Friday, 18 September · 3:00–4:30 PM (GMT+2) · Live on Zoom · 10€ (free for CommsCOM.org Pro members)
The comms job market has changed, and it isn’t changing back. Full-time roles are harder to find and more contested than they were even two years ago. Fewer permanent positions, more applicants per opening, and AI now doing work that used to justify a headcount. If you’ve felt that squeeze, you’re not alone. That is the dominant shared experience in many conversations happening in CommsCOM. The growing community of around 1,000 communicators from around the globe.
What is replacing many of the former full-time comms jobs in organisations and companies? Fractional roles, retainers, part-time freelancers, and boutique consultancies, working sometimes solo or with small, agile teams. This new reality in the comms sector in 2026 is pushing many professionals to pivoting away from full-time, in-house roles. Those of us who want to keep working in comms, we need to build resilience, nurture creativity and be open to new ways of working and collaborating.
Getting freelance and retainer work isn’t easy either. The market is under strain, competition is high, and nobody hands you a manual on how to become a successful freelancer. Work opportunities don’t come to you; you have to find them, apply and win them!
Requests for Proposals (RFPs), tenders, and bids are how a big share of this work actually gets allocated by international organisations, NGOs, corporates, and public institutions alike. Yet, unless you’ve done it before, the process can feel opaque and too complex. Finding where these opportunities are even posted, what a strong response looks like, and how to compete against larger agencies and consultancies who have been doing this for a for longer can all make for a high barrier of entry for those trying to get into public tendering.
CommsCOM.org First Monthly Expert Talk
To open the CommsCOM.org Expert Talk series, we’re hosting a live, practical session on How to Get Clients With Tenders & RFPs.
Âli Okumuşoğlu, founder of Dante Media and a communication consultant who has built his own brand & communication consulting agency in part through winning RFPs and tenders, will walk through the essentials: where to find these opportunities, what makes a proposal competitive, and how to apply with a realistic shot at winning. The session is live, with real-time Q&A, and moderated by Mariana Castaño Cano, founder of CommsCOM.org and 10 Billion Solutions.
Registration
The CommsCOM.org Monthly Expert Talks are mainly thought for the community members at no extra cost, as part of their membership but we want to share knowledge and skills with as many of those who need them to thrive in their comms career. That is why we have opened the talk to all comms pros through a single Expert Talk Pass (10€).
- What: Get Clients With Tenders & RFPs, the first Monthly Expert Talk with Q&A
- Speaker: Âli Okumuşoğlu, Founder, Dante Media
- Moderator: Mariana Castaño Cano, CommsCOM.org & 10 Billion Solutions
- When: Friday, 18 September 2026, 3:00–4:30 PM (GMT+2)
- Where: Live on Zoom — link sent to registered attendees
- Cost: 10€ (Expert Talk Pass) · Free for CommsCOM.org Pro members
