Niamh Fogarty joined Hanbury Strategy as an associate director in January 2020, having spent four years working in FTI Consulting’s strategic communications practice.
From advising companies as they campaign for change and tell their story, to working with an impressive team with a real diversity of knowledge and experience, Fogarty shares her insider insight into what it’s like to work in the communications team at Hanbury Strategy.
Niamh, tell us, what is the working culture like at Hanbury?
Over the past 18 months, Hanbury has grown significantly; we’ve continued to create new roles, hiring brilliant talent to help us expand our offering, and we’ve welcomed lots of new team members remotely. Since returning to the office, we’ve put in place a new flexible, hybrid working policy so that everyone is supported to work in a way that best accommodates their individual development, and all our new roles will have the option to work remotely.
What for you is the best thing about working there?
What initially attracted me to Hanbury was its unique blend of reputation expertise, campaigning experience and cutting edge political insight, delivered by an impressive team with a real diversity of knowledge and experience.
Apply for a communications role at Hanbury Strategy
What exciting projects are you working on at the moment?
We work with some of the fastest-growing companies and best-known brands in the world, advising companies as they campaign for change and tell their story. Whether that’s making the case for policy change that will help deliver net zero targets in a way that works for households, or announcing new investments in the UK’s most promising future growth industries, Hanbury is proud to work with a growing number of exciting companies with ambitious plans.
What do you love most about working in communications?
The pandemic forced brands, companies, consumers and policymakers to change the way they communicate with each other, and getting the right messages to the right audiences has never been so important. At Hanbury, we pride ourselves on our ability to take on new challenges, solve problems and deliver results. The diversity of clients and important issues we work across make our role as communicators and advisors interesting and meaningful.
You’ve been working in this industry for a number of years now - anything you’d like to change if you could?
Like so many industries, PR and public affairs still has lots of work to do to improve its diversity. Hanbury is an employer that is committed to making a difference and we work hard to create positive change by offering a range of different routes into the sector. This includes offering apprenticeships, creating jobs through Kickstart, and getting involved in industry-wide mentoring programmes.
What has been your biggest learning point from the pandemic?
Working remotely apart from colleagues throughout the pandemic was a challenge, but it really reinforced the importance of our company culture for the wellbeing of everyone in our team. We’ve always placed a strong emphasis on our Hanbury values, and maintaining this focus helped us make sure we didn’t lose the shared culture and experiences that attracts so many talented people to come and work with us.
Are you recruiting at the moment?
Yes - Hanbury is growing fast and we have a number of open roles on our careers page. We’re always keen to hear from people who share our values and are interested in joining us as we build one of the most exciting agencies in Europe right now.
What kind of people would love it here?
We look for people that are curious, driven, and enjoy working on challenging and exciting communication issues.
How does Hanbury look after its employees’ wellbeing?
Wellbeing is core to everything we do at Hanbury, especially as we continue to grow fast. We have a great people team who are always looking at how we can expand the range of resources we offer through our employee assistance programme, which covers tailored mental health support through to financial planning and bereavement counselling.
We regularly host external speakers and experts to learn from, we arrange team socials and events, and we've trained more than 10 mental health first aiders to help promote positive wellbeing, such as by hosting wellbeing breakfast chats and helping individuals when needed.
What top tips would you offer communications professionals eager to progress their careers at Hanbury?
At Hanbury, we reward people who are passionate about what they do, respect others, and work hard to help solve problems. We’re not afraid to take risks, and we look for people who enjoy working as a team to deliver results and influence change as much as we do!
Explore communications career opportunities at Hanbury Strategy
