Awards & Audience Development Executive

About us The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading news organisations, globally recognised for its authority, integrity and accuracy, with a mission to deliver quality information and services worldwide. At the FT, curiosity thrives and ambitious thinking is rewarded. Here, you’re given the chance to reach millions, create work that matters and deliver impartial journalism in a polarised world. In our warm, collaborative culture, you’ll connect with a diverse community of experts who support your growth, career aspirations and wellbeing. Your future at the FT will be filled with opportunities that challenge and inspire you. With no fixed path, you’ll discover new skills and forge a career that can take you anywhere. Build a newsworthy career at the FT. Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion We believe in the power of unique perspectives and want all voices in our organisation to be heard, respected and valued. A supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves and operate to their full potential. We are committed to removing barriers for everyone, with a focus on addressing those faced by underrepresented groups. The Role FT Specialist provides specialist insight and global intelligence from the Financial Times. Made up of 16 brands and around 270 people worldwide, it serves niche professional audiences with information and services that help them make better decisions. FT Live is the global conferences and events division of the Financial Times Group. Its portfolio includes senior-level summits, conferences, awards programmes and digital events that bring together influential audiences across industries and regions. Awards are an important and growing part of the FT Specialist Events portfolio, recognising excellence across the industries we serve while strengthening relationships with our audiences and supporting our brand authority. We are looking for an Awards & Audience Development Executive to support the delivery and continued growth of awards programmes across multiple sectors and regions. Reporting to the Head of Awards Marketing, you will play a key role in increasing submissions by identifying and engaging prospective entrants, building relationships with organisations and supporting entrants throughout the submission process. This is a proactive, commercially focused role combining entrant acquisition and relationship management with hands-on awards co-ordination. You will be a key point of contact for prospective and confirmed entrants, helping them navigate the entry process while monitoring submissions to ensure entries are complete and provide judges with the information they need to make informed decisions. Your work will contribute directly to submission growth, audience development and the overall commercial performance of the awards portfolio. Key Responsibilities Support the end-to-end delivery of multiple awards programmes running concurrently throughout the year. Proactively drive submissions across the FT Specialist awards portfolio, working towards agreed entry and participation targets. Research and identify prospective entrants, organisations and relevant contacts across different sectors and markets. Develop targeted outreach to engage new and existing organisations and encourage participation. Build and maintain strong relationships with prospective and confirmed entrants through regular, personalised communication. Guide organisations through the entry process, answering questions and helping them understand category criteria and submission requirements. Proactively follow up with prospective entrants and organisations that have started submissions to help maximise completed entries. Monitor entries and review submissions for completeness and adherence to entry requirements, collaborating closely with entrants where information is missing or further detail is required. Maintain accurate records of entrants, organisations, contacts and submissions across awards platforms and internal systems. Monitor progress against submission targets and identify programmes or categories requiring additional activity. Highlight opportunities to expand participation across new companies, sectors and markets. Work closely with the Head of Awards Marketing to ensure awards timelines are met and highlight opportunities to support continued portfolio growth. Share entrant feedback and market insights to help improve categories, processes and the overall entrant experience. Develop long-term relationships with key organisations to encourage repeat participation and engagement across the wider awards portfolio. Required Skills and Experience A proactive and highly organised approach, with the ability to handle multiple projects and priorities simultaneously. Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with confidence building relationships with professionals across a range of organisations and levels of seniority. A commercially minded approach and an understanding of how strong audience engagement and relationship management can contribute to business growth. Confidence proactively contacting prospective entrants by email, phone and other appropriate channels. Strong research skills, including the ability to identify relevant organisations and contacts within target markets. Excellent attention to detail and a commitment to accuracy, particularly when reviewing submissions and maintaining records. Strong written communication and copywriting skills. Ability to build positive working relationships with external customers and internal stakeholders. Initiative, persistence and the ability to work independently while contributing effectively as part of a team. Strong organisational and project management skills. Confidence working with data to monitor progress and inform activity. Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, particularly Excel or Google Sheets. Desirable Experience in events, awards, marketing, audience development or customer engagement. Experience in a relationship management, business development, marketing or other commercially focused role. Experience working in media, publishing or a B2B environment. Experience using awards, CRM, marketing automation or event registration platforms. Experience conducting targeted audience, organisation or company research. What's in it for You? Our benefits vary by location but we are committed to providing best-in-class perks across all our offices. These include generous annual leave, medical cover, inclusive parental leave packages, subsidised gym memberships and opportunities to give back to the community. Full details of our benefits are available here. We currently operate a hybrid model which requires staff to work onsite 50% of the time, subject to role requirements & regular review. While flexible working requests will be considered, not all patterns are suitable for all roles. We believe this balanced approach supports flexibility and protects our culture, making collaboration and communication easier, building stronger relationships and team cohesion, and supporting peer learning. We reserve discretion on reasonable notice to change this approach either generally or for specific individuals or teams. Accessibility We are a disability confident employer and Valuable 500 signatory. Please let us know if you require any reasonable adjustments/personalisation as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements or have any questions, email talent@ft.com and a member of our team will be happy to help. Further information At the FT, we embrace innovation and the use of technology and appreciate that individuals may use AI tools as part of their job application process. Whilst we are happy for you to use AI to assist with your application, it is essential that all information provided is authentic and accurately represents your skills, experience, and qualifications. Candidates should be aware that the use of AI throughout the application process may be monitored to ensure a fair and transparent hiring process for all. Please beware of fraudulent job postings and offers claiming to be from the Financial Times. All legitimate opportunities will direct you to apply through the official Financial Times careers site, and the FT will never ask for financial information, payments, or referrals to third parties during the hiring process. If you have any concerns about the legitimacy of a job posting or suspect any scam activity, please contact talent@ft.com. Interested in the FT but don’t see the right role yet? Join our Talent Community to receive exclusive updates, featured jobs, and insights into working at the FT.