Kirstie Dive
Bring people with you
Communication strategy, management and creative delivery for leaders, project teams and agents of change
'Kirstie has an exceptional ability to distil complex strategic information into a clear, compelling, and accessible narrative.' Investor Relations Director, Future Publishing PLC
Offering high-quality, versatile communication expertise, I can help:
Define your strategy
What are your communications objectives and what's the plan?
Launch new visions or strategies and embed change
Tune into audiences
What do people think and feel? Want to hear? What will resonate?
Listen via focus groups and interviews to understand how to connect
Bring more clarity
What do you want to say? How can you be coherent and authentic?
Hammer out key messages and agree how to articulate them
Inject creativity
How will you bring your story to life? Catch attention? Inspire action?
Create campaigns and multi-channel content
'Kirstie is exceptional to work with... a complex brief involving a range of partner organisations, bringing insight, design flair, facilitation skills. The result was effective and appealing.' Project Director, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire NHS and Care
What qualifies me?
Over a decade as a freelance communication consultant developing campaign content and interim communications management for a range of private and public sector clients.
Seven years in-house leading Internal Communication teams, managing channels and launching new structures and strategies for a major national charity and a government agency.
Ten years honing my editorial and marketing communication skills, working for a global professional services firm and for commercial publishing houses in New York and London.
'One of our most effective internal communications campaigns ever! Your really professional and challenging partnership helped us refine and shape our messages and is a big part of the reason for its success.' Operations Director, The National Trust
Kirstie Dive
Bring people with you
The way I work
The busier we get, the harder it is to step into someone else's shoes. Good communication is not just making an announcement when something's done: 'Tah dah!'It's about involving people in the process, calibrating what you say and how you say it to fit your audience. It's back and forth; it's challenge. More like baking bread than pulling a rabbit out of a hat.That's why not every bit of communication can be automated. It's a craft. The AI version may sound slick. But does it mean anything? And aren't we getting a bit bored of bland?Much cheaper than Saatchi...I'll help you catch attention in a way that means more. And, as one long-term client said, I'm 'much cheaper than Saatchi'.
'Her understated but highly professional personal style always ensures there is maximum buy in.' HR Director, University of Exeter
Kirstie Dive
Bring people with you
Portfolio
Developing organisational narratives
Most organisations have a polished organisational strategy. But what's really going on around here? And what's driving change?I've developed narratives for: Future Publishing PLC, University of Exeter, Office of Rail and Road. I gathered views and stories, then wrote, presented and produced content to bring this to life.
Developing internal communication strategy
I've developed or overseen internal communication strategies for the National Trust, the Environment Agency and Curo social housing and provided interim Internal Communications leadership at the Royal Mail.I've also led focus groups to inform the internal communication strategies for various clients, including Shell (Global), Heathrow Express and Lloyds Pharmacy.
An outcome of focus groups for Curo social housing was a radical new approach to their colleague conference, achieving a 95% positive rating.
Developing Employer Value Propositions
Following work on the University of Exeter's Employer Brand, I was appointed to develop the Employer Value Proposition for a regional NHS and CARE system. Having defined the proposition, I co-ordinated three council teams, care teams and a multi-channel recruitment campaign.
'A track record of delivering exceptional communications. What's so helpful is her ability to hone, challenging us to come up with the simplest, most effective results, jargon free and in the right tone of voice.' Brand Manager, the National Trust
Communicating new visions, values and change
I've worked on change projects for Buro Happold Engineering, the National Trust, the University of Exeter, the Environment Agency. As well as designing detailed change communication plans, I've translated complex information to explain the big picture of change and lay out new ways of working, through guides and training modules.
'It looks absolutely bloody awesome. How the heck did you pull that out of the bag?!' Author and explorer, Lisa Drewe
Engaging people with a big new idea
Sometimes the hardest thing to do is bottle your idea. I've worked with project directors, founders and professors to define and describe their idea and then wrap it up into a presentation, animation, booklet, landing page, video, or campaign.Clients have included the University of Derby, Newleaf Sustainability Practice, the explorer and author Lisa Drewe and multiple National Trust project directors and managers.
'This is rather wonderful. I love the way you've turned your in-depth science into something so practical, accessible and beautiful. I'm sure we will be using it a lot.' Stakeholder, Natural England