Interview with Kate Jones, Director of Communications, Brand and Content at Macmillan Cancer Support

Kate Jones is an accomplished communications leader whose career has spanned global brands, high-profile PR agencies and the charity sector. From working on iconic brands like Barbie and Scrabble at Mattel to steering through the complexities of charity communications at Comic Relief and Macmillan Cancer Support, Kate’s journey has been anything but dull.

With her trademark directness and a knack for cutting through the noise, Kate shares her insights about balancing strategy, creativity, and compassion. We also discover how her hidden talent might just come in handy in a crowded meeting room!

1. Can you give us a brief overview of your career and why you made the moves you did?

I’ve been lucky to work for some incredible household names over the past couple of decades. My first proper job in communications was working in the press office for Mattel, where I was very spoiled to get to work on iconic global brands like Barbie and Scrabble. I moved into agency because all the career advice I’d had said I should aim for breadth of experience and agency was the most effective way to do that, and it was. I still got to work on some huge household names, but really cut my teeth working on campaigns and for organisations that weren’t as well known, and that taught me how to build an understanding of audience, tailor messages that would resonate, and push my creativity to come up with ideas that would keep journalists talking to me on the phone. I was most motivated by some of the more purpose-led work I got to take part in, and that’s what took me into the charity sector, where I’ve been for 15 years now.

2. Over the last 15 years, you have worked for two high-profile charities that have dealt with much scrutiny. What has been your biggest challenge?

All charities have been through a turbulent decade, with fundraising hit by a tough economic climate, and the number of people facing huge challenges and needing support from charities has also grown significantly. We’ll always prioritise championing the stories of the people we are here to serve, rather than helping the public understand and support how the charity landscape needs to change. So one of the biggest challenges is how we tell that balanced story to our supporters – about how we have most impact in a changing world, and how charities need to evolve to keep pace and stay relevant for our supporters and the people who rely on us. I’ve got some amazing peers in the sector who have really faced into how to tell the whole story, and that’s part of what keeps me here – there’s still so much to do.

3. Macmillan has recently undergone significant changes to become more performance-focused as part of its ‘open strategy’. How have you helped this challenging transformation?

Developing a new strategy, and transforming the organisation to deliver it, is the sort of work that can feel remote and like it’s the preserve of management types. But actually it’s the root of what everyone is showing up to work to do, and how we capture the magic of all that motivation and passion for supporting the millions of people who will get cancer. So my team’s job throughout has been to help tell that story, and keep that connection to our colleagues, partners, supporters and most importantly, to people with cancer. It’s been challenging work, but very rewarding too, and a personal highlight was seeing the thousands – and I do mean thousands – of opinions and ideas that came in through the open strategy coalesce into clear themes and priorities for how we’ll make a bigger difference into the future. It’s been a genuine collective effort and amazing to play a part in.

4. Can you share one of the most impactful campaigns you’ve worked on at Macmillan?

It wasn’t a full fat ‘campaign’, but one of the pieces of work I’m most proud of was called Let’s Talk About Death. It aimed to challenge the taboos around talking about dying, and the impact that can have on people who are nearing the end of their life due to cancer, and on their loved ones. Having been through several family bereavements, it was something I felt personally very invested in. Hearing from people with cancer who were facing their own death and wanting to have that conversation more openly to help them, and their loved ones, to prepare for it, felt like a real privilege. We had so many people come to us to say how much it had helped open up the conversation in their own lives. The death of a loved one changes you forever so to get an opportunity to help people with that experience was truly humbling.

5. We know you’re a fabulous comms professional with transferable skills. What’s your opinion on leaving the charity sector?

I’ve always been motivated by the power of an interesting challenge to tackle, and there are plenty of those in every sector, so I’ve always been more led by the role rather than the organisation or the sector. I spent a long time in the commercial sector and hope I’ll find my way back there one day because I don’t believe that the only way to make a difference is through working for a non-profit. As much as I love being part of the charity sector, I am jealous when I see peers get to tackle really interesting work which has a social impact element to it, through routes that aren’t available when you are working within the more constrained budgets of a charity.

6. What three greatest attributes have contributed to your career success?

I’m very direct – my colleagues might say too direct at times – but there is a lot of noise for us to cut through and sometimes my Yorkshire roots mean I can’t help but speak up. I’m pretty tenacious – hearing ‘that’s not possible’ just gives me more energy to find a way. And what I’d hope balances this is that I’m very person centred and love getting to know people and building relationships, so usually people forgive me for some of the first two!

7. What’s the best professional advice you’ve been given along the way, and by whom?

Have opinions but hold them loosely. It’s not weak to change your mind or admit you were wrong. Oh, and a former colleague had a sign over her desk that said ‘it’s PR, not ER’ – a great grounder on stressful days!

8. What or who inspires you, and why?

Always my colleagues. Everyone has an interesting story to tell if you’re open to listening.

9. If you hadn’t ended up working in comms, what was your Plan B?

I would love a job where you can be very creative and make beautiful and useful things. I can imagine that being so satisfying. Sadly I have no artistic talent at all so I get that outlet through doing crafts with my kids! I’m pretty nosy so maybe I’d have been a private detective.

10. Do you have any hidden talents?

I can wiggle my ears. When I was a kid somebody told me that our ancestors could do that to listen for danger from all directions, and it struck me that I could listen into interesting conversations on the bus better, so practiced until I could do it. See above comments regarding nosiness!

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