Head of Communications

Charity People is delighted to be partnering with Whitley Fund for Nature to recruit an interim Head of Communications to join the organisation as a 14 month maternity cover contract.

Contract: Full time, interim 14 month role
Salary: £40,000 per annum
Location: Hybrid role between home and London office, with three days per week at the organisation's office in Holland Park, West London
Closing date for applications: 9am on Friday 27th March
Interviews: First stage interviews will be held remotely on Thursday 9th April with second round held in person on Wednesday 15th April

Established in 1993, Whitley Fund for Nature is a fundraising and grant-giving nature conservation charity that has channelled £26 million to 220 conservation leaders in 80 countries across the Global South.

Offering long term, laddered support in the form of grant awards to courageous changemakers leading local solutions to the global biodiversity and climate crises, the organisation supports work rooted in communities that creates lasting benefits for wildlife, landscapes and people. Whitley Fund for Nature enables grassroots conservationists to scale up their work and make a global impact.

The interim Head of Communications will join a small team in London to lead and deliver an integrated communications and engagement strategy that amplifies the voices of grassroots conservation leaders internationally. The role is key within the organisation and holds responsibility for raising the organisation's profile, strengthening audience engagement, and supporting fundraising objectives across digital, print, and events.

Core responsibilities will be as follows:

• Implement a dynamic annual communications strategy that aligns closely with PR and fundraising priorities
• Leading impactful campaigns across email marketing, social media, website, branding and events
• Acting as webmaster and brand guardian, ensuring all communications are compelling, consistent and on brand, while driving measurable growth in digital engagement and audience development
• Leading communications around the Whitley Awards, an international awards programme celebrating outstanding grassroots conservation leaders, working across digital campaigns, ceremony communications, publications, social

This is an exciting opportunity to play a key role within an influential conservation organisation, shaping storytelling that drives real-world impact.

We would love to see applications from candidates with the following skills and experience:

• Ability to think strategically combined with creative flair and a passion for purpose-driven communications
• Demonstrable experience of working in a similar role within the charity or NGO sector
• Proven experience delivering communications strategies and producing effective digital and print communications for a wide range of audiences
• Strong digital expertise across email marketing, social media, websites and analytics
• Experience managing brand identity and external suppliers, and of event communications
• Excellent writing and editorial ability, with an eye for design
• Ability to undertake webmaster and editor responsibilities, with experience of using WordPress preferred
• Experience setting social media strategy, and using online tools such as Canva and Hootsuite to aid with content creation and scheduling
• Proven success in contributing to PR campaigns and securing media coverage
• Strong project management and line management skills, as well as excellent interpersonal skills
• Able to manage and prioritise a busy and varied workload
• Understanding of or interest in issues in wildlife conservation
• Proven ability in effective budgeting, negotiating and budget management

If you're interested in hearing more about this opportunity, please send your CV to Alice at Charity People in the first instance by clicking 'Apply Now'.

Charity People is a forward thinking, inclusive organisation that actively and deliberately promotes equity, diversity and inclusion. We know organisations thrive when inclusion is at the forefront. We evidence our commitment by matching charity needs with the skills and experience of candidates irrespective of background e.g. age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation. We do this because we believe that greater diversity leads to greater results for the charities we work with.