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Communications & Advocacy Manager

Employer
Prospectus
Location
North London
Salary
Up to £50000.00 per annum
Closing date
26 Jul 2019

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Job Details

Communications and Advocacy Manager


The Foundation was established in 1956 on the death of Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian. With Headquarters in Portugal and branches in Paris and London (the UK Branch), the foundation aims to improve the quality of life for people, particularly the most vulnerable, including through focusing funding and related activity on time-limited, objective-driven programmes of work which aim to help bring about lasting positive change. We have long pushed at the boundaries of what philanthropy can offer: placing solutions to social, environmental and cultural causes at the forefront, championing thinking before it becomes more mainstream, building coalitions, allowing partners the space to experiment, and placing an emphasis on advocacy that can influence the wider ecology within which we all work. We engage closely with colleagues in other parts of the Foundation enhancing the effectiveness and reputation of the Foundation as a leading European philanthropic institution. We have a rich story to tell and ambitions to reposition the UK Branch as it seeks to extend its impact in countries beyond the UK.

We are working with the UK Branch to recruit a Communications and Advocacy Manager to join the team on a maternity contract for around 10 months. With a new five-year plan soon be published, the organisation is looking to focus on telling a more compelling story of how it works with partners to help bring about change. We want to align our operational communications activity with the work of partners targeted on influence at the level of policy, practice and public behaviour.

The role:

This key function will play an important role as part of the senior leadership team and lead the development and delivery of a communications strategy which will help enhance the influence of the UK Branch's work. We rarely take the lead as campaigners for the causes we identify with; rather, we support and amplify the advocacy efforts led by our partners. This requires a candidate with an understanding as to how to add value to others' efforts and, when appropriate, how to play a more leading role in advocacy. The focus will be on building upon the organisation's reputation as a thought leader in its specialist areas of focus which currently include: marine protection; 'the civic role of arts organisations'; work on loneliness and retirement transitions which we are passing to a partner organisation; and a new programme with a strong international dimension. The role will involve:


- taking a lead on strategic communications that reflect, and reinforce, the character and identity of the organisation and the narrative we will develop about the UK Branch's contribution to change;


- seeking out and presenting relevant and thought-provoking stories and drafting copy for a variety of media;


- managing the production of selected internal and stakeholder publications which resonate for audiences;


- developing news angles and engaging press relations to stimulate wider coverage for the work, where appropriate;


- managing the design and content of the website and implementing a social media plan appropriate to the organisation;


- contributing to the organisation of key events inputting creatively to their design and follow-through to maximise their impact for audiences;


- exploring and defining what advocacy means for the Foundation, and identifying opportunities where strategic advocacy may play a role across the various programmes of work with partners;


- putting in place mechanisms for substantiating the impact of the UK Branch's communications activity and the contribution it makes to programmatic objectives;


- overseeing and developing one other member of staff;


- working collaboratively as part of a small team and role modelling leadership as part of the management team.

The overall aim of this role is to support our programmatic objectives and enhance the reputation of the Foundation in the UK and elsewhere to help drive the change we want to see.

The person: The successful candidate will have a track record in proactively developing, delivering and evaluating a communications strategy in a relevant setting and have experience in a leadership role. S/he will have had exposure to policy and advocacy work and be able to define strategic advocacy approaches on issues we support. Intellectually curious and energetic, this person will have a strong creative drive, be flexible and be an excellent writer. Able to work collaboratively, listening constructively and dealing with ambiguity, interpreting the vision of the CEO and wider team is essential to success in this role. The person will have experience of line management and be able to demonstrate how s/he has contributed to the development of individuals at early stages in their career. This is an exciting time to work with the organisation as it offers the opportunity to provide serious input into its direction and influence the way forward in an ideas driven and proactive environment and gaining experience of a specialist sub-sector in the charitable ecology.

This role is offered on a 12 month fixed term contract, 4 days per week.
To apply for this role, please submit a Word Document version of your CV; cover letters are not required at this stage. A full job description will be provided to candidates shortlisted by Prospectus.

Company

We believe our clients change the world for individuals, communities and society. For over 60 years Prospectus has been working across the UK and internationally to connect talented people with beyond profit organisations.

 

Company info
Telephone
(020) 7691 1925
Location
20/22 Stukeley Street
London
London
WC2B5LR
GB

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