Head Of Communications And External Affairs Jobs in Cardiff, Wales
Senior Communications Officer
Location: Remote (with occasional travel)
Salary: £34,200
Length of contract: Permanent
Hours per week: 37
Interviews: 15th & 16th May
Who are Women’s Aid?
Women’s Aid is the national charity working to end domestic abuse against women and children. We are a federation of over 170 organisations which provide just under 300 local lifesaving services to women and children across England. For almost 50 years we have campaigned on behalf of our members and survivors to shape policy and practice, and to raise awareness of domestic abuse.
Purpose of the Senior Communications Officer role:
As Senior Communications Officer, the successful candidate will be a creative, agile and impactful professional, who will play a pivotal role in shaping Women’s Aid’s communications campaigns, working closely with the Communications Manager and the Head of Media, Brand and Relationships. The successful candidate will take the lead on generating creative, engaging content and ideas for Women’s Aid communications – including major campaign moments and brand awareness. Working across all external channels, including traditional media and social media, you will curate compelling stories that build our profile and target key audiences in our mission to keep women and children safe from domestic abuse. You’ll be joining us at an exciting time, as we mark our 50th Birthday with some powerful campaigns and engagement.
Key duties and responsibilities of the Senior Communications Officer:
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To be the key communications officer representing the communications team, developing the key messaging of external campaigns, brand-building and communications for the organisation and developing public awareness of these.
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To lead on planning, drafting and implementing a communications plan for Women’s Aid key communications campaigns such as International Women’s Day, 16 Days, as well as wider organisational projects, incorporating press and social media and providing media support as required.
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To develop relevant media and social media contacts, as well as contacts in the sector, to maximise the reach and coverage of key communications campaigns as well as wider organisational projects.
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To work with colleagues to ensure the campaigns take an intersectional approach and centres the most marginalised voices.
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To work with a diverse range of survivor case studies and media spokespeople, including Women’s Aid member organisations, and to ensure they are treated in an appropriate and safe manner.
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To help identify both proactive and reactive media opportunities.
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To write blogs, news articles and promotional copy for Women’s Aid.
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To proof and typeset publications as required.
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To be part of the communications team out-of-hours on call rota for media calls.
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To line manage the Junior Communications Officer
What we are looking for in our Senior Communications Officer:
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At least two years experience working in communications/journalism/publications or similar.
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Experience of liaising with a variety of individuals and organisations of all seniorities, internally and externally.
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Experience of maintaining systems for information storage and retrieval.
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Experience of online communications/websites/social media, including Content Management Systems.
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Experience delivering public-facing campaigns with a range of stakeholders.
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Experience in getting effective PR results.
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Ability to produce high quality written material, for copy writing, copy editing and publicity materials, posters and press releases.
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Capable of translating complex information into audience-friendly messages.
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Ability to carry out a range of research and information-gathering activities.
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IT skills, including accurate data inputting skills, ability to use Microsoft programmes, understanding of Content Management Systems and troubleshooting simple website problems, and willingness to learn new packages and IT skills as required.
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Ability to communicate sensitively with survivors of domestic violence to discuss case studies.
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Ability to work on own initiative and prioritise work, work to tight deadlines and respond to urgent unplanned demands.
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An understanding of public affairs and the role that campaigning plays.
Benefits of joining us as our Senior Communications Officer include:
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Generous Annual Leave: 25 days + 2 Company Holidays + 8 UK Bank Holidays, with an extra 1 day per year after 1 year of service, up to a maximum of 5 additional days.
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Valuable Pension Benefits: a generous 7% employer contribution.
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Flexible Working: remote working, a generous TOIL scheme, and family-friendly policies
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Wellness and Support: including a cycle to work scheme, free optician check-ups, annual flu vaccines, access to a 24-hour employee assistance counselling helpline, a ‘Headspace’ app for mindfulness, and ‘Reflective Practice’ sessions.
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Making a genuine difference, in a rewarding role where your work will directly result in helping Women’s Aid to be able to provide lifesaving services for women and children across England.
How to apply?
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Please submit your CV and a Cover Letter. Your Cover Letter should be no more than 2 pages long and should include a summary of your reasons for applying for the position. You should also include details of how your skills, behaviours and experience meet those necessary for the role, as listed in the Job Description and Person Specification.
