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Press and PR Officer

Employer
RCGP (Royal College of General Practitioners)
Location
London (Central), London (Greater)
Salary
£33,868 per annum
Closing date
10 Mar 2019

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Full time, Permanent

Grade EL, Salary £33,868 per annum

Location: London

Close date: 10 March 2019

Interview date: TBC

The Royal College of General Practitioners is the ‘voice’ of general practice. As the professional membership body for family doctors we represent GPs on the issues that matter most to them – and their patients. We have an exceptionally high media profile and, over the last two years, have secured a record number of mentions in Parliament.

We are looking to recruit a highly-motivated colleague to join our PR and Corporate Communications Team to help us build on our success and take the College’s reputation to the next level, right across the UK.

As Press and PR Officer (Regional and National) you will be a part of the RCGP’s small but incredibly busy 24/7 Press Office, dealing with multiple queries from national and local journalists daily. You will use high levels of judgement to balance risk, raise the profile of the College across the UK and protect the reputation of both the College and the GP profession.

You will develop proactive media and social media strategies at both a local and national level – sourcing stories, pitching them to journalists and providing strategic advice to College spokespeople ahead of interviews. You will also source, write and produce articles for the College’s membership magazine GP Frontline and its supplements, which both go out to the RCGP’s 52,000 members.

The successful candidate will share our corporate values. In return, the College offers excellent terms and conditions.

To apply please upload your CV and cover letter via the RCGP Vacancies page, via the button below.

The Royal College of General Practitioners is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

                                                              ~ Great doctors great care ~

JOB PURPOSE

  • To further raise the profile of the RCGP and increase national and regional media coverage across print, broadcast, online and social channels, in line with College campaign and policy priorities, to influence decision-makers and opinion-formers
  • To pro-actively promote the work of the RCGP and respond quickly and sensitively to negative or critical news stories, using astute judgement to manage risk and limit potential damage to the reputation of the College at both a national and local level
  • To draft high-quality media statements and press releases across a wide variety of complex clinical and policy issues
  • To identify potential storylines about the work the College does regionally that can be developed into positive, pro-active media stories or articles for College publications in order to raise the RCGP’s profile at a local level
  • To write and edit material for internal and external audiences, including the RCGP Chair’s weekly e-bulletin to members and the College’s quarterly membership magazine GP Frontline
  • To provide strategic advice and briefings to senior spokespeople identifying and promoting key College policies, highlighting risks and ensuring that the RCGP communicates consistent messages.
  • To work with the Digital Team to further develop the RCGP’s social media strategy ensure that traditional and social media activities are joined up.
  • To provide a 24/7 out of hours media rota, including weekends and public holidays, with other colleagues in the team

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE AND ATTRIBUTES

Education

  • A Level English
  • Educated to degree level or equivalent

Knowledge and Experience

  • Previous experience in journalism, press office or media environment
  • Demonstrable track record in writing and editing newspapers or magazines (portfolio required)
  • Proven experience of running proactive public relations campaigns and crisis management
  • Experience of working in a national membership organisation, charity or similar organisation

Skills

  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills (evidence of published work - articles, speeches, reports and other material aimed at a wide range of target audiences)
  • Ability to work authoritatively, knowledgeably and confidently with journalists and senior College spokespeople and College members
  • Excellent news sense and ability to identify pro-active stories
  • Demonstrable experience of crisis management
  • Resilience and ability to use own initiative, manage competing demands, prioritise workload and meet deadlines
  • Creativity and ability to manage projects from ideas stage to implementation
  • Good team player
  • Excellent attention to detail
  • Thorough understanding of current affairs and health agenda
  • Pleasant and approachable manner and ability to deal with people at all levels
  • Conscientious and reliable

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