Senior Communications Consultant - Maternity Cover

Senior Communications Consultant
Maternity leave cover
About
Spark Inside is a young, vibrant organisation that runs coaching programmes in prisons across London and the South East, to encourage rehabilitation and reduce reoffending. We are proud that our work makes a meaningful difference to the lives of people living and working in prison, and our team of expert coaches and talented staff makes us a dynamic place to work. Established in 2012, we have worked with over 1,000 prisoners and prison staff, in 11 prisons, young offender institutions and secure training centres. We have won various awards, including a Commendation for the Robin Corbett Award for Prisoner Re-integration 2018, and were shortlisted for the Charity Times Award Best New Charity 2016.

The Conversation is our systems coaching programme that brings together large groups of prison staff and prisoners in a facilitated group coaching process to enhance their relationships, improve empathy, and support sustained, positive cultural change on prison wings. Evaluations of our systems coaching programme show an 81% increase in positive prisoner behaviour.

Hero’s Journey is our structured life coaching programme for young people aged 15-25, in prison and through-the-gates, building their motivation to change, decreasing in-prison violence and creating a pro-social identity away from crime. Evaluation of our life coaching programme has shown it reduces
reoffending by one third. It’s an exciting time to join Spark Inside, as we increase our reach and impact, scale-up to deliver across the country, and are set to elevate our profile through our media and policy work. You can find out more about the impact of our coaching programmes on our
website and @Spark_Inside.

A pioneering and innovative charity, we are one of the first organisations to take life coaching to 15- to 25-year-old boys and men, and to use systems coaching to bring together prison officers and prisoners in UK prisons.

About the position
Thank you for your interest in SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANT - MATERNITY LEAVE COVER
Responsible to: CEO
Length of contract: To cover a period of maternity leave, for a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 12 months. Some flexibility on contract length will be required.
Hours: 3 days a week, 9am - 5pm, or 10am - 6pm
Location: Spark Inside’s office in Euston, London with regional travel. Occasional evenings or weekends may be required.
Daily rate: £300 - £400 per day (depending on experience)
Start date: Mid-end of January 2019

Role description
Spark Inside is seeking a Senior Communications Consultant to cover a period of maternity leave from January 2019. This role will lead on raising the charity’s public profile through implementing sections of the existing communication strategy. S/he will deliver a programme of compelling external communications activities in order to increase Spark Inside’s visibility and ensure its key messages are wide-reaching, impactful and consistent across all stakeholders. S/he will manage a Policy & Communications Manager, a freelance Grant Writer and a retained media consultant. S/he will report to the CEO and join the Senior Management Team, inputting into strategic planning, advice and support to staff and trustees.

The right person will share a passion for our cause, be values-aligned, and committed to high standards of delivery. This role requires a person with an understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges of working in a small, growing organisation.

Specific duties include:
Marketing communications:
• Overseeing the design, print, production and dissemination of marketing materials, working closely with the Policy & Comms Manager;
• Overseeing the maintenance and development of the website and digital comms, working closely with the Policy & Comms Manager;
• Implementing the branding and communications activity for our social licensing model (including developing a comms toolkit for partners to utilise), working closely with the Expansion & Partnerships Manager;
• Working closely with the Programme Team to deliver timely and effective communications in and out of prisons;
• Implementing internal communications activity;
• Supporting and utilising the In-Prison Advisory Boards to help shape communications activity and promote the voices of our programme participants;
• Reviewing, proofreading and acting as ‘brand guardian’, ensuring consistency across all internal and external communications.

PR and advocacy:
• Overseeing media campaigns, working with the media consultant and Policy & Comms Manager;
• Overseeing advocacy and policy work, led by the Policy & Comms Manager;
• Implementing the events plan, to maximise brand visibility, including researching and arranging speaking engagements for the CEO and ensuring the organisation is present at relevant conferences and events.

Senior management:
• Supporting organisational strategy as a member of the Senior Management Team;
• Supporting the CEO on stewardship of patrons and funders;
• Preparing reports for the Senior Management Team and the Board of Trustees;
• Managing effectively within the annual communications budget and reporting regularly on progress;
• Line managing Spark Inside’s communications team, ensuring they are supported to meet or exceed our internal targets and have adequate training.

Funding:
• Overseeing the grant-writing and reporting, working with a freelance Grant Writer and maintaining relationships and check-ins with funders.

Skills and qualities

EXPERIENCE:

• At least 10 years’ experience in communications, with at least one senior comms role (Head of / Director) in a charity;
• Previously held a senior management role at a small organisation;
• Proven understanding and implementation of a communications strategy;
• Sound expedience of producing written materials for different audiences;
• Excellent at building relationships with media and publishing articles in well-known media outlets. Can bring with them national media contacts;

SKILLS:
• Strong storytelling skills and the ability to create compelling narratives;
• Can retain, distil and communicate complex information in a simple, logical and persuasive way
for different audiences;
• Excellent writing and proofreading skills;
• Excellent IT skills, expert user of Microsoft Office.
• Highly organised, detail-oriented and self-motivated;
• Outstanding people and project manager, open to direction and commitment to excellence;
• Happy to be internally-facing;
• Comfortable in a small team environment, with limited structure;
• Ability to develop collaborative working relationships;
• Delegates responsibilities effectively;
• Willing to work flexibly and develop the role to best meet the needs of a growing organisation;
• An interest in social justice issues is desirable.

APPROACH:

• Highly organised, detail-oriented and self-motivated;
• Outstanding people and project manager, open to direction and commitment to excellence;
• Happy to be internally-facing;
• Comfortable in a small team environment, with limited structure;
• Ability to develop collaborative working relationships;
• Delegates responsibilities effectively;
• Willing to work flexibly and develop the role to best meet the needs of a growing organisation;
• An interest in social justice issues is desirable.

How to apply
To apply for the role, we require a covering letter (max 1 page) and a CV (max 2 pages). Your covering letter should: explain why you want this job; how your background and experience make you a suitable candidate; and outline relevant skills and knowledge.

Your CV and covering letter should be returned by email to Charlie Cole at team@sparkinside.org no later than 5pm on Wednesday 5th December 2018.

Applications received after the closing date will not be considered.

Shortlisted applicants will be notified by phone by/on Friday 7th December. Due to our limited resources we are unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful applications.

The first stage interviews will be held on the 11th and 12th of December. Shortlisted applicants will be contacted by phone to arrange interview times. Details of the interview will be confirmed by email. The second stage interviews will be held on 17th of December. Applicants will be contacted by phone the next day.

OUR VALUES

SPARK
We want to feel a strong sense of passion and ‘spark’ for everything we do. We commit to people, projects and partnerships that align with our values.

HEART
We maintain an open mind and an open heart, and we always act with kindness and consideration.

STICKABILITY
When the going gets tough, we stick with our participants, our projects and our commitments. We channel our grit and resilience to make it through challenges and we don’t give up easily.

IMPACT
Our impact on our participants is at the heart of every decision we make and it is how we judge our success, so we take evaluation seriously.

LEARNING
We are humble, curious and constantly developing. We apply and share our learning to amplify our impact.

INNOVATION
We celebrate creativity and design new ways of doing things, based on evaluation data and stakeholder feedback. We innovate to remain relevant to our participants’ needs.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Spark Inside is committed to promoting equal opportunities in employment. Job applicants will receive equal treatment regardless of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation.

We welcome applications from those who hold a criminal record.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN WORKING WITH US
To find out more about Spark Inside and the work we do, please visit our website or contact us below.
www.sparkinside.org | team@sparkinside.org | 020 3468 0706
27 Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9HH | Registered charity no. 1148420