Manager - Branding & Communications

Job Description JOB DESCRIPTION Manager, Branding & Communications Department: CEO Desk Location: RTIH Hub Amaravati (Onsite) Reports to: Head Incubation/ Strategic Initiatives & Impact Lead Entity: Ratan Tata Innovation Hub (RTIH) 1. Role Summary The Manager Branding & Communications will serve as the operational lead and principal driving force of the RTIH Group Branding Committee, responsible for shaping and implementing RTIH's statewide brand strategy and communication framework. This role ensures consistent, credible, policy-compliant branding and messaging across all RTIH Spokes, manages media and PR activities, builds RTIH's public presence, and safeguards its institutional reputation across digital, print, and broadcast channels. The Manager will lead the development of RTIH's brand identity, manage all media content and approvals, coordinate statewide content flow, and maintain strict adherence to the RTIH Media, Branding & PR Policy (v0.4) . 2. Key Responsibilities A. Strategic Brand Leadership - Act as the primary operational leader of the Group Branding Committee, driving agenda, execution, compliance, and quarterly reviews. - Lead the creation and continual refinement of RTIH's statewide branding framework. - Ensure brand integrity across all Hub and Spoke activities, campaigns, documents, and digital assets. - Maintain and manage the Brand Asset Repositorylogo, templates, colour palette, typography, identity guidelines. B. Public Relations, Media & Government Communication - Serve as RTIH's central PR execution lead, coordinating all media activities through authorised spokespersons (Group CEO, Spoke CEOs). - Draft, manage and release press notes, media kits, official announcements, and talking points. - Build RTIH's media ecosystem, including print, TV, digital, and startup/economic development journalists. - Align all announcements with the mandated RTIH PR Calendar. - Ensure government taglines (An AP Government Initiative) and department compliance as per policy. C. Social Media & Digital Communications - Own and manage all official RTIH social media and website content, ensuring compliance with the centralised posting rule (Spokes cannot run independent accounts). - Lead the content approval workflow: Draft Branding Committee Review HeadPartnerships Approval Publish. - Create high-quality digital content: videos, graphics, infographics, founder stories, programme highlights, event coverage. D. Spoke Coordination This role holds full responsibility for content flow from all RTIH Spokes. - Establish a structured content pipeline by working with all 5 Spoke CEOs and their local communication teams. - Train Spoke teams on branding compliance, content formatting, templates, and visual identity rules. - Collect, verify, clean, and standardise content from Spokes for Hub-level publication. - Review all Spoke-submitted materials before they are sent to the Branding Committee for clearance. - Ensure Spokes maintain documentation, event photos, videos, press clippings, and success stories in the required formats. E. Event Branding & Campaigns - Lead branding for major events: Innovation Summits, Demo Days, MoU ceremonies, hackathons. - Approve all event collaterals: backdrops, banners, decks, brochures, registration pages, social banners. - Maintain correct brand hierarchy for partner logos (RTIH first) as per policy. - Maintain the Event Branding Register and monitor compliance statewide. F. Crisis Communication & Reputation Management - Serve as a first-responder for communication-related risks or reputational issues. - Notify HeadPartnerships & Group CEO immediately per crisis protocols. - Prepare quick-response public statements, FAQs, and controlled messaging. - Maintain the Crisis Communication Log and lead the post-crisis review process. G. Brand Monitoring, Reporting & Compliance - Maintain: - Monthly media sentiment dashboards - Brand Compliance Audit Reports - Social media analytics - Event documentation logs - Spoke content pipelines - Violation registers, as required under policy - Present quarterly reports to the Group Branding Committee and HeadPartnerships. 3. Qualifications & Experience Essential - Bachelor's degree in Journalism, Mass Communication, Public Relations, Marketing, Design, or related fields. - 47 years of experience in: - PR or Media - Corporate or Government Communications - Branding & Design - Large-scale multi-office communication management - Strong command of English & Telugu. Preferred - Experience working with Govt departments or public sector programmes. - Experience in innovation/startup ecosystems. - Experience as a communications lead handling multi-stakeholder coordination. 4. Skills & Competencies - Strong leadership with ability to drive committee processes. - Excellent PR instincts & strategic communication skills. - Strong stakeholder-management across multiple districts & institutions. - Exceptional writing and storytelling ability. - High design literacy and attention to detail. - Crisis communication maturity. - Ability to enforce compliance while building collaborative rapport. - Extreme reliability and deadline discipline. 5. KPIs (First 12 Months) - 100% brand compliance at Hub and Spokes (Quarterly audits). - Robust statewide content pipeline with timely flow from all 5 Spokes. - Significant national- and state-level media coverage of RTIH activities. - Monthly social media growth aligned with targets. - Smooth branding execution of 20+ statewide events. - Zero unauthorised media interactions or content releases. - Two major statewide campaigns delivered (e.g., Innovation Summit, AP Innovation Week). 6.Compensation: 10-12 LPA CTC based on interview & experience. This is inclusive of a performance-linked max 15% annual bonus.