Communications officer jobs

Digital Communications Officer

£27,693 - £31,173 (plus London weighing if applicable)

Location : Based out of any of the WEA offices, with Hybrid working available. Typically 2 days in the office. Arrangements to be made locally. 

The WEA is the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult education, a charity dedicated to bringing high quality, professional education into the heart of communities.   

Job Description 

WEA are looking for talented individuals to help us deliver our mission – to bring education within reach. If that sounds like you, then please read on. 

 As the Digital Communications Officer, you will play a vital role in enabling the WEA to meet our mission to bring adult education within reach of everyone who needs it, fighting inequality and promoting social justice.

The post holder will be responsible for supporting the Digital Branding Manager with the delivery of impactful digital campaigns (web, social media, email marketing, PR/comms) that focus on promoting our work to a variety of audiences and stakeholders, enabling us to create change for thousands of adult learners across England and Scotland. There will be a particular focus on social media within this role – you would be the WEA social media guru!

This role isn’t about marketing WEA courses, it’s about showcasing the impact of lifelong learning, growing our membership and influencing decision makers and the public. This role would suit a self-starter with knowledge and experience of the social media and digital communications landscape and can think big picture about campaigning activity. We are looking for someone who can film and edit social media content to a high standard as we look to grow our in-house produced social content.

Charity comms experience and experience of working within a charity/non-profit would be an advantage. We are a new team with high ambitions and exciting challenges looking for a creative storyteller who can shape our voice, drive conversations around our work and grow our reach.

We have attached the full role profile, that lists the key deliverables, performance measures and experience/qualifications needed for this role. Please take your time to read through this, and if you’d like to apply, hit that button! 

We are working hard to create a workplace that reflects the communities we seek to serve and in which everyone feels empowered to be themselves and work together to drive positive change. We strongly encourage applicants from a diverse range of candidates and encourage everyone with the appropriate skills, experiences and potential to apply. 

Should you need any support with your application, then please get in touch.     We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible 

 In our recent OFSTED inspection, we received a GOOD overall grade, with an OUTSTANDING rating for Behaviour and Attitudes and Personal Development. 

You can read more about our benefits and what it’s like to work here, on our website 

Please note: the deadline for applications has been extended to the 15th February at 23:59. 

We are looking for a creative communications professional with an interest in monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL), or vice versa. You will help embed more consistent, robust 

approaches to evidence, learning and communications across the organisation, with the aim of improving service quality and better demonstrating our impact to our community, partners and funders. 

This is a 12-month fixed-term role, with the primary goal of strengthening our communications and supporting our MEL processes across the organisation. There may be potential to extend the contract, depending on organisational needs and funding. 

You will be well supported by the Head of Programmes and Impact and work closely with Programme Managers to support the collection of impact data in meaningful ways — not just to meet funder requirements, but to inform learning and improve delivery. You’ll work closely with our Advocacy, Research and Campaigns manager to support the delivery of strategic communications and will play a key role in communicating our impact - using our branding guidelines - via social media channels, our website and internally. 

This is a great opportunity for someone who is excited about making data meaningful and useful for social justice work and understands the power of communicating impact via visual and social media. You are comfortable working in multicultural and multilingual settings and have a track record of working in MEL or in communications. While we’re looking for someone who can take initiative and contribute from early on, we’ll make sure you have the support you need to get to know our work and succeed in the role.

Key responsibilities

Communications 

• Take a lead on content creation for IRMO’s social media and website, writing engaging, accessible copy and creating engaging visuals suitable for a range of audiences 

• Work with the programmes team to create impactful content communicating impact data and learnings to all IRMO stakeholders

• Support with the management of IRMO’s website

• Helping to build an internal understanding of how effectively evaluating our activities supports the delivery of our communications and wider organisational objectives

Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning 

• Support teams with day-to-day data collection, in line with project and funding requirements.

• Collect qualitative data to generate useful insight and evidence e.g. through interviews or case studies 

• Contribute to funding applications with relevant data and impact evidence.

