Senior media relation officer jobs in Edinburgh

We are seeking an exceptional leader to be our next chief executive, leading a respected and influential membership organisation at the heart of a thriving grassroots movement.

You’ll be working to build on the success we’ve seen and strong position and voice we have established for ourselves and our members, as a leading force for inclusive and sustainable transport and communities.

You’ll bring an impressive track record in values-based leadership, a proven ability to engage and inspire grassroots change-makers, strategic partners and policy-makers, and a deep belief in the importance of community-led change towards a sustainable, equitable future.

About us

Community Rail Network is a national not-for-profit organisation, which is in the process of applying for charitable status, supporting a growing ‘community rail’ movement, which helps communities get the most from their railways, promotes sustainable and inclusive travel, coordinates volunteering and place-making, and brings people together.

Community rail is made up of 77 community-based organisations, and around 1,300 station volunteer groups and other community-led initiatives around Britain. Their activities range from creative projects for young people, to advising train operators on service improvements, to building travel confidence among marginalised groups, to biodiversity projects at stations, to promoting greener tourism by rail.

Our enthusiastic team of 24 works from home in dispersed locations, but we come together regularly in person and online. We work collaboratively to support members, provide training, events and resources, run campaigns, and champion community rail and its insights. We believe in helping everyone reach their potential while having a good work-life balance.

About this role, and your main responsibilities

Our current CEO is moving on after nine years in role, leaving the organisation, team and wider movement in a strong and empowered position to deliver on the next phase of our development.

Your opportunity is to lead the organisation, and to deliver on our new five-year strategy setting an ambitious course for the future during a period of major transformation for our railways and the wider transport system. You will ensure that we are:

• clear in our identity and our independence, and seen as thought leaders in our field;
• are supporting our members and stakeholders to meet their changing and diverse needs; and
• ensuring the financial and operational resilience of the organisation in an environment that is undergoing a period of rapid change.

As CEO, you will lead a passionate and experienced senior leadership team with three direct reports, while working closely with and reporting into our Board, key partners and funders, and ensuing an engaging, empowering, tenacious approach across all we do.

Advocacy of community rail and its benefits will be high on your agenda, and you will be working closely across multiple stakeholders including UK and devolved national governments, regional and local authorities as well as forging collaborative partnerships with like-minded organisations.

Maintaining our community-centric ethos, you will need to ensure we're effective in enabling members to unlock greater value from the railways at a grassroots level, while drawing on their insights to affect wider change. With hundreds of member groups and organisations across Britain delivering life-changing, place-enhancing work, you will have a solid foundation to build on, to take community rail forward and expand our impact in the years ahead.

Last, but not least, you will be responsible for ensuring the strong and effective governance of the organisation, modelling our governing principles, values and behaviours, and ensuring that we have robust financial and resource management in place.

Skills, competencies and qualities

1. Exceptional leadership skills, including a proven ability to lead, develop and grow third sector organisations or multi-faceted teams delivering complex activities, projects and campaigns;
2. Excellent communication and external leadership skills: articulate, assertive, with the ability to work diplomatically and persuasively with stakeholders at all levels;
3. Experienced in acting as the public face of an organisation, such as through the media, public speaking and high-level meetings, and using evidence and storytelling to articulate and champion a cause;
4. Politically astute, with knowledge of and commitment to social inclusion, social justice and sustainability, and a sound grasp of the importance of public transport, sustainable travel, and community-led action;
5. A proven ability to influence policy and decision-makers, and to identify influencing opportunities, ideally in relation to community development, sustainability and/or transport, including sharing community insights;
6. A strong track record in income generation and development, building strong funder relationships and delivery partnerships, managing programme or organisational budgets and controlling expenditure;
7. Experience of working with and/or reporting to a board, ideally in a not-for-profit and/or membership context;
8. An empowering, engaging approach to leadership, management and change-making;
9. Resilient, pragmatic and determined, with the ability to work under pressure, seize emergent opportunities, manage risk, and support others dealing with competing priorities.

Other information

The role will involve extensive travel within Britain as part of building your profile and that of the organisation with central and devolved government in Scotland and Wales, and increasingly with the devolved regions of England.

There is flexibility on location given the requirement to travel and that your office will be home-based. You will need to travel to in-person quarterly team meetings (usually in London or West Yorkshire) and to Board meetings which alternate between online and London. It is expected that travel will be by public transport and easy access to the rail network is therefore required to ensure journeys can be made sustainably. 

