Communications Officer, London 

c. £28.5k depending on experience, plus generous benefits 

Medical research has never been more important. 

The wellbeing of billions of people across the world depends on continual medical advances across all areas of health. And this challenge needs immense support, innovation and persistence.

Although scientists have tackled many diseases and conditions that affect human health, there are still areas of medical need that receive little or no support. That’s where we step in. 

Funding research is our sole purpose. As the charitable foundation of the Medical Research Council (MRC), we are inspired by the responsibility and independence that our donated income gives us. We are guided by the wealth of expertise available to us and are bold and ambitious in the science we choose to support. We fund and support the most promising new medical research, wherever we discover great opportunities that are not being pursued.

Our current research priorities are the threat of drug-resistant infections, adolescent mental health and pain research. These are key public health challenges requiring ground-breaking ideas from some of the UK’s leading scientists. 

We are looking for a Communications Officer to join our small but expanding team in our central London offices. 

Reporting to the Senior Communications Manager, you will play a crucial role in telling the story of the Foundation, and that of the ground-breaking research and researchers we support. Your work will inspire potential supporters to help us fund even more cutting-edge medical research, and attract funding applications from emerging research leaders.

Working three days a week for the Foundation, the other two days will be split evenly between two of our linked charities: the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD) and the Africa Research Excellence Fund (AREF).

GACD is an alliance of international public funding agencies, which supports research activities intended to improve the prevention and treatment of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) like heart disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory problems, cancers and mental health issues. Their work focuses on the needs of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and key vulnerable populations, where 80 per cent of deaths from chronic diseases occur. 

AREF was established by the Medical Research Foundation in 2015, with the mission of improving the quality and impact of health research in Africa - by nurturing African-led research in and for the region. AREF’s vision is to grow a community of African researchers working in Africa, who lead world-class research that benefits patients, populations, policy makers and practitioners.

You will support the delivery and growth of proactive communications programmes across all three organisations, with the shared purpose of building their respective identities, reputations and profiles.

Who you are 

We need the very best people to help deliver our vision of advancing medical research, improving human health and changing people’s lives. We are inspired by our work and we will be looking for this in you too. Our team is proud to work for the Medical Research Foundation. We are ambitious for the Foundation and for ourselves. We are approachable - providing advice to everyone and explaining our work. We are dedicated and committed to achieving the most for our donors and our researchers.And we are involved – constantly looking for new ways to engage and improve.

What you can bring to the role

You will have some experience of communications in a health or science-focused organisation, supporting communications strategies across a range of channels, including traditional and social media. You will also have experience of producing creative communications content for a range of audiences, including translating complex scientific information for non-scientific audiences. 

You are able to communicate clearly with colleagues, scientists and other stakeholders. You work in an organised manner and have the ability to respond flexibly and positively to unexpected changes or demands. You have a strong grasp of digital media, including photoshop, social media management software and Google Analytics. 

Our offer:

• A salary c. £28.5k, dependant on experience.
• Annual pay award, performance award scheme and other rewards.
• Generous pension contribution, with no qualifying period.
• 30 days annual leave each year, plus public holidays.
• 36 hour working week, usually worked over 5 days. 
• Flexi-time system and core working hours of 10am to 4pm.
• Employee assistance programme.
• Other health-related benefits.
• An opportunity to make a difference to human health.
• Fantastic colleagues.

How to apply:

• Provide an up-to-date CV which includes your contact details, education and vocational qualifications, membership of professional bodies, career history and explanation of any breaks in your employment history.
• Provide a brief supporting statement setting out why you are the right candidate for this role making reference to the job description and the person specification. The case that you make and the way that it is presented will form a key part of the shortlisting process. Please note that CVs without a supporting statement will not be considered.
• Complete our equal opportunities monitoring form.
• Let us know if you are not able to make any of the assessment or interview dates (the pre-arranged dates can be found in the application pack).

A copy of the recruitment information pack and equal opportunities monitoring form are attached as separate documents for you to download.

Closing date for applications:  noon, Thursday 11th June 2020 

On-line testing:  19-24th June 2020

Interview and practical exercise:  29th June 2020 

Prospectus is delighted to be supporting an innovative international non-profit food organisation as they look to recruit their first home-based Communications Manager. This post will be working to develop a European communications strategy with particular focus on Press and PR to ensure that the great work there are doing is being celebrated.

Animal based agriculture is one of the most significant factors causing increased emissions into the earth's atmosphere. This organisation is working with scientists and food technology to offer alternatives to meat in the marketplace. Not only this, they are championing the policy behind this and helping spread messaging to increase familiarity with the alternatives.

This Communications Manager will develop and implement the organisation's communications strategy to create a clear, impactful narrative with key messages. You will be the acting spokesperson for the organisation and work with fundraising colleagues to develop strategies for donor recruitment and retention.

The successful candidate will have significant communications experience in a similar role, ideally having set up and developed strategies for public relations, media relations, social media, etc. You will have excellent written and oral communications skills with a proactive approach to relationship building.

Please do get in contact if you have any questions about the role.

Please submit a WORD copy of your CV and a relevant consultant will be in contact.

The Academy of Medical Sciences is playing an important role responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, from providing independent scientific advice to policy makers to supporting doctors and scientists who find themselves on the front line.

We are seeking an Interim Director of Finance and Resources with the skills to help us to navigate this challenging but strategically important time.

The Interim Director of Finance and Resources will be at the forefront of ensuring we have robust infrastructure and systems to enable the Academy’s staff to continue working effectively from home to deliver an increased level of business.  A near-term focus will also be remobilising the Academy’s HQ at 41 Portland Place to include working with IT consultants and service providers to ensure the IT and AV provision can support staff and the conference business appropriately. 

