Interim Media and Communications Officer x2

Reference no: Ealing 6606-1

Pay Rate: £24 per hour PAYE

Role Length: This opening assignment is for 3 months

Hybrid role.

A Media and Communications Officer is required to develop, implement, and sustain communications activity in support of the corporate communications strategy using appropriate political awareness and sensitivity.

Provide expert advice to protect the client’s reputation in the media, responding quickly and effectively to sustain positive coverage and manage issues.

Key responsibilities:

• Work with senior managers and members to plan, cost and deliver a range of marketing, media, and communications activities to support client departments’ business plans and priorities in liaison with colleagues across the department.
• Develop and implement a wide range of media and communications strategies to support allocated portfolio briefs.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships with internal client departments to provide an account management role for their communication requirements.
• Lead across the department on handling media issues including briefing and preparing spokespeople for media interviews.
• Use creative approaches to secure positive media coverage through an effective proactive and reactive media and communications service and rebut inaccurate and hostile coverage.
• Build and maintain close links with national, regional, trade and local media, key bloggers and social media influencers and develop contacts within specialist areas of activity to increase the amount of positive coverage.
• Monitor emerging issues, both positive and negative, and advise senior managers and cabinet members, as directed by the senior media and communications officer.
• Develop new and interesting story ideas and research, write, proof-read, and edit copy for a range of communications purposes.
• Contribute to the maintenance of a corporate communications plan to underpin the corporate communications strategy.
• Work with appropriate stakeholders, partner organisations and regional and national government to communicate policies and strategies and seek to influence for positive effect.
• Be responsible for managing budgets associated with activity for which the post-holder is the lead and make recommendations on expenditure.
• Be responsible for evaluating the marketing and communications activity for which the post holder is the lead and make recommendations for presentation to senior managers.
• Commission a range of print and creative design services and other marketing campaign materials through internal and external suppliers, making detailed recommendations to ensure that creative campaigns meet marketing requirements.
• Be responsible for writing and uploading of content to client websites and digital channels and social media.

“Role Requirements” – to give yourself the maximum chance of success please try and ensure your CV addresses the following essential criteria:

Experience:

• Demonstrable experience and success in leading communications or media campaigns and generating positive coverage and feedback to improve service delivery in a local authority or closely related environment.
• Demonstrable experience of working as or with journalists at a senior or national level and in all types of media.
• Demonstrable experience of good project management skills.
• Experience handling media enquiries/responses.
• Experience of delivering campaigns using diverse/innovative approach.

Knowledge:

• Detailed knowledge of the diverse media and communications requirements and techniques required by a local authority and its operational services.
• Knowledge and understanding of equality issues and the ability to integrate equalities policies into media and communications campaigns and service delivery.

Skills/technical skills:

• Able to lead on the preparation and deployment of media, marketing and communication campaigns and recommend the most appropriate communication tools and techniques in each case.
• Excellent writing skills for print/press/online articles.
• Able to prepare detailed briefs for senior officers and councillors for media interviews.
• Able to understand complex numerical and other performance data and make recommendations on the appropriate media or communication response.
• Excellent interpersonal, presentation, persuasion and negotiating skills.
• Ability to show creativity and flair to generate new ideas to ensure media coverage in a highly competitive field.
• Able to work effectively daily with corporate board and cabinet members and strategy and engagement colleagues.
• Able to write high quality, accurate copy for a range of publications, news releases and produce wide ranging and innovative online content.
• Able to produce detailed briefs for the design and production of marketing campaign materials.
• Effective account and client management skills.
• Ability to work under pressure and to very tight deadlines.
• Ability to deal with sensitive issues with tact.

NB: Please feel free to apply to us direct via [email protected] by quoting the job reference and job title exactly. SEE DETAILS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS AD.

If you have previously applied to one of our vacancies and have already sent the required supporting documentation to us, please make this clear when you re-apply as this will help speed up your application.

To help speed up the process of uploading your CV to the client we would suggest that you send us your CV in Word format (or equivalent) if possible, rather than as a PDF.

If you are successful in securing this role, please note that for the entire duration of this contract, regardless of extension you will be working this role at the PAYE rate that has been advertised. For absolute clarity, we only work on a PAYE basis, rather than entertaining umbrella pay terms, we do not offer Ltd/umbrella or outside IR35 rates. If you wish to understand PAYE vs Umbrella more, please let us know and we can send you some additional information for clarity.