Communications & Marketing Officer

Location:
Hybrid. Home working with 40% of contracted hours at our office in Welwyn Garden City plus regular travel to our shops across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

Position: Communications & Marketing Officer

Reporting to: Communications & Marketing Manager

Direct reports: None

Salary: £28,000 per annum

Hours: Permanent; Full time 37.5 hours. Some evening or weekend working will be required as part of this role.

Location: Hybrid. Home working with 40% of contracted hours at our office in Welwyn Garden City plus regular travel to our shops across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

This role forms an integral part of the Communications & Marketing Team, a small team that works across all areas of the charity including service delivery, events, fundraising and retail operations.

Job purpose

The Communications & Marketing Officer is a key role within our busy Communications Team. They will support the wider Willow team in delivering on plans to raise the charity’s profile and increase supporter engagement. The Communications Team supports the communications needs of all teams across the organisation.

Principal responsibilities and duties

• Contribute to, and help to evolve, Willow’s communications activity, including emails, website, marketing and social media
• Work with the Willow teams to plan and deliver a regular calendar of content, ensuring the communication and marketing needs of colleagues across the organisation are met
• Manage the promotion of fundraising campaigns and events
• Engage with press, supporters, beneficiaries, partners, volunteers and medical professionals to help establish Willow as a national brand
• Gather and create engaging content, including case studies, images and videos, to be used to raise awareness of Willow’s work locally and nationally
• Develop and manage working relationships with creative agencies, printers and freelancers to deliver high quality communications, on time and within budget
• Use analytics tools to report back on performance and identify learnings and opportunities
• Attend Willow and third-party events, providing communications support including social media posting, videography, photography and media management
• Work with the managers of Willow’s shops to deliver a program of communications projects and activities to engage new donors and customers
• Work with Communications Team colleagues to plan and deliver activity to support the Digital Comms Strategy, Ambassador & Influencer Strategy, Growth plan and key themes and projects
• Be an active member of the team and charity as a whole and undertake training and skills development and keep up to date with the changing requirements of the role and the external environment
• Undertake other duties that may be required as part of the role

Person Specification 

• Experience of working in a busy marketing/PR/communications team, ideally in a charity environment
• A responsive, confident self-starter who is enthusiastic and highly motivated
• Excellent planning, time-management and organisational skills with ability to stick to timetables for delivery of work and meet deadlines under pressure
• Able to express ideas clearly, both verbally and in writing, with an ability to adjust tone and content appropriately for different target audiences
• Strong copywriting and editing skills with the ability to turn complex information into compelling stories and content
• Ability to think creatively, offering new ideas, concepts and solutions
• Experience of developing multi-channel communications plans and taking a communications campaign forward through different digital and offline channels
• Design skills, particularly in creating and/or overseeing the design of visually appealing digital and non-digital content which adheres to brand guidelines
• Experience of using analytics and other tools to report on performance of campaigns
• Experience of media relations and evaluating media coverage and PR
• Experience of using social media as a professional communications tool
• Experience of producing and editing photo and video content
• Experience of using software including Microsoft, Canva or other design tools, Google Ads, analytics tools, email marketing platforms, website CMS systems (we use WordPress) and charity databases (we use Raiser’s Edge)
• Organised and able to keep good records for data protection, confidentiality and financial purposes
• Knowledge of the digital charity landscape, including best practice for social media, web content creation and engagement strategies

Other

• Full driving licence required as regular travel across the county will be part of the role, in particular to our retail stores and events. Some national travel may be necessary on occasion.
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• Hybrid working arrangements
• Season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Flexible Working policy
• Employee assistance programme

How to apply

Please send a CV and covering letter detailing how you meet the requirements of the role to jo.tredgett@willowfoundation.org.uk. We don’t have a fixed closing date for this role and applications will be assessed as they arrive, so please apply early.