Marketing and Communications Lead

Why work for us?
CHIRP provides a vital, independent, and impartial, confidential reporting service for anyone concerned with safety in the aviation and maritime sectors. We do this by building a Just Culture which encourages learning from safety incidents and promotes culture change so that we can improve human related safety issues for everyone in the air and at sea.

This is an exciting time to join CHIRP as we embark on a new strategic direction, and as we build closer links between our aviation and maritime programmes. We want to reach new audiences, build new partnerships, and influence decision makers and sector leaders more widely. To do this we need to increase our profile and put communications and marketing at the centre of our work.

We are a small paid team of staff and consultants supported by the best in both industries who give us their time voluntarily to advise on human factors safety issues through our specialist advisory boards. We are committed, independent, impartial, confidential, and personal and we have the courage to take on challenging issues discretely and respectfully.

About you

You will be a first-class creative communicator with strengths in the use of digital marketing and social media platforms, the use of video in bringing to life complex issues and the art of writing persuasively for different audiences. You will be comfortable taking the lead in our marketing and communications strategy whilst collaborating with our team and partners. You care about results and are capable of prioritising competing demands for maximum impact. Most importantly, you align with CHIRP’s values and share our vision, of a world in which aviation and maritime safety is continuously improved by tackling human factors issues, strengthened by a strong safety culture.

About the role

The purpose of this role is to raise the profile of CHIRP with:

(i)            new audiences to encourage reporting, lessons learning and culture change

(ii)           new partners to build alliances for change

(iii)          new donors to identify supporters for our work, increasing awareness and reach.

The role will deliver in the following areas:

Communications strategy

1.    Build on and develop our strategic communications plan as the new CHIRP strategy develops.

2.    Operationalise that strategy by establishing and maintaining a communications rhythm for the charity.

3.    Identify new communications and marketing opportunities and build these into the communications plan.

4.    Establish core messages and ensure that all communications are consistent with these.

Digital Communications (web, social, video)

●        Establish and implement a plan for updating and managing CHIRP’s website; including designing pages, ensuring all content is kept up to date, and developing innovative ways to increase traffic.

●        Establish a rhythm to the production of digital content around key industry events and influencing opportunities through production of high quality, relevant and compelling digital content (including videos, blogs, news stories and social media posts) that bring gravitas to CHIRP’s digital platforms. Promote best practices, to encourage attitude/behaviour change among our key audiences.

●        Strengthen CHIRP’s presence across social media, ensuring that we are producing high quality and relevant content, engaging in sector-relevant online communities, participating in ongoing conversations, and growing our social media following.

●        Encourage the take-up of social media feeds ensuring they are appealing and accessible to a diverse audience.

●        Produce quarterly reports on web and social metrics (user traffic, online mentions, social media engagement) and continually seek ways to improve engagement.

●        Help identify opportunities to raise CHIRP’s profile, reputation and positioning and monitor any adverse content, preparing appropriate responses to that.

Communications and event support to specific projects 

●        Design and implement an effective stakeholder engagement plan for CHIRP’s strategy and where necessary for specific projects.

●        Create impactful marketing and communications products to promote specific projects.

●        Work closely with and take direction from CHIRP’s leadership team and external partners to ensure successful project delivery.

Advisory function

•       Provide an advisory function for the structure of CHIRP’s communications and marketing function in the future.

•       Advise on brand coherence across the charity and aviation and maritime programmes.

PERSON SPECIFICATION

CHIRP welcomes applications that reflect the following specifications:

Essential: 

Skills, knowledge, and experience:

●        At least five years’ proven experience in marketing or communications, including, digital marketing, social media, video production, podcast production, blogging, PR, journalism, print and events

●        Proven experience in developing organisational communication strategies and message plans

●        Significant professional experience of updating websites and tracking usage

●        Significant professional experience of implementing digital communications projects across a wide range of digital and social media channels 

●        Experience of deriving and using data, metrics and analytics across all channels including digital and social media to inform comms plans and campaigns.

Personal attributes:

●        Ability to lead, work on your own initiative and work as part of a team

●        Creative, entrepreneurial, and adaptable 

●        Proficiency in the use of digital marketing tools and social media

●        Outstanding written skills, with exceptional attention to detail

●        Experience and knowledge of copywriting, proofreading and editing

●        Excellent people skills and professional manner 

●        Outstanding organisational and time-management skills.

Desirable:

●        Knowledge and/or experience of the aviation and/or maritime industries 

●        Knowledge of Human Factors/Just Culture or safety management.

●        Knowledge and/or experience of the emergence of innovative technologies in these industries