Crisis Media Management

The Northern Lighthouse Board is looking to award a contract for the provision of Crisis Media Management to commence July 2026 for a period of 4 years.

The service to be provided is Crisis Media Management and associated support to NLB, in the event of a serious incident. The successful contractor will be required to be on call 24 hours / 365 days per annum, including leap years.

In the event of a serious incident, the contractor will be expected to:

•Provide a full press office service with a dedicated phone line for dealing with media enquiries. This will also include management of NLB’s social media channels and website.

•Advise and support NLB spokespeople on dealing with the media.

•Provide a media adviser at the scene or close to the scene of the incident to deal with the media and to provide support to NLB spokespeople.

•NLB will provide the contractor with key staff contact information and general information about its assets. It will be NLB’s responsibility to update this information. The contractor must hold this information on a strictly confidential basis, and it must only be used in the event of incidents or exercises following NLBs written or verbal instructions. Please detail how the information will be stored/managed.

•The contractor will be required to hold and update a list of media contacts.

•The contractor will be responsible for providing NLB with up-to-date details of their advisors.

Ad-hoc Requirements

In addition to the above, you may also be required to provide the following:

Support for NLB’s Communication Officer

From time to time, the Communications Officer may require guidance on managing negative engagement on social media or in the press. While these situations may not constitute a full crisis, they can still pose a risk to NLB’s reputation and therefore benefit from timely support and advice.

Media Training for NLB spokespeople

This is to equip NLB spokespeople with the skills and strategies to handle interviews, press conferences, and public statements with confidence and to communicate key messages clearly, stay on track under pressure, respond to challenging questions, and present themselves in a credible, engaging way across TV, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Exercise

These will take place at either NLB’s headquarters in Edinburgh or at the Oban Base.