This is a full-time position, 37 hours per week. We use a flexi-time system with core hours 10am-3pm, and are committed to being a flexible, supportive and understanding employer. This is a permanent position with a probationary period of six months. 

Benefits: 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (rising up to 30 days, plus Bank Holidays, in line with long service); pension with employer contribution of 7%; and access to Employee Assistance Programme.

Successful applicants will need to provide proof that they have the right to work in the UK and provide two references.

Community Rail Network is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from disabled people and Black, Asian and other minoritised groups, who meet with the skills and competencies for this role. We will provide reasonable adjustments for interviews as required.

Are you an experienced and talented communications professional looking for your next challenge? Are you excited to take on a pivotal role which will shape the future of a national charity working on a key social justice issue? Can you use your expertise and experience to raise awareness of hygiene poverty, the charity’s work and bring critical supporters and stakeholders onboard? If this sounds like you and you’re motivated by improving the lives of people across the UK, we’d love to hear from you. 

The Marketing and Communications Manager plays a key role in raising awareness of hygiene poverty and inspiring individuals and corporate partners to act in support of The Hygiene Bank’s mission. This role leads our communications strategy, creates compelling content, manages digital channels, secures regional and national media coverage for the charity, and supports national campaigns and events. You will have the opportunity to work with our exciting portfolio of corporate and brand partners, co-designing joint campaigns and initiatives, and positioning our communications to generate further support and income.You will also play an important role in our End Hygiene Poverty research and campaign partnership with the charity In Kind Direct. 

Working collaboratively across the organisation and with external partners, the postholder ensures our brand integrity and messaging is clear, ethical and impactful, helping to amplify the voices of those experiencing hygiene poverty and strengthen engagement with volunteers, community partners, supporters and the public who share our mission to end hygiene poverty. It is a varied, creative and meaningful role which sits at the heart of our work to ensure everyone has access to the hygiene essentials they need to feel clean, confident, and connected.

The charity is at a critical point in its development as we work to become a major national voice, working closely with others to drive significant change. Our people must be excited by the potential of what lies ahead, enjoy, and thrive in, change. 

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES 

1. Communications Plan and Implementation 

• Develop and implement the annual communications and marketing plan in collaboration with senior leadership. 

• Design communications which meet our objectives, with particular emphasis on raising awareness of hygiene poverty and the charity, securing the support we need and championing and celebrating our partners and stakeholders 

• Ensure communications are accurate, impactful, and aligned with The Hygiene Bank’s mission, values, tone of voice and brand guidelines. 

• Translate complex or sensitive issues related to hygiene poverty into accessible, compelling stories. 

• Provide strategic communications support across teams and projects, including leading on National Hygiene Week, our flagship annual event and our partnerships with leading national brands, such as Boots, Unilever and smol. 

• Provide communications support for our fundraising campaigns and optimise our calls to action across all media. 

• Uphold high ethical and inclusive standards in all messaging and ensure our communications conform with accessibility standards. 

2. Digital Strategy and Implementation 

• Lead digital planning and delivery across our website, email, social media and digital campaigns. 

• Manage digital advertising activity (e.g., paid social, Google Ads), ensuring strong ROI. 

• Lead on the development and maintenance of our website to maximised our impact with audiences, including using SEO and traffic metrics to inform improvements.

• Oversee analytics, reporting and insight‑driven optimisation, using this to guide the work of yourself and the Communications Officer. 

3. Content Creation 

• Produce high quality written, visual and multimedia content for a variety of platforms – including media communications, social media, presentations and speeches and communications collateral to support all our campaigns. 

• Create and update marketing collateral, including leaflets, posters and campaign toolkits. 

• Manage, create and edit supporter newsletters and email communications. 

• Commission and collaborate with designers, photographers and videographers and other external creative resources as required. 

• Develop and hold a library of high-quality creative assets and imagery which support our proposition and share with partners and volunteers as needed. 

4. Ambassadors and Influencers 

•  Build and nurture relationships with ambassadors, influencers and public supporters. 

•  Develop briefs, guidance and campaign plans for influencer activity. 

•  Ensure ambassador messaging aligns with organisational values and priorities. 

