Interim PR Director & Strategic Communications Leadership
Many organisations need senior‑level PR and communications leadership, but not always on a permanent basis.
You might need to cover maternity leave, bridge a gap between hires, manage a period of rapid growth or build a communications function from the ground up and hand it over to an internal team once it is established.
I step in as an interim PR director to provide the strategy, structure and senior leadership you need during these periods, then step back when the time is right. Whether you are a CMO managing a transition, a founder preparing for a major launch or a senior leader entering new markets, the focus is on commercially minded communications that support your wider business and marketing goals.
Many CMOs, founders and senior leaders know they need stronger, more strategic PR and communications, but do not have the senior capacity or the right moment to hire permanently.
Why organisations bring in an interim PR director
Common situations where interim PR director support works well include:
1. Covering leave or transition
Maternity cover, sabbatical or a gap between a departing director and a new hire. You need someone senior to keep momentum, manage stakeholders and maintain standards while your permanent team changes.
2. Building a function and handing over
You are creating a communications capability for the first time or restructuring an existing team. An interim director can set up systems, shape the strategy, recruit and mentor the team, then hand over to a permanent head once the foundations are in place.
3. Managing change or growth
You are restructuring, integrating new businesses, preparing for a major product launch or entering new markets. You need senior PR leadership to guide the narrative, align internal and external messaging and keep communications on track during a busy period.
4. Stabilising and resetting
Your communications have become reactive or fragmented. An interim director can bring a fresh, mature perspective, clarify priorities, reset the plan and embed better ways of working so the team is stronger when you move forward.
Without senior PR leadership during these moments, teams can drift – chasing coverage, reacting to issues and juggling channels without a clear strategy aligned with company goals or priorities that support sales, manage reputation and demonstrate the value of communications to the wider business.
An interim PR director gives you senior expertise and leadership without the long‑term commitment of a permanent hire, helping you stabilise, build or accelerate your communications when it matters most.
What effective interim PR leadership looks like
In practice, successful interim assignments often focus on three areas.
1. Clarifying the story and priorities
The first step is usually to clarify what you want to be known for, who matters most and how communications can support your commercial and organisational goals.
That often means:
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sharpening your narrative and positioning
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simplifying key messages for different audiences and markets
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aligning PR and communications with marketing, sales and business plans
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making choices about where to focus – markets, sectors, products, issues and themes
I work with CMOs and senior teams to define or refine this story, stress‑test it against what is happening in your markets and turn it into compelling, practical messaging and content that supports your reputation across channels.
2. Creating a realistic, integrated plan
Once the story and priorities are clear, the next step is to build a plan your team can actually deliver.
This might include:
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an integrated PESO‑based plan that combines earned media, owned content, social, events and partnerships, along with shared and paid platforms
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internal communications plans aligned with strategy
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resetting how you measure impact, from vanity metrics to outcomes that matter to the business, such as awareness, perception, stakeholder engagement and pipeline
I help you shape a plan that matches your resources, budget and timelines, whether you have an in‑house team, agency partners or a mix of both, and ensure everyone is clear on roles, workflows and expectations
3. Leading, mentoring and embedding change
Strong interim leadership is not just about writing strategies. It is about helping people deliver and embed better ways of working, so the organisation is stronger when you hand over.
During an interim assignment, I can:
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lead on priority projects and campaigns
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act as a senior point of contact for media, analysts and stakeholders
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mentor and support team members, whether they are new to the role or stepping up
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work alongside marketing, HR and leadership teams to align messaging and embed new approaches
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recruit, onboard or brief new team members or agencies if you are building capacity
Over time, this helps shift communications from reactive activity to a more confident, proactive function that supports your growth, reputation and relationships and leaves your team in a stronger position when the interim period ends
Working together
If you need senior‑level PR and communications leadership but are not ready to recruit a permanent director, I offer interim PR director support tailored to your organisation, markets and timelines.
Assignments typically range from a few months of intensive support during a transition to longer arrangements where I work alongside your leadership and internal teams for an agreed number of days each month.
If you would like to explore how interim PR director support could work for your organisation – whether you are a CMO, founder or senior leader in an SME, trade show business or international brand – please get in touch to arrange an initial conversation. For more on choosing senior PR support, you can also read my blog post, How to Choose a PR Consultant or Agency