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Please ensure that you also complete the EDI form and send all completed paperwork to the recruitment email address. (Please clearly mark your name and the role title in the subject line of your email).
NB:
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Women only need apply under schedule 9 (Part 1) of the Equality Act 2010
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If you have been shortlisted for interview, you will be informed by email. Regrettably, we are normally unable to acknowledge unsuccessful applicants.
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We reserve the right to close a recruitment campaign earlier than the advertised closing date if a high volume of responses are received.
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All posts, including remote posts, must be based in the UK.
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Women’s Aid is committed to quality, equality, and valuing diversity. Applications are particularly welcome from Black and minoritised women.
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We are a Disability Confident employer. We guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for vacancies.
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Please read our Single Sex Statement on the Women's Aid webste
Position: Press and Communications Officer (Wales)
FLUENT WELSH SPEAKER ESSENTIAL
Hours: Part-time (21 hours a week)
Contract: Permanent
Location: Office-based in Cardiff, Wales (CF24) with flexibility to work remotely - and we will consider home-based applications.
Salary: £28,423 - £30,200 per annum FTE (£17,053.80 - £18,120 per annum actual) plus excellent benefits
Salary Band: Band D1
About us
We make sure people living with MS are at the centre of everything we do. And it’s this commitment that unites us across the UK.
Our strategy is based on what people affected by MS have told us is important to them. It gives us a clear and determined focus.
Our work is based on the hopes and aspirations of our MS community. Together we campaign at all levels, fund ground-breaking research and provide award winning support and information.
Our people are our greatest asset and the key to our success. We offer a vibrant, progressive working environment where you'll be able to make a difference.
About this job
This is a brilliant opportunity to join our hardworking, creative and supportive MS Cymru team.
You’ll be communicating with both Welsh- and English-speaking audiences, and you must be a fluent Welsh speaker.
We’re looking for a tenacious, proactive Press and Communications Officer to join our team and help us meet our ambitious goals.
Crucially, you’ll promote and deliver media coverage/strategies to promote our work with a particular emphasis on promoting our fundraising, campaigning and service activity.
You’ll also be our point of contact for media enquiries we receive. And you’ll support the development and delivery of our digital communications, ensuring we have a strong and representative social media presence.
The chosen candidate will have relevant experience (such as a press office, PR agency or journalism), and be comfortable managing competing priorities as part of a busy team. You’ll have excellent writing and communications skills in Welsh and English, and a positive attitude.
We recognise the significant and excellent contributions; experience; and skills our employees bring to the MS Society.
Working with external pay and reward consultants, we’re taking active steps this year to review our employees’ pay and benefits package. Ensuring we’re aligned with the most accurate and up-to-date benchmarks for the UK charity sector.
Please note this is a part-time role for 21 hours per week.
Closing date for applications: 9am on Tuesday 30 April 2024
Please note the successful candidate will require a standard DBS check.
PLEASE PRESS THE 'HOW TO APPLY' BUTTON FOR MORE INFORMATION.
More about our employee benefits:
We have a wide range of employee benefits including (but not limited to):
Encouraging work life balance
- 38 days paid annual leave (including bank holidays), pro-rata for part-time
- More annual leave entitlement, based on length of employment
- Smart working options (with the opportunity to work remotely and find a smart working pattern that suits both you and us)
- Flexible working options
Caring for you and your family
- Generous sick pay entitlement
- More sick pay entitlement, based on length of employment
- Opportunity to buy and sell annual leave in each calendar year
- Free access to a GP virtually 24 hours a day/7 days a week allowing you unlimited advice, reassurance and where appropriate diagnosis
- Enhanced leave for new parents
- Free access to a confidential 24 hours a day/7 days a week helpline service for both you and your family with a specialist range of support and information
- Special leave options (such as up to 5 days paid leave for domestic or personal emergencies a year)
- 10 days paid disability leave a year, pro-rata for part-time
- 10 days paid carers’ leave a year, pro-rata for part-time
- New family-friendly benefits, including paid leave:
- In the event of miscarriage or still birth
- To support fertility treatments
- For antenatal appointments for both parents
- Cycle to work scheme
- Death in service scheme
- Health cash plans to help offset the cost of health care for you and your family
Thinking about your finances
- Enhanced salary sacrifice pension scheme
- Discounted season ticket loan and interest-free emergency loans
- Give as you earn to support other charities of your choice before tax
- New employee portal including lifestyle savings vouchers and personal wellbeing
Enriching your life at work
- Personalised development plans with a wide range of training courses and opportunities to source additional training options with your line manager
- Yearly internal apprenticeship opportunities
- New, modern offices that embrace working together both in-person and remotely
- Various opportunities to influence how we internally operate (including surveys, and focus and committee groups)
- Active and supportive internal employee networking groups for collaboration and peer support
- 2 days paid leave a year for volunteering for MS Society activities during normal working hours (such as fundraising events, or campaigning in the local community)
- 2 days paid leave a year for volunteering with other charities during normal
Equal Opportunities
We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities and or from ethnic minority backgrounds.
