What was that about paying peanuts.....?

One of my bête noire’s is that the skills involved in managing celebrity relationships are not properly understood by some of the charity sector and frequently undervalued.  As a result jobs are advertised expecting the earth for money that simply doesn’t match.

I was disappointed today to have one such example pointed out to me.

The role is ‘Celebrity Liaison Assistant’.  Here’s some of what they’re looking for:

• experience gained in either a talent, media, PR or charity environment,
• hands on experience of working with celebrities and VIPS’s,
• good contacts with agents, publicists and artists
• strong and creative copy writing skills
• strong understanding of the digital media landscape
• strong influencing and negotiation skills

So not just doing the admin and supporting the team but actually doing some of the job then.

None of the above surprises me.  All perfectly sensible requirements.  That the job is an 11 month contract is fine.  What really surprises me is how much they want to pay for the role - £18.5kpa.

If they can find someone with that skill level (most of which only comes with experience) good luck to them, but it really doesn’t seem to match what they’re asking for.  By comparison one UK charity recently recruited a celebrity officer, working to a hugely experienced celebrity manager at £27k.  Two major charities are currently recruiting senior celebrity managers, who run teams, at over £40k.  In 2009 the Alzheimer's Society advertised a similar role, although with far less experience required, for £5k more

If the role is truly junior and they’re happy to recruit someone for whom this would be a second job then that’s fine, but I can’t see how someone like that will have all that they’re looking for.

Incidentally, I thought I’d look at what else is available in the area where the job was based.  Candidates might be interested to know there’s a job going as a van driver which pays more, or indeed a role as an assistant manager in a sandwich shop which has a similar salary. 

According to the GLA, the living wage in London back in May 2011 was £8.30 an hour or over £17k for a 40 hour week.  Not sure who they think is going to have that level of experience and then want to work for a smidgen over a basic living wage.

In my opinion they’ve either seriously over stated the skills required or they’ve drastically under valued the role.