Senior Communications & Media Manager

18-month Fixed Term Contract

The Careers & Enterprise Company was established in 2015 to help link schools and colleges to employers, in order to increase employer engagement for young people. Our mission is to prepare and inspire young people for the fast-changing world of work.

This is an exciting time at The Careers & Enterprise Company. During our first three years, we have worked with Local Enterprise Partnerships to build a national network which now links 2,000 schools and colleges to employers. We have also funded 150 programmes to provide high-quality employer engagement activities to young people where they are needed most.

The way we deliver careers education as a country is changing. You will play a crucial role in raising the profile of The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), communicating our role in a changing landscape, and telling our story to stakeholders, the media and the public.

This is an exciting and important time for CEC:

• We must be seen to be an influential and authoritative partner in the country’s response to the needs of young people during the Covid19 recovery period.
• We must offer direction alongside resources to schools, colleges and employers about how best they can support young people to transition from education into work.
• We must reflect on the Company’s progress in helping government to implement the Careers Strategy and its climax in autumn 2020.
• We must drive thought leadership and debate about the future of careers education in the context of political and economic circumstances as part of a new strategy era.
• We must ultimately demonstrate our value to young people and their preparedness for work.

The role will require an experienced communications professional who can work across the range of communications disciplines. You will be particularly strong in strategic communications and media relations, but also adept at stakeholder communications, social media and digital. The role will involve proactively securing high profile, positive coverage in national and sector media, as well as reactive work including reputation management.

You will work in a busy External Affairs team comprising a small Marketing and Engagement team, as well as Government Relations.

You will work directly with colleagues from across the organisation to support their communications needs, particularly with the senior leadership team and close contact with the Chief Executive. And you will build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders, including journalists, civil servants and communications teams in partner organisations.

The successful candidate will be a self-starter, who is motivated by results and with the initiative, creativity and drive to take forward projects with minimal supervision. The successful candidate will be adept at problem solving and working quickly and under pressure.

Our organisation has a privileged opportunity to make a difference to the lives of millions of young people, helping to inspire and prepare them for the fast-changing world of work, and we want you to help us make it happen.

Applicants are asked to submit a supporting statement (on no more 2 x A4 pages) outlining how you fulfil the qualifications, experience, skills and core competencies criteria providing your experience or evidence in relation to:

• Experience of working in the education and/or careers sector
• Evidence on how you have presented a flawless and engaging approach to a target audience
• How you have ensured you are relevant on topical and national stories and debates
• Evidence of significant experience in managing positive and engaging relationships with journalist
• Evidence of working in a high paced but quality driven organisation

This vacancy may be closed early if sufficient applications have been submitted. Therefore, please do not delay in submitting your application.

Closing date: 6 July 2020

It is our policy to review all applications within two weeks from the closing date. If you do not hear from us within three weeks following the closing date, then your application has unfortunately not been successful on this occasion. We are unable to provide feedback to candidates who have not been shortlisted and attended an interview.