We’d be grateful if you downloaded and completed the equality and diversity monitoring form and submit it with your application.
Disability Confident Employer
We’re a Disability Confident Employer and we’re committed to promoting equality and diversity.
You can ask for reasonable adjustments as part of both our recruitment and new starter on-boarding processes.
If you need any help or adjustments to apply for this role, please contact us. You can also ask for the application materials to be sent to you in a different format. Such as for them to be sent to you by email or in a larger word format.
Safeguarding
We’re committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of everyone who uses our services and we come into contact with.
This is regardless of Gender, Race, Disability, Sexual orientation, Religion or belief, Pregnancy, Gender reassignment.
We recognise our particular responsibility to make sure vulnerable adults and children are protected.
We have measures in place to protect everyone we come into contact with from abuse and maltreatment of all kinds.
Your right to work in the UK
You must have the right to work in the UK to work in paid employment with us. You’ll need to share documents showing you’re eligible to work in the UK if we offer you employment.
You can find the UK visas and permits granting you the right to work in the UK on the UK Government website. We currently don’t have a Sponsor Licence agreement with the Home Office and aren’t able to support you with your visa applications.
No agencies please.
Actively Interviewing
This organisation is scheduling interviews as the applications come in. Don’t miss your opportunity, apply now!
Are you passionate about ensuring everyone can engage effectively with the digital world? Are you a brilliant influencer who relishes harnessing great policy and research to realise social change? Do you want to work in a pioneering initiative with impact at its core?
Then this could be the role for you. At the Digital Poverty Alliance, we are looking for our new Policy & Insights Manager. You must be able to inspire us and our partners and spearhead our public affairs work, including through our National Delivery Plan to unite action to end digital poverty by 2030.
We bring together charities, corporates and government to address the underlying issues stopping families gaining full access to digital services such as education, healthcare and employment. We seek social change through our National Delivery Plan, whilst also delivering solutions in local areas that help real people and provide evidence for change.
This is an exciting, high profile and fast-paced role, joining our small team and working alongside partners, National Delivery Committee members and our wider stakeholders to effect real change for people. You will report directly to the Chief Executive, working alongside our Head of External Affairs.
A big part of our social change ambition is delivered through our public affairs work; influencing policy makers so that our ambitions are shared with government, companies and with everyone able to deliver to our vision of a world where everyone is able to connect successfully with the digital world where and when they want to. You will also be responsible for drafting white papers, analysing trends and data, and identifying new insights. You will support our Industry Forum, working with existing and new members to broaden the group.
The DPA aims to work through partners in delivering to our core mission and, as such, we retain only a small core team with support from our PR agency. As such, you’ll lead on delivering our policy and public affairs work, from briefing MPs to developing our policy positions.
Whilst the role is remote based, you will regularly need to attend in-person meetings and events in central London (daytime and evening), as well as undertaking travel across the UK. Given the need to attend meetings in Westminster and Whitehall, you will need to live within commuting distance of London.
Key focus areas
- Building relationships with public, private and third sector organisations, including the wider DPA community.
- Working to convene and collaborate with organisations and individuals committed to ending digital poverty.
- Work with colleagues across local, regional and national governments and across political parties to advocate for policies to promote digital inclusion.
- Undertaking research and analysis to understand digital poverty and the impact of policies to address it.