The Interim Director of Finance and Resources will lead a review of the financial controls and procedures to ensure that they are appropriate for a more flexible way of working and will support the Head of Finance in optimising the performance of the accounting software. They will also provide financial advice to the Academy’s trustees and Senior Leadership Team.

Experience of delivering first class financial and facilities services in challenging circumstances will be of benefit as will strong leadership skills. They will also need strong communication and influencing skills, as well being able to demonstrate a collaborative approach to leadership and experience of introducing new ways of doing things.

Please note the closing date of applications of midnight on Wednesday 17th June 2020. Applications will be reviewed prior to closing date and as such immediate application is recommended.

Allen Lane has been retained by the Academy of Medical Sciences on an exclusive basis to resource this post.

Insight Analyst

A brand new role has recently arisen for an Insight Analyst to join a well-known charity based in their head office in Shoreditch, London. As the Insight Analyst you will play a important role in the reporting and analysis for teams to help develop and inform the design of services, customer journeys and income. This is an exciting time to join the charity as they’ve got a well-established Data team and are now using advanced data science techniques meaning you will learn new skills in Python, R and various statistical modelling techniques.

This is the perfect role for you if you're an Insight Analyst who currently has SQL skills and ideally some knowledge in customer analysis who wants to move to a role where you can learn everything data science related. This charity will provide you with excellent internal and external training opportunities to allow you to become an expert in statistical techniques and move into more of a Data Science role.

Working for this excellent charity you will get to utilise their flexible working hours and the opportunity to work from home 1-2 days a week.

Skills required for the Insight Analyst are:

• Excellent knowledge in SQL.
• Experience of working with large volumes of data.
• Ability to pick up new skills quickly and keen interest to learn.
• Any knowledge in Python or R is desirable but you will be given full training.

Insight Analyst / SQL / Python / R / Statistical Modelling / Excel / Data Analyst 

Salary: £35,000 - £39,000 + Excellent Benefits (Working from home, flexible working hours etc.)

Location: Shoreditch, London

Apply now for immediate consideration regarding this excellent opportunity!

Understanding Recruitment is acting as an employment agency for this vacancy.

Insight Analyst (Faststats)

An brand new role has recently arisen for an Insight Analyst to join a well-known charity based in their head office in Old Street, London. As the Insight Analyst you will play an important role in the implementation of Faststats, reporting and analysis for teams to help develop and inform the design of services, customer journeys and income. This is an exciting time to join the charity as they are currently implementing Faststats in order to keep on developing the fundraising and marketing teams.

This is the perfect role for you if you're an Insight Analyst who currently has Faststats skills and ideally some knowledge in digital analysis. It is essential you have previous charity experience working with fundraising data. If you have also had exposure to Google Analytics that would be advantageous.

Skills required for the Insight Analyst (Faststats) are:

• Excellent knowledge of Faststats.
• Experience of working with large volumes of data (Digital).
• Ability to pick up new skills quickly and keen interest to learn.
• Previous Charity experience.

Insight Analyst / Faststats / Digital / Google Analytics / Data Analyst 

Salary: £36,000 - £41,500 + Excellent Benefits (12 Month Fix Term Contract)

Location: Old Street, London

This is a brilliant opportunity for an Insight Analyst who has excellent skills within Faststats to join this charity on an initial 12 month fix term contract.

Apply now for immediate consideration regarding this excellent opportunity!

Understanding Recruitment is acting as an employment agency for this vacancy.

About Us

The Natural History Museum (NHM) is a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre and commercial event space. We use our unique collections and unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million specimens, both in our London and Tring museums, spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually.

We are at a pivotal moment in our history, having launched a new strategy setting out our role as the natural world faces increasing threats. Building on our world-leading collection, global reputation for science and as one of the world's leading visitor attractions, the NHM has ambitious plans leading up to its 150^th anniversary in 2031 making this a truly exciting time to be part of the NHM team.

Over 300 scientists based at the Museum tackle important global challenges, spanning mineral scarcity, food security and biodiversity loss. The Museum is globally renowned for excellence in science and research and championing digital capacity and innovation. In March, the UK Government announced a very substantial investment, of £182m over 6 years, to set up a new science and digitisation centre at the Harwell Science and Innovation Centre in south Oxfordshire. This is a once in a century opportunity to shape the future of the Museum, protect and share our unique collection and further our science

About the role

Key responsibilities of this role include the acquisition of the new site for the NHM science and digitisation centre at Harwell Science Campus - including options for the procurement model, agreeing approach with the Museum and delivery of the final deal through negotiation.

In addition, this role is responsible for disposing of an existing south London storage site, appointing an agent to ensure maximum sale value, and engaging with planning authorities, managing dependencies and moving collections out of this building.

In all workstreams, the role is responsible for selecting, appointing and managing a large team of consultants, designers and developers who will make up the supply chain that delivers the project, in addition to managing a small in-house project team.

The post is based in South Kensington, with frequent visits to Harwell and with good scope for home working

About you

You will be a Chartered Surveyor (RICS), with expert knowledge and practical experience of delivering design and development of a new build and overseeing the sale of a property for development.

It is crucial that you have experience of managing large budget expenditure, as the role will have oversight of a budget of over £3m in the first two years, with implications for expenditure of over £100m for the programme as a whole.

Ideally, you will have experience of working in the museums, academic or scientific research sector and a commitment to and knowledge of environmentally sustainable buildings. Working within public sector procurement guidelines in a central government department or arms-length body would be desirable.

7 years fixed term contract

Interviews will be held on 26 and 29 June 2020

How to apply

Please visit and upload your CV with a covering letter, which clearly outlines how you meet our person specification.