London boroughs can be among the most demanding environments in which for media & communications professionals to operate.  The real-world challenges, diverse stakeholder groups, budgetary pressures and complex political landscapes combine to create workplaces that can test even the most experienced of practitioner.

After struggling to source and retain the calibre of external communications support it required to support an ambitious growth agenda, one London local authority partnered with VMA GROUP’s Ben Mitchell in 2022 to help it build out a new-look function.

With an initial brief to identify three senior interim professionals, Ben worked closely with line managers but particularly with the authority’s Head of Strategic Communications & Engagement and soon things began to take shape.

“The level of support [we have received] has been outstanding. Our consultant has been in constant contact with us and really took time to understand our challenges, the skillsets we needed and the requirement to move quickly. Other agencies had been unable to supply a good enough field of candidates for several months. Through VMA GROUP/Ben, we filled all our open roles and saw a great team taking shape.”
Head of Strategic Communications & Engagement

Further briefs followed at a range of levels on an interim & FTC basis, covering a wide range of communications disciplines including media relations, crisis management, campaigns and digital. In short time, the burgeoning team began to see significant gains not only in engagement but also its own credibility and results.

“Ben helped us to build a genuinely first-class communications function in difficult circumstances, creating an interim team at short notice that felt permanent and achieved great success. Working with VMA GROUP has been a fantastic experience, not only for us as a recruiting organisation but also for the staff we have appointed through them.”

Head of Strategic Communications & Engagement​