Olympics PR professionals create waves in job market

An exodus of ‘big draw’ Olympics PR professionals into the private sector jobs market is taking place as the Games comms machine is dismantled this week.

A glut of CVs is hitting the comms world as Olympics-related contracts come to an end at agencies, sponsors and organising bodies. Seventy-five members of LOCOG’s press team alone are now seeking fresh opportunities.

PRWeek can reveal that the top-level post-Games moves are being led by the BBC’s head of marketing and comms for London 2012 Louisa Fyans, who has taken a top role as a director at Pitch PR.

After leading the broadcaster’s Olympics comms, Fyans is leaving in December after 11 years at the BBC to join Henry Chappell’s sports PR agency.

Chappell, CEO of Pitch, praised Fyans’ ‘excellent track record’, not only for her work during the Olympics but also across major sport events and various BBC departments.

Fyans revealed that five other Olympics-related comms colleagues are ending their BBC contracts and seeking agency or in-house roles.

Recruitment firms have reported that Games-related CVs started being passed to them as early as mid-August, but the influx is now far greater as the majority of LOCOG’s 100-strong team leave their paid roles this week.

Tanya Ferris, MD of comms recruitment specialist Unicorn Jobs, told PRWeek: ‘After the success of the summer that Games experience is a big draw.’

The most senior comms figures around the Olympics, such as LOCOG’s director of comms and public affairs Jackie Brock-Doyle and head of PR and media Joanna Manning-Cooper, are expected to stay until the end of the year.

Observers noted, like the raft of senior communicators to leave the civil service in recent times, they will be in particularly high demand from leading FMCG brands.

LOCOG’s press team

LOCOG’s permanent team of around 100 was boosted by another 100 volunteers for the Games itself.

Separate to this was another department, press operations, which was overseen by Jayne Pearce and drew in around 2,000 volunteers.
 
LOCOG dealt with 25,000 media-accredited members of the press during the Olympics.

This article was first published on prweek.com