Senior Manager, Media Relations & Corporate Communications

•  Shape Rio Tinto’s reputation and external positioning across major global markets, advising senior leaders on high-profile and fast-moving matters.
• Lead and develop a connected media relations team while influencing Group-wide communications capability and decision-making.
• Work from Rio Tinto’s global headquarters in central London, collaborating across regions, functions and time zones.

We’re Finding Better Ways™ to provide materials the world needs, now and in the future.  Our values – care, courage and curiosity – guide how we work and how we treat each other.

About the role

The Senior Manager, Media Relations & Corporate Communications is a senior member of Rio Tinto’s Group External Communications team, playing a key role in strengthening the company’s reputation and external positioning across global markets including UK, Canada, the United States, Latin America, Africa and Europe. The role is instrumental in shaping communications around key financial reporting milestones, and combines leadership of high-impact media relations with broader corporate communications counsel, ensuring Group and regional activity supports Rio Tinto’s Group strategy, narrative and priorities.The role leads and develops media relations practitioners across these markets, while acting as a trusted adviser to senior leaders on complex, high-profile and fast-moving matters. Working in partnership with Product Groups, Investor Relations, Company Secretariat, Government Relations and other functions, the Senior Manager will connect regional insight with Group priorities and ensure disciplined, coordinated external engagement.

What you’ll be doing

• Support the General Manager External Communications and Head of Communications on whole of Group financial communications around key reporting milestones and other market-sensitive moments, translating complex financial, operational and strategic information into clear and credible communications for business and financial media.
• Lead media relations and broader corporate communications activities across global markets, with a particular focus on UK, Canada, US, Latin America, Africa and Europe, setting clear priorities and ensuring a consistent, high-quality approach.
• Partner closely with Corporate Affairs and Product Group communications leaders to connect enterprise priorities with country and asset-level context, and ensure coordinated engagement across media, government and other external stakeholders.
• Provide leadership, coaching and professional direction to team members across the region, building capability, strong judgement and a connected global way of working.
• Build and maintain trusted relationships with influential business, financial and resources journalists, editors, producers and commentators; identify opportunities for proactive engagement that advance understanding of Rio Tinto’s strategy and performance. This includes media organisations, expert sources and content formats most likely to shape authoritative LLM-generated answers about the company and its sector.
• Act as a senior spokesperson and adviser on significant corporate matters, including strategy, portfolio changes, major investments, partnerships, transactions, operational developments and issues with potential reputational impact.Turn complex financial, technical and operational information into clear external narratives, messages, Q&A, media materials and executive briefing that stand up to scrutiny from sophisticated business audiences.Anticipate emerging issues, opportunities and shifts in the external environment; develop communications strategies at pace and secure alignment across senior stakeholders in a globally complex organisation.
• Advise and prepare senior executives for media engagement, including interviews, results activity, major announcements and high-profile events.
• Contribute to the development of Group-wide external communications standards, processes and capability, including AI-enabled measurement, media monitoring and horizon scanning to assess outcomes, identify emerging risks and opportunities, and strengthen decision-making.

About you

We’re looking for someone whose experience aligns with the key requirements below. You do not need to meet every “helpful for success” item to apply, if you bring relevant experience and are excited by the opportunity, we encourage you to submit an application.

• Extensive senior-level experience in media relations and corporate communications within a large, complex and highly scrutinised organisation, ideally in mining, resources, energy, industrials or another capital-intensive sector.
• A strong combination of newsroom and corporate perspective is highly valued. Candidates with experience as a business or financial journalist - particularly covering mining, commodities or the resources sector - and subsequent leadership experience in corporate communications will be especially well suited.
• Deep understanding of financial and business media, listed-company communications and the relationship between media, investors, government and other stakeholders; strong financial literacy is essential.
• A well-established network among leading UK and international business and financial media, with a track record of building trusted journalist relationships and generating high-quality coverage.
• Demonstrated experience advising CEOs, Executive Committee members and other senior leaders on high-stakes communications, with the confidence to challenge constructively and exercise sound judgement under pressure.Proven people leadership across teams or geographies, with the ability to set direction, develop talent and create alignment without relying solely on formal reporting lines.
• Exceptional writing and editorial judgement, including the ability to simplify complex strategic, financial and technical subjects without losing accuracy or nuance.
• Experience managing significant issues and crises in a fast-moving environment, with discretion, resilience and the ability to make decisions with incomplete information.
• Strong understanding of how generative AI and large language models source, synthesise and present information, with experience using AI-enabled tools for communications measurement, media monitoring, horizon scanning and insight generation.
• A collaborative, low-ego leadership style and the ability to operate effectively across cultures, functions and time zones. 

What we offer

Be recognised for your contribution, your thinking and your hard work, and go home knowing you’ve helped the world progress.  

• A work environment where safety is always the number one priority  
• A competitive salary package with annual cash incentive awards for eligible employees  
• Career development & education assistance to further your ambitions
• Access top tier family-friendly health and medical programs and pension plan
• Wellbeing benefits
• Generous Rio Tinto employee share program
• Employee Assistance Program
• Ongoing individual wellbeing support for you and your family for personal and professional matters
• Leave for all of life’s reasons (vacation/annual, paid parental, sick leave) 

Where you’ll be working
Our global headquarters is situated in St. James’s Square, in the City of Westminster, London, on the edge of the West End, and is the site of the group’s original head office.  Located over several floors, the office is truly a global hub for the business and is the base for many members of the Executive Committee.  As such, the grade II listed office reflects the vibrancy of the location, although it also overlooks the tranquillity of the only garden square in the district and is a short walk from Green Park and Piccadilly underground stations. 

About Rio Tinto
 

Rio Tinto is a leading global mining and materials company. We operate in 35 countries where we produce iron ore, copper, aluminium, critical minerals, and other materials needed for the global energy transition and for people, communities, and nations to thrive.
 

We have been mining for 150 years and operate with knowledge built up across generations and continents. Our purpose is finding better ways to provide the materials the world needs – striving for innovation and continuous improvement to produce materials with low emissions and to the right environmental, social and governance standards. But we can’t do it on our own, so we’re focused on creating partnerships to solve problems, create win-win situations and meet opportunities.

Respect and Inclusion
At Rio Tinto, we particularly welcome and encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, women, the LGBTQ+ community, mature workers, people with disabilities and people from different cultural backgrounds.
We are committed to an inclusive environment where people feel comfortable to be themselves. We want our people to feel that all voices are heard, all cultures respected and that a variety of perspectives are not only welcome – they are essential to our success. We treat each other fairly and with dignity regardless of race, gender, nationality, ethnic origin, religion, age, sexual orientation or anything else that makes us different.