Regional campaigns and public affairs officer jobs

The Living Wage Foundation is seeking an experienced and driven Senior Media and Communications Manager to join our team for a 12-month contract. This is an exciting opportunity for a highly organised and proactive communications professional with a strong background in media relations, public messaging, and team leadership. The ideal candidate will be experienced and confident in working to tight deadlines, responding to last-minute changes, and prioritising competing demands in a high-profile environment. They will be motivated to amplify the Living Wage Foundation’s mission of tackling low pay and insecure work.

The postholder will lead all media, messaging, and external affairs work, developing and implementing a proactive media strategy that supports our mission and key campaigns, such as Living Wage Week and the annual Rates announcement. As a skilled media professional, you will oversee all communications outputs, ensuring consistency and strategic alignment, while delivering media training and refining key messaging to maximise reach and impact. 

In this role, you will be instrumental in advancing our political engagement efforts, building cross-party support and working with political leaders, mayoral teams, and other key stakeholders to promote our initiatives. You’ll manage two direct reports (Events Manager and Media Manager) who each hold line management responsibilities, and you will play a critical role within our Senior Management Team, collaborating closely with the Head of Communications to shape the overall direction of our communications work. This role will work closely with Citizens UK colleagues, including the Citizens UK communications team on cross-organisational priorities.  You will report to the Head of Communications.

As a senior leader, you will be responsible for managing and allocating part of the communications team budget, expanding team capacity, and driving the team’s effectiveness. In collaboration with other senior managers, you will help foster a culture that values creativity, innovation, and strategic impact.

Job Title: Communications Manager
Location: Remote
Salary: £38,000 per annum
Reporting to: Head of Fundraising and Communications
Responsible for: Marketing and Communications Coordinator
Hours: 35 hours per week
Contract: Full time, permanent

GFS is seeking a strategic, proactive and values-led Communications Manager to lead the delivery of our communications function and elevate our profile across audiences and platforms. The role will support the shaping and delivery of a communications strategy that amplifies our voice, showcases our impact, and builds trust and engagement with our community. You’ll work across all areas of the organisation to coordinate messaging, manage risk and lead communications activity that reflects our feminist values and purpose.

The Communications Manager will oversee digital content, media relations, marketing and digital fundraising campaigns, working in close collaboration with the CEO, Leadership team and wider team. You will line-manage the Marketing and Communications Coordinator, ensuring high-quality content, storytelling and messaging are delivered consistently across all channels.

Please see the attached documents for more information and details on how to apply. 

Timeline 

• Closing date for applications midnight on Sunday 26 April 2026 
• First stage interviews w/c 11 May 2026
• Second stage interviews TBC May 2026

How to apply

To apply for this role, please submit the following documents:

1. An anonymised CV Please remove your name and any other personal identifying details.
2. A personal statement Your personal statement should respond directly to the three application questions listed below. Please keep within the stated word limits.
3. The optional diversity monitoring form This is not seen by the hiring panel and is entirely voluntary.

Please send all documents by midnight on Sunday 26 April 2026 

Your personal statement should address the following three questions:

1. GFS is a feminist, values led organisation. Please tell us about a time you shaped or delivered a communications approach that reflected specific organisational values. What was your role, what actions did you take, and what impact did it have? 
   (300 words max) 
2. Describe a situation where you identified or managed a communications risk (e.g., media issue, sensitive messaging, reputational challenge). What steps did you take, who did you work with, and what was the outcome? 
   (300 words max) 
3. Tell us about a digital communications or fundraising campaign you developed or led. How did you use audience insight to shape it, what channels or methods did you use, and what results did it achieve? 
   (300 words max)

We are looking for a highly motivated and organised individual to maintain, develop and continuously improve our systems. The role will be an integral part of the Living Wage Operations Team, providing strategic technical support and ensure the integrity of our systems, often overseeing development projects with external partners.

The Operations and Data Manager will need to be highly numerate and have great analytical skills to support our monitoring and evaluation functions, working with the Head of Operations and Insight on financial and budgeting management, reconciliation and forecasting for the Living Wage Foundation. The suitable candidate will be detail-oriented, be able to demonstrate their ability to seek out improvements and problem solve creatively and have experience working with Salesforce or equivalent CRM systems.

Location: North Weald or Earls Colne 
 Contract type: Permanent  
 Salary: £60,000 - £65,000 
 Hours: Full Time - 37.5 hours per week  

Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, unlike NHS emergency services, is a charity. The free life-saving service is provided 24/7 by helicopters and by rapid response vehicles.  

Each critical care team consists of a pilot and co-pilot, a pre-hospital care doctor and a critical care paramedic.  

They can be rushed to the scene with life-saving support equipment to deliver advanced clinical care, usually only available in the hospital emergency department.  

Once stabilised, the patient will be conveyed to the most appropriate hospital by air or land.  