- Managing policy and research projects including the ongoing development of the national delivery plan and supporting ‘proof of concept’ projects.
- Developing commercial and research partnerships with organisations and supporting the development of the industry forum.
- Communicating the DPA vision and perspective through verbal and written communication.
First interviews will be held w/b 6th May 2024 via Microsoft Teams. Second interviews will be held soon after. The role is to start as soon as possible. Please note this role will be subject to a DBS check.
Unfortunately, due to the expected volume of applications and our small team, we will not be able to acknowledge every application. If you have not heard from us by 6th May you have not been successful on this occasion.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.
Working hours - 22.5hours per week. This is a job share. The job share working days will either need to be Friday, Monday, Tuesday or Thursday, Friday, Monday.
The Head of South England & Wales is responsible for leading our vision to end the need for food banks in South England & Wales. This role will lead our team of Network Leads and Area Managers as they empower every food bank to orientate their work towards ending the need for their services through the provision of bespoke support, enabling them to reduce the numbers of people requiring emergency food. This role will work with key national partners in South England and Wales to support our network to tackle the underlying drivers of poverty.
Role responsibilities
· Responsible, as a member of the organisation’s Senior Leadership Team for leading the delivery of the Trussell Trust strategy for ending the need for food banks in South England and Wales, working to embed the Changing Communities, Changing Minds and Changing Policy programmes across the network.
· Lead the Area team in South England and Wales to ensure the safe and effective operations of the food bank network, in partnership Trussell Trust’s People Directorate.
· Oversee the investment in and upskilling of our Area team to ensure they have the capacity, skills and resources required to deliver the five-year strategy and support to food banks.
· Drive the delivery of the baseline service for food banks across South England and Wales, ensuring tools, resources, services and systems are fit for purpose and tailored to local contexts.
· Oversee the effective roll-out of strategic projects, partnerships and resources to food banks across South England and Wales, in collaboration with other Directorates, that help to reduce the need for food banks and tackle the underlying drivers of poverty.
· Work with the Strategy & Impact team and Policy, External Affairs & Research teams to ensure effective cross-departmental working on network facing policy and research opportunities, church engagement, external partnerships and impact reporting.
Person Specification
Technical skills and minimum knowledge:
· Leading complex delivery programmes nationally and locally,
· Expertise of significantly growing services and programmes; leading, motivating and inspiring teams; leading culture change.
· An effective communicator, verbally and in writing. Diplomatic and with the interpersonal skills required by the role.
· Manage multiple projects, identifying conflicting demands and establishing clear priorities in order to meet agreed objectives.
· Ensure that due regard is given to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion within all objectives that report into this department.
Behaviours and competencies:
· Demonstrate a commitment to the values of the Trussell Trust.
· Demonstrates empathy for people from disadvantaged, marginalised or socially- excluded backgrounds.
· Comfortable working in a fast-paced and high-performing organisation, combining problem-solving with collaborative interpersonal skills.
· Effective communication skills; diplomatic; effectively builds rapport with individuals and groups; presents information accessibly and in a format appropriate to the audience.
· Role model inclusive behaviour and leadership.
Key Stakeholders
· Director of Operations
· Operations Leadership Team
· Head of Pathfinding
· Head of Financial Inclusion
· Head of Strategic Communications
· Head of Brand and Marketing,
· Head of Audience Insight and Engagement,
· Head of Supporter Retention and Development
· Head of Strategic Church Engagement
· Head of Strategic Development and Head of Evidence and Impact
· Head of Policy and Research
· Network Leads and Area Managers
· Head of Safeguarding and Quality
· Head of Volunteering
· Food Bank Network
Our Values
The Trussell Trust is a charity that works to end the need for food banks. It is founded on and shaped by Christian principles.
Our values of dignity, justice, compassion and community, are central to all that we do and therefore supports our aim to be an organisation where the diversity of all employees is valued. We welcome people of all faiths and none and those that are committed to these values.
We recognise that we have under-represented groups within our workforce. As part of our commitment to diversity and equality of opportunity we are actively encouraging applications from under-represented groups such as returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are LGBT+, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions and those with a lived experience of poverty as well as any other under-represented group in our workforce. We are committed ensuring the safety and protection of our employees from all forms of harm.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.