Senior pr officer jobs in Belfast

Employer: Community Rail Network 

Salary: £43k-£51.5k pa, full time 

Location: Home based / flexible or Huddersfield 

We are seeking a dynamic director of policy and communications, to lead and develop our increasingly impactful external affairs activity. You’ll be sharing community insights and evidence with policy and decision-makers at national and devolved level, supporting a shift towards more inclusive and sustainable transport and mobility, while overseeing high-quality, inspiring member communications and thought-leadership, drawing on grassroots experiences.  
  

About us 

Community Rail Network is a national not-for-profit organisation 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 76 community-based partnership organisations, and c.1,300 station friends 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 different locations, but we come together regularly in person and online. We work collaboratively to support our members, provide training, events and resources, run campaigns, and champion community rail and its insights. We believe in developing our team and helping everyone reach their potential while having a good work-life balance.

About this role 

This role is crucial for us, our members and their communities, especially at the current time, with our need to seize on the opportunities of rail reform and devolution, promote wider use of sustainable transport, and bring communities together. You will spearhead our external affairs strategy and plans, building political relationships, influencing decision-making and raising awareness of community rail and its insights, while ensuring effective communications with our members and helping them to have a voice locally and regionally. You’ll be striving to put community rail at the forefront of a shift towards more inclusive and sustainable mobility.

As a member of our senior leadership team, reporting to and working closely with our chief executive, you will manage a passionate team of four, ensuring collaboration with our other teams, partners and funders, and drawing on members’ insights.

 
Main responsibilities 

• Lead the review, development and delivery of our communications, policy and insights strategy, working to position the community rail movement effectively, use its insights to influence policy change, and ensure our members are well-informed and have a voice; 

• Further strengthen our advisory and influencing work with national, devolved and regional government, transport bodies, parliamentarians and other decision-makers, especially around rail reform, transport devolution and integrated, inclusive, sustainable transport; 

• Ensure we’re engaging effectively with policy developments and opportunities, taking forward a programme of relationship-building, and identifying and engaging in relevant consultations, events and speaking opportunities, enabling community rail’s insights and experiences to be shared; 

• Collaborate with partners in rail, government and the third sector to feed in our expertise on community engagement with rail, amplify our campaigns, and build opportunities for joined-up communications and policy work;

• Continually develop and disseminate our evidence base and insights on the social, environmental and economic value community rail delivers, and opportunities to create greater benefits for communities from rail and transport; 

• Oversee high-quality, coherent and inspiring communications with our members and partners, promoting our work, and sharing news, opportunities, and good practice across the movement; 

• Manage production of high-quality resources, case studies and reports that our members can use to enhance their impact and which showcase community rail’s impact; 

• Lead and develop our media relations and awareness-raising PR, championing community rail and its messages on sustainable, inclusive travel and communities at national and regional level, while supporting members on local PR; 

• Develop our online presence and reach, making full use of our website, social media, our Scenic Rail Britain campaign, and partners’ channels to celebrate and position community rail and grow its reach and impact; 

• Oversee a calendar of creative and impactful campaigns that involve and empower our members, creating PR and engagement opportunities, including Community Rail Week;

• Play a key role in collective leadership, strategic focus and organisational development as a member of our senior leadership team, including through internal communications and cross-team working, annual planning, funder liaison and reporting, upholding our strategies and policies, and pursuing opportunities for continuous improvement. 

 
Skills and competencies 

1. Strong leadership and management skills, including experience managing, developing and drawing on a multi-faceted team delivering complex campaigns or projects, and budget management; 
2. Excellent communication and external leadership skills; articulate, assertive, and with the ability to work diplomatically and persuasively with stakeholders at all levels; 
3. An understanding of public affairs, ideally in relation to community development, sustainability and/or transport, and a demonstrable ability to identify influencing opportunities, deliver thought-leadership, and engage with policy-makers, including sharing community insights; 
4. Politically astute, with awareness of and commitment to social inclusion, social justice and sustainability, and a good grasp of the importance of public transport sustainable travel, and community-led action, to these agendas; 
5. Understanding of political processes and experience of engaging with policy and decision-making, ideally at national, devolved and local levels; 
6. Sound knowledge of communication and marketing methods and channels, and ability to oversee messaging and targeting of public and professional audiences, and to align content across multiple channels; 
7. A demonstrable ability to think analytically and draw on statistical and qualitative research to construct robust, evidence-based arguments; 
8. Experience of working with the media and achieving coverage at national, regional and local level; 
9. Experience working collaboratively with partners and ideally funders to deliver communications and policy activity and forming professional networks; 
10. Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines while dealing with competing priorities, and to support team members to do so; 
11. IT literate with a good working knowledge of Office, the internet and social media; 
12. Appropriate qualifications and professional development demonstrating knowledge and skills in line with the above, and a commitment to ongoing learning and development.

