business activity.

The ideal candidate will have:

• A strong interest in EU public affairs, fintech/digital finance current affairs.
• 2-3 years’ experience in a consultancy, European institution, trade association or equivalent organisation as an Account Executive/ Consultant or equivalent.
• Knowledge and experience of the EU legislative landscape and policy, financial services and/or digital single market related issues is essential.
• Experience in Brussels context.
• A “get up and go” attitude, ready to assist in a wide range of tasks, build networks and lead on specific projects, tasks, or policy areas.
• Ability and desire to continuously learn new areas of policy.
• Excellent written and communication skills.
• Excellent research skills.
• Planning and organisation skills.
• Accuracy and attention to detail.
• The working language of the office is English, and an additional language would be an asset.
• Cultural values; courage, innovation, collaboration, expertise, respect, and openness.

Equal opportunities

At H/Advisors Cicero we pride ourselves on being committed to offering equal opportunities to all potential employees and have zero tolerance for discrimination. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applicants irrespective of age, sex, race, ethnicity, disability, and other factors that have no bearing on an individual’s ability to perform their job.

Due to high volume of applications, only eligible or matching candidates will be contacted by us.