Head of Media Relations
Upto £55,000 per annum
Homebased with easy access to our Newark Office
Full time: 35 hours per week
Permanent contract
This role is predominantly home-based with regular travel to locations across the UK. Office facilities are available at our Newark office (Tuesdays to Thursdays) for those within easy travelling distance. There is a requirement to attend in-person the monthly team meeting at the Newark office.
Closing date for applications: 31st May 2026
First interview: 15th June 2026 (In person at Newark office)
Second interview: 26th June 2026 (Online)
About Us:
The Wildlife Trusts are a grassroots movement of people from a wide range of backgrounds and all walks of life, who believe that we need nature and nature needs us. We have more than 945,000 members, over 33,000 volunteers, 4,100 staff and 600 trustees. There are 46 individual Wildlife Trusts, each of which is a place-based independent charity with its own legal identity, formed by groups of people getting together and working with others to make a positive difference to wildlife and future generations, starting where they live and work.
Every Wildlife Trust is part of The Wildlife Trusts federation and a corporate member of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts, a registered charity in its own right founded in 1912 and one of the founding members of IUCN – the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Taken together this federation of 47 charities is known as The Wildlife Trusts.
The next few years will be critical in determining what kind of world we all live in. We need to urgently reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale if we are to prevent climate and ecological disaster. We recognise that this will require big, bold changes in the way The Wildlife Trusts work, not least in how we mobilise others and support them to organise within their own communities
About You
Can you use your expertise in shaping powerful media narratives to help drive nature’s recovery with one of the UK’s best-loved environmental charities? The Wildlife Trusts’ experienced Media team plays a vital role in shaping the public conversation about nature.
We create compelling, authoritative stories for broadcast, print and online national media outlets and generate billions of opportunities each year for people to see, hear and read about The Wildlife Trusts’ important work to restore wildlife and reconnect people with nature. Our work spans a wide and ambitious agenda. We respond to and comment on Government policy, we champion bold solutions for nature’s recovery, and we spotlight the impact of our work across issues as varied as peatland restoration, nature for mental health, and whale and dolphin conservation. Through interviews, opinion pieces, press releases, video content and expert commentary, we regularly appear on flagship programmes including BBC Countryfile, Springwatch, ITV News and BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, as well as international media.
Our high-profile coverage ensures that The Wildlife Trusts remain at the heart of the national conversation about the urgent need to tackle the nature and climate crises. Our work continues to grow and adapt. The scale and pace of the challenges facing our wildlife demand even greater ambition, clarity and leadership in how we communicate. We are now seeking a strategic and operationally experienced Head of Media Relations to lead the next phase of our media work – who can continue to strengthen our national profile in the media, identifying new opportunities for The Wildlife Trusts, and ensuring our message continues to cut through to drive awareness and meaningful action.
You are an experienced and credible media professional with a track record of leading and supporting high-performing teams in a fast paced, high-profile environment.
You will have demonstrable expert knowledge of the media landscape, with a wide network of trusted media relationships that you use thoughtfully and effectively to achieve impact. You are equally confident developing and placing softer news stories as you are managing complex or high-stakes situations, exercising sound judgement and acting decisively when it matters most.
You will have substantial experience of reputation management, including advising senior leaders and stakeholders on sensitive or contentious issues. An understanding of the issues affecting UK wildlife and nature recovery is highly desirable, alongside a commitment to using the power of media to inform, engage and drive positive change
Registered Charity 
Thank you!
The Organisation
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is the UK’s leading children’s charity, driven by a single, unwavering belief: every child deserves to be safe, loved, and free from abuse. Established in 1884 and operating under Royal Charter, the organisation has spent more than 140 years working to prevent cruelty to children and create lasting change in their lives.
Today, that mission has never been more urgent. As the challenges facing children continue to evolve, from the risks of online harm to complex family circumstances, the NSPCC provides vital frontline support while also working to influence the systems that protect children. Each year, it helps make over a million children safer from abuse, with thousands of adults turning to its Helpline and children and young people relying on Childline’s 24/7 counselling when they have nowhere else to turn.
Working across all four nations of the UK and the Channel Islands, the NSPCC combines direct services, education programmes, and national advocacy to drive impact far beyond its immediate reach. Central to its work is a commitment to evidence-led practice, ensuring every action is informed by what works, and that the voices and experiences of children and young people remain at the heart of a safer, more protective society.
The Role
At the heart of NSPCC is its Services Directorate, delivering practical, child-centred support that helps keep children and young people safe. These services translate the organisation’s mission into action through prevention, therapeutic support, and strengthening safeguarding practice.
The Services Director will play a critical role in shaping the NSPCC’s future as a member of the Executive Leadership Team, leading the development and delivery of a national services strategy and overseeing a complex portfolio of services.
Key aspects of the role include:
- Leading high-quality national and local services that improve outcomes for children and young people
- Shaping and delivering the services strategy to support the organisation’s wider ambitions
- Driving integration and impact across NSPCC and Childline services
- Building strong relationships with senior stakeholders, including the Chief Executive, Board, and external partners
The Person
This is an opportunity for a collaborative, values-driven leader to navigate complexity, drive meaningful change, and make a lasting difference to children’s lives at scale. The successful candidate will demonstrate the following:
- Extensive experience and proven track record at Director level of successfully developing and delivering services, including co-production and collaboration with partners, in a complex stakeholder environment that have a measurably positive impact for beneficiaries.
- Highly experienced in child protection with demonstrable knowledge and experience of child safeguarding. A social work qualification will be highly advantageous.