•  Identify opportunities to amplify diverse lived experiences and voices. 

5. Events 

• Plan and implement digital and in person events for THB audiences 

• Lead promotional activity for national and regional events, campaigns and awareness moments including those with our brand and corporate partners 

• Support branding and communications needs for in‑person and digital events. 

• Coordinate communications for key campaigns such as National Hygiene Week and major partnership launches. 

• Capture and produce event‑related content (photo, video, social). 

6. External Engagement and media 

• Act as the point person for our collaborative campaign with In Kind Direct (IKD) End Hygiene Poverty, coordinating joint activities and working closely with peers in the charity 

• Collaborate and work with our corporate partners to produce co-branded communications and collateral which protects the integrity of our brand and aligns with our partners. 

• Collaborate with sector organisations to amplify other campaigns and activities in pursuit of shared goals

• Support media relations through press releases, statements, case studies and briefing documents. 

• Work with our external broadcast agency to create compelling broadcast opportunities to amplify our messaging and campaigns 

• Secure local, regional and national coverage for the charity online, and in print 

• Represent The Hygiene Bank in external meetings, partnerships and sector collaborations. 

• Build relationships with community groups, corporate partners and volunteers. 

• Provide campaign assets and messaging for partners to support wider engagement. 

7. Data and Monitoring 

• Monitor communications performance using analytics tools. 

• Prepare monthly reports and recommendations based on performance data. 

• Maintain accurate records of communications outputs, engagement and media coverage. 

• Ensure GDPR‑compliant data handling and responsible content management. 

• Prepare an annual review of communications and learnings as input to future plans. 

8. Administration 

• Manage communications timelines, schedules and project documentation. 

• Coordinate with suppliers, agencies and freelancers, including managing budgets where required. 

• Oversee approval processes for communications materials. 

• Maintain organised filing systems and brand resources. 

9. Team 

• Work collaboratively across teams and with volunteers to support organisation‑wide communications needs. 

• Line manage the Communications Officer, empowering and championing them in their role 

• Provide guidance on messaging, brand use and digital best practice. 

• Adopt a ‘can do’ and responsive attitude to requests from team members. 

• Contribute to an inclusive, supportive and mission‑driven team culture. 

10. Internal Communications 

• Support internal newsletters, updates and team/trustee communications. 

• Working with relevant colleagues, ensure staff and volunteers have consistent, clear and accessible information. 

• Strengthen internal cohesion by supporting cross‑team information flow. 

PERSON SPECIFICATION 

With a strong alignment to The Hygiene Bank’s values, you will have: 

• Outstanding written communication skills across a variety of media, from crafting social media content to producing case studies. 

• A creative mindset, generating new and innovative ways to communicate our work. 

• An appetite for change and continuous learning and improvement. 

• Excellent organisational skills: self‑motivated, disciplined, able to work without close supervision. 

• Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple projects simultaneously. 

• Ability to represent the charity and its mission in a clear, emotive and factual way. 

• Strong interpersonal skills: able to build and nurture relationships with volunteers, corporate partners and community groups. 

• An enthusiastic, can‑do attitude; a self-starter and a team player with a flair for building relationships. 

This job description and person specification outlines the major components of the role but is not intended to be exhaustive. 

EXPERIENCE 

With a strong track record of roles in communications and/or marketing, you will be able to demonstrate:

• Proficiency in a range of communications tools, such as Canva, MailChimp, Wordpress, Google Adwords, Adobe, Microsoft Suites, Hootsuite, etc. 

• Strong copywriting skills for a variety of audiences and formats. 

• Ability to produce marketing and communications materials for multiple audiences across different platforms. 

• Ability to communicate effectively with diverse audiences and stakeholders. 

• Strong IT skills including CRM systems, PowerBI, social media channels, Wordpress, Google Analytics and related tools. 

Please note that applicants need to be resident in the UK and have the right to work in the UK. 

The Hygiene Bank is committed to promoting equality of opportunity and values diversity of culture among our staff and volunteers.  We actively welcome applications that will help increase the diversity of our workforce, welcoming applications from those with disabilities and from minority groups and from different backgrounds and experiences. 

How to apply 
Closing date: Thursday 30th April @9am. Please note that we are a small team and will be reviewing applications as they are received. To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately, once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.

Interview dates: from 8th- 15th May 2026