Without access to National Lottery funding and with only limited support from Government, we rely upon the generosity and goodwill of the people and businesses of Essex and Hertfordshire to remain operational and keep saving lives…we can’t fly without you!  

Job purpose:  
The Head of Marketing and Communications plays a pivotal strategic role in shaping, and delivering compelling brand, marketing and communications strategies that deepen audience engagement and support Essex & Herts Air Ambulance's income growth ambitions.

The postholder will head up a high-performing and multi-disciplined team across marketing, PR, digital, brand, content and internal communications within a dynamic, fast-paced charity. They will provide visionary direction, making the most of planned and reactive opportunities to enhance public trust, support ambitions across fundraising and retail, foster meaningful community engagement, and amplify the charity's lifesaving impact. 

Summary of duties and responsibilities:  
Strategic Leadership

• Develop and lead an integrated, organisation-wide marketing and communications strategy aligned with long-term organisational goals, driving brand strength, engagement and supporting income growth ambitions of the fundraising, philanthropy and retail teams.
• Provide inspiring leadership, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, continuous improvement, accountability and high performance.
• Deliver effective line management to the team, strengthening career pathways through structured development and robust succession planning.
• Play an active and influential role as a member of the Fundraising & Marketing leadership team, contributing to income and supporter growth strategies, leading projects and strategic initiatives.
• Ensure high-quality delivery through external partners, including suppliers, contractors and freelancers.
• Use insight, data and audience segmentation to inform strategic decisions and shape impact campaigns.
• Act as an advisor to the Executive Team and the Senior Leadership Team on brand strategy, reputation management, marketing performance, risk and crisis communications.

Brand & Reputation Management

• Evolve, and protect the organisation’s brand identity, deepening public trust, visibility and emotional connection with key audiences.
• Ensure consistent and high-quality brand application across all channels, materials, and stakeholder touchpoints.
• Oversee media relations, crisis communications and reputation management, providing confident leadership in high-risk or high-profile situations. 
• Steward the charity’s visual identity, tone of voice and brand architecture across both the charity and retail operations.
• Champion authentic storytelling rooted in lived experience and demonstrable impact, respecting dignity and safeguarding principles. 

Marketing, Digital and Communications Strategy

• Design and deliver a multi-year Marketing, Communications and Digital Strategy aligned with organisational priorities and future growth ambitions. 
• Lead the organisation’s digital strategy, covering website performance, SEO, paid advertising, AI, analytics and digital innovation. 
• Shape county-level marketing and engagement plans that enable regional fundraising, community engagement and partnership development. 
• Ensure high-quality content production across all channels, including social media, film, print and editorial. 
• Lead proactive media relations and news generation that build credibility and articulate the charity’s life-saving impact with accuracy and integrity. 
• Lead values-led external affairs activity, engaging MPs, stakeholders and regional media while stewarding crisis response with calm, transparent, and timely messaging. 
• Drive data-led digital marketing through segmented supporter journeys and integrated campaigns that deliver income and engagement targets, embedding performance reporting to drive continual improvement

Internal Communications

• Develop and deliver an internal communications strategy that strengthens transparency, fosters employee engagement and reinforces the charity’s culture and values. 
• Partner with HR and senior leaders to communicate key initiatives and strategic priorities with clarity and impact. 
• Collaborate across departments to ensure internal messaging aligns with and amplifies organisational priorities.

Budget & Performance Management 

• Lead departmental budget setting, reforecasting, and resource planning, maximising return on investment across all activity. 
• Oversee robust performance tracking, evaluation and benchmarking frameworks to drive continual improvement and inform strategic decision-making. 
• Ensure full compliance with relevant regulations, including GDPR, advertising codes, fundraising and brand licensing requirements.

Other Duties

• Work occasional evenings and weekends as needed, including being on the out-of-hours on-call rota.
• Carry out other duties that may arise in line with the broad remit of the post.
• Maintain professional competencies through continuous professional development.

The Package 
Salary: £60,000 - £65,000 per annum 

As a valued member of the charity team, you will have access to a wider range of benefits including:

• 27 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays, increasing to 28 days with length of service
• Contributory pension scheme, with minimum 6% employer contribution, plus an annual pension review
• Occupational sick pay from day one employment
• Free access to an Employee Assistance Programme (plus immediate family)
• Access to Cycle to Work through salary sacrifice
• Discounts at a variety of retailers via Blue Light Card

More information and how to apply 
The closing date for applications is 26th April 2026 
First interviews will take place during w/c 4th May in person at North Weald.

Please note that your application form will be used for shortlisting, so please ensure everything you wish to include is covered in the form.  

This position is subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. The successful candidate will be required to undergo a Basic DBS check as a condition of employment. 

If you would like an informal chat about the role, please contact us directly and we will organise a time to speak to one of the team. 

Disclaimer: Essex & Herts Air Ambulance reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised date if a high number of applications are received. Once a vacancy has closed, we are unfortunately unable to consider further applications, so please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.