- Proven experience leading and managing teams of functional experts, overseeing significant income and expenditure budgets, and driving operational performance through the setting and monitoring of clear, aligned objectives.
- Experience of designing and delivering transformational change and driving performance management using appropriate quality and management methods and models, to deliver efficient and effective services.
- Demonstrable understanding of the operational context for services including the commissioning and market environment.
- Experience of managing senior stakeholders, both internally and externally, and confidence in dealing with, and influencing, senior employees and volunteer colleagues, and producing and imparting clear and non-technical advice and information.
- Values the different skills and attributes of others, utilising the insight, experience and expertise of colleagues.
- Experience of representing an organisation at the highest level. Clearly articulates a compelling vision, focussing on both what the future might hold and the more immediate stepping stones to realise those outcomes.
- Challenges constructively and evidences a willingness to receive constructive challenge in order to drive our individual and collective efforts forward.
Further Information
For further information about NSPCC, the role responsibilities, and the person we are looking for, please download the Candidate Briefing Pack.
How to Apply
If you are interested in this key role within the NSPCC and feel you have the skills and experience required, please include the following with your application:
- An up to date CV with the details of two referees (we will not contact them without your prior permission).
- A supporting statement which addresses how you meet the criteria for the role as detailed in the Person Specification. Please also discuss your motivations for applying.
Closing date for applications: Monday 1st June 2026
Preliminary interviews with Russam: 12th-16th June 2026
First stage interviews with NSPCC: Week commencing 29th June 2026
Second stage interviews with NSPCC: Week commencing 6th July 2026
11 - 20
Thank you!
The Opportunity
Engagement is becoming central to how school leaders think about improvement. The 2026 White Paper reframed it as a lead indicator of school improvement. Ofsted's new framework gives it weight. MAT CEOs and headteachers increasingly want termly data they can act on, and TEP is built to provide exactly that.
We have a strong foundation in the North of England, as a region with some of our founding partners, including Outwood Grange Academies Trust, The Education Alliance, BDAT and Pathfinder were among our Research in the Commission for Engagement and a Lead Indicator and we are proud to still have in our community. However, there is still substantial appetite across the North for TEP to give trust and school leaders precision they can act on. There is a pipeline of interested trusts. And there is real opportunity to shape a regional story (events, flagship partnerships, local authority engagement) that compounds as partnerships grow.
The Regional Director will own that opportunity and lead business development in the region. You'll be building on a proven product and a credible research base, and joining at the point where regional presence matters most. Early work will focus on opening new partnerships at trust level, stewarding a small number of strategic relationships with sector bodies and Teaching School Hubs, and establishing TEP as a trusted voice in the region.
What you'll inherit
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A proven platform and service offer. Validated by 600+ UK schools, designed around the rhythms of the school year, supporting school leaders across the country.
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Support from our Partnerships Director. Working closely with Jess Easton, Director of Partnerships and Insights, who is actively involved in regional strategy, as well as support from our Regional Director (Agnes Fitzpatrick) who works in the South of England.
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Partnerships team support. A Marketing function, a Community team handling delivery, and colleagues across ImpactEd Group opening doors.
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Early pipeline to build on. Warm conversations with trusts in the region, and a growing profile in the sector to build on.
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Real commercial ambition. Clear termly targets, a performance-related pay structure, and the opportunity of employee shares through EMI.
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A base in Leeds. A vibrant, accessible city-centre office two minutes from Leeds station, in the heart of the tech hub of the north.
The role
You'll lead TEP's growth and business development across the North of England: opening new partnerships with schools and trusts, stewarding strategic relationships with sector bodies, and shaping how TEP shows up in the region. You'll have real autonomy, backed by a Director who's hands-on with strategy, a growing marketing function, and the research weight of ImpactEd Group behind you.
There are three main areas of responsibility:
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Winning new partnerships: Lead new business across the North of England, opening conversations with schools and trusts, converting them into partnerships, and delivering against termly targets.
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Growing strategic partnerships: Steward the region's highest-value partnerships (typically Teaching School Hubs, sector bodies, or place-based local authority partnerships), leading the relationship and evidencing TEP's impact.
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Contributing to TEP more broadly: Feed regional intelligence into TEP's business planning: where the growth is, where the risks are, and help embed scalable ways of working.
About you
We are open to a range of backgrounds, though it is likely the successful candidate will have significant experience working in or closely with schools and education, and experience in selling products or developing partnerships with school leaders. This role offers hybrid working, with 3 days per week in the office or on the road. You should be willing to travel across the North of England for partner meetings, conferences and events (approximately 50% of your time), with occasional UK-wide travel.
What you'll need
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Experience working within or closely with UK schools, Local Authorities and multi-academy trusts, ideally with an existing network across Northern England
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A demonstrable track record in partnership development, account management, or educational sales
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Experience presenting to a senior education leaders (Headteachers, CEOs, Directors)
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A strong understanding of school budgeting cycles and decision-making processes
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Experience delivering presentations or public speaking.
What will set you apart
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Excellent verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to develop compelling value propositions
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Entrepreneurial, pragmatic and solution-focused: you can think on your feet and adapt to change
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Comfortable with targets while maintaining a relationship-focused approach
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Self-motivated, with a consultative rather than transactional sales approach
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A clear passion for improving school engagement and supporting school leaders
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Excited to join a young organisation and help shape its growth in the coming years
We are an ambitious team incubated and supported by ImpactEd Group. The role would be employed by TEP Services Limited.
The client requests no contact from agencies or media sales.