• Support the coordination of external impact reporting to funders and stakeholders 

• Support quarterly and annual reporting across programme areas 

• Support internal learning processes through participatory evaluations, feedback tools and workshops 

Person specification

Essential 

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English and good communication skills in Spanish or Portuguese

• 2+ years experience in a MEL, research or communications role, ideally in a community or non-profit setting

• Strong analytical skills, including experience using digital tools to manage and analyse data such as spreadsheets, databases and survey platforms

• Excellent interpersonal skills – able to work collaboratively, build relationships across teams

• Commitment to IRMO’s values, including anti-racism, anti-oppression, and community-led approaches, and an understanding of the issues facing migrant communities in the UK – particularly Latin Americans

Desirable 

• Experience in using Canva, Adobe tools or similar to design engaging and creative graphics for social media or printed materials

• Experience using CRM systems such as Views, Salesforce or Dynamics 365 

• Experience working with both quantitative and qualitative data to generate learning, demonstrate impact and inform-decision making 

• Experience facilitating learning and reflection processes, supporting services to adapt based on evidence

• Understanding of data protection standards (including GDPR) and ethical MEL or communications practices

We aim at all times to recruit the person most suited to the job and welcome applications from people of all backgrounds. We particularly encourage applications from people who identify as members of minoritised groups, and from Latin Americans and people with lived experience of the immigration and asylum system, to reflect the community we serve. 

The Multiple System Atrophy Trust (MSA Trust) is the UK and Eire’s leading national charity offering vital support to people affected by MSA – a terminal neurodegenerative disease. 

About the Role

To lead on the Trust’s Policy and Communications work. To ensure our strategy and work in this area is led by the specific needs of people affected by MSA. This will require effective contact between the Trust and people affected by MSA, a range of health and care professionals; in order to develop their engagement in a professional and supportive way. To be an ambassador for change in wider society, working in the best interests of people affected by MSA. To develop and ensure effective external communications and dialogue with people affected by MSA and facilitate positive collaboration with other relevant agencies and policymakers. To co-ordinate marketing and clear messaging to key stakeholders.

To promote the development of this element of work within the MSA Trust, which may include future line management responsibility as the work develops.

Key Responsibilities:

• Work with the CEO, internal teams, Services Committee, and other colleagues to set and deliver an integrated Policy and External Communications strategy for the MSA Trust. 
• Be responsible for the development and delivery of an operational plan with targets and be accountable for the budget in this area.
• Lead on policy and campaigning work, ensuring priorities reflect the views of people with MSA.
• Be responsible for the Trust’s external communications and messaging.  
• Be responsible for ensuring that the development and output of our communications and policy work are inclusive and reflect the diversity of our MSA community.
• Play a key role in the development and effectiveness of national and local voluntary networks that support shared ambitions for the neurology sector.
• Play a key role in the production of MSA News – the Trust’s flagship publication for members.
• Work closely with colleagues to ensure our services are compliant with relevant policies, procedures and relevant legislative frameworks.
• Create positive relationships with MSA Trust colleagues, Trustees, and external networks to share knowledge, insight and evidence.

General Responsibilities

• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the level of the role.
• Embrace diversity and share in the MSA Trust’s commitment to equality of opportunity and to eliminating discrimination.
• Work closely with the Fundraising Team to build fundable propositions and build relationships with supporters.
• Use the charity’s resources efficiently and effectively to ensure that our financial resources are demonstrably used for the benefit of our service users.
• Ensure that information is obtained, used and stored in accordance with our Data Protection and Confidentiality policies.
• Maintain compliance and adherence with all processes to ensure good governance.
• Develop a deep understanding of the issues facing people affected by MSA across the UK and Ireland, including the Health, Social Care and Welfare landscape.

We will not accept applications without a covering statement. Please ensure in your covering letter you mention any dates you might not be available for interview.

We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are committed to equality, diversity, and inclusion.