Other information

As you will be home-based, we are flexible about your location. However, you will be expected to travel to in-person full team meetings quarterly (usually in West Yorkshire), and you will need to bring your team together (currently all West Yorkshire based) with similar regularity in between. Attendance at in-person events and meetings is also important. We therefore welcome applications from those with decent public transport links, not too far from a railway station, to enable journeys to 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.   

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.  

Location: Home Based with regular national travel

Since 1962 the National Autistic Society has been campaigning to transform lives, change attitudes and create a society that works for autistic people. In National Programmes we champion the rights and interests of autistic people and their families, making sure national policy and legislation to reflect their needs. We provide autism training and best practice services and want all autistic people to have access to services and support that fully meet their needs. We provide diagnostic services, training, accreditation, consultancy and conferences, designed to support all professionals and organisations.  

The Supporter Fundraising team is responsible for managing and growing all supporter-led fundraising activity, including third-party challenge events, community fundraising, and our own portfolio of fundraising events. Together, our work generates over £1 million in income each year—vital funds that help the National Autistic Society achieve its mission: a society that works for autistic people.

Visit our website to find out more about who we are and what we do:  

Who we are looking for: 

We are seeking a proactive and creative Senior Events Fundraising Officer to join our dynamic team on a permanent basis.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about events fundraising and eager to take ownership of a diverse portfolio. You’ll play a key role in developing new fundraising events, supporting and inspiring colleagues, and delivering excellent supporter experiences that maximise income and impact.

The role will involve:

• Leading on a portfolio of owned and third-party fundraising events, including feasibility research, planning, marketing, participant recruitment, logistics, budgeting, and evaluation.
• Taking a lead role in the development of new fundraising events in collaboration with the Innovation Team, from research and proposals through to approval, delivery and evaluation.
• Providing first-class supporter care, ensuring participants feel valued and engaged, and that income and expenditure targets are met or exceeded.
• Working closely with marketing, press and PR colleagues to create and implement event promotion and communications plans, across both traditional and digital channels.
• Line managing and supporting Events Officers where appropriate, and deputising for the Events Fundraising Manager when required.
• Building and maintaining strong relationships with internal stakeholders, suppliers, and event providers to ensure effective delivery and the best possible experience for supporters.
• Overseeing volunteer recruitment and stewardship plans to increase engagement and retention.

The successful candidate will bring:

• Experience of planning and delivering fundraising events, with proven ability to meet financial targets.
• Strong relationship-building skills, with confidence in working with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines.
• A creative, innovative mindset and a passion for developing new fundraising opportunities.
• A commitment to delivering outstanding supporter care and improving supporter journeys.

This is a full-time, permanent role, for 35 hours per week. The salary for this position is £32,577 per year.

To view the full job description please click  

 What we can offer you: 

• Auto-enrolled Pension Scheme 

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays 

• Excellent induction, training and development programme including training about autism and opportunities to attend our conferences 

• Online staff discount scheme for a range of benefits such as cycle to work scheme, season ticket loan & shopping discounts for places such as Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys, Halfords, Nike, Apple and loads more! 

• Healthcare Cash Plan 

• Life Assurance at 2 x base salary 

• A portfolio of fantastic new salary sacrifices benefits and other flexible benefits private health, dental insurance, car salary sacrifice scheme, activity pass, holiday trading, enhanced pension & salary deduct loans (eligibility criteria may apply) 

• Access to a 24-hour Employee Assistance Programme & counselling programme

• Free access to the Headspace App – a global leader in mindfulness and you can enrol up to three friends or family for free! 

• Eligibility for a Blue Light Card 

Where you will be working: 

City Road, London / Homeworking / Hybrid

(Up to 20% national travel, including some evenings and weekends, as required.)

About our application process: 

When providing a supporting statement, please refer to the job description and person specification and include any information that shows your suitability for the role. 

For more information about this job, please contact Jonathan Littledale – Events Fundraising Manager ( ########### )

We do reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications. 

For some roles, successful applicants will be required to complete the relevant safeguarding checks which will include additional references and criminal background checks. 

Applications for this job are sought from anyone who is suitably qualified and experienced for the role but particularly welcome from those with a diagnosis of autism. 

The National Autistic Society is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and adults who use our services and as such expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants will be required to complete the relevant safeguarding checks. 

We are an equal opportunities employer