JOB DETAILS

Job Title: Senior marketing and communications officer Location: London, Head Office

Responsible To: Head of marketing and communications

Responsible For: None

Hours: 35 per week

About the Association of Charitable Foundations

ACF is the leading membership association for foundations and independent grant-makers in the UK.

We strengthen trusts and foundations so they can rise to the challenges of our time.

Our vision is diverse, vibrant and effective foundations working together for social good. 

You can read our new five year strategy here.

Our values are:

We care

We are open

We are evidence-based

We are ambitious

About our members

We have 458 members who together hold one third of the assets of the charity sector and make over 40 per cent of the grants given by UK foundations. Together they cover the full range of foundations, from small to large and operating in many different fields of grant-making, including social change, the environment, research, education, across the UK and overseas.

PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THE ROLE

To support the head of marketing and communications to deliver communications and marketing plans and activity that build ACF’s brand and reputation and improve reach and impact across all platforms.

Assist colleagues to ensure they have good understanding of ACF’s marketing and brand and all communications meet organisational needs.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Regular website maintenance, including adding, editing and archiving website content (eg blogs, news, briefings, infographics, photos, videos, adverts and guides) in line with house style guides, updating phrasing in line with key messaging, and supporting the senior marketing and communications manager with ongoing improvements to accessibility, layout and performance of the ACF website.

Support the effective operation of all ACF communications channels to maximise audience reach and brand awareness, as well as ensuring organisational objectives are met. This includes:

• Leading on the content, delivery and evaluation of our email communications

• Support the management of ACF's presence on social media by drafting, posting and analysing content

• Manage the production of analytics reports to evaluate the efficacy of these channels and contribute to ways to develop and improve them.

  Support the head of marketing and communications by monitoring ACF resources, publications and information to ensure they are up to date, accessible, on brand and in high quality format for all ACF website and social media users.

Assist with maintaining a comms planner. Support colleagues to resolve scheduling jams or gaps to ensure all communications are sent on time and on brand, helping create a culture of forward planning.

Support colleagues with tailored comms and marketing plans for organisational activities and events.

Support the production of reports and publications; liaising with external designers and internal colleagues; proof reading, and coordinating schedules and amendments.

Designing straightforward graphics in Canva for use in email communications and on social media

Actively contribute to developing the ACF brand by championing the use of house style guides and sharing marketing and comms knowledge to support colleagues.

Support the head of investment practice and partnership with communications, performance reporting, and visibility of our official partners.

Key Contacts – Internal & External

Internally

Senior managers

Externally

Members

Key stakeholders and partners

Creative and digital agencies

Official Partners and other commercial supports

Health & Safety

• Ensure that Health and Safety guidelines and fire regulations are strictly adhered to

• Comply with safe working practices as defined by ACF

• Complete mandatory training as and when required

• Take reasonable care for your own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by acts or omissions at work

• Report any accidents, incidents or near misses as soon as reasonably practicable.

General

• Be aware of and adhere to ACF’s policies at all times

• Commitment to follow and implement ACF Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) values

• Take part in progress/performance reviews throughout the year

• Cooperate with other departments

• Attend training courses and complete online training modules as required to meet the requirements of the post

• Take responsibility for own personal development, seeking out opportunities to learn new skills

• Undertake any other duties as requested by the Trustee Board which are reasonably deemed to be within the scope of the role

Other

• Apply ACF’s values and behaviours to every aspect of the role at all times

• Promote and maintain the brand standards of ACF

Experience, knowledge and skills

Essential experience

• Some hands-on experience of a varied marketing or communications role

  Essential skills

• Developed IT Skills including Office 365

• Some experience of using a Content Management System and Email marketing software

• Developed ability to time manage

•  Good communication skills

•  Developed written skills

•  A willingness to learn

  Desirable skill

  Use of social media in a business context

  Essential personal attribute

• Rational, logical thinking

• Creative thinking

• Flexible

• Resilience

• Compassion and empathy

Our commitment 

We embrace diversity and understand that being an inclusive organisation, recognising different perspectives, will enable us to provide excellent services. We are committed to ensuring all our employees are treated fairly and equitably at work and promoting equity in physical and mental health for all. 

We welcome all applicants and are keen to ensure our team reflects the diversity of the UK and the members we serve. We would like to encourage applications from disadvantaged socio-economic, disabled, LGBTQ+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds. 

Benefits

ACF has developed a range of benefits to enable staff to perform and be supported in times where personal situations change.  Annual leave is 25 days per year, plus all the bank holidays, as well as time off during Christmas and New Year which does not affect the leave above.  We will also make a pension contribution of 10% of base salary on your behalf without any expectation of colleagues matching the organisation contribution.

We have a generous sick leave policy to support staff in the event of illness or accident, and a Parental, Maternity and adoption leave policy designed to support staff significantly above our legal obligations.

ACF is currently using hybrid working, with staff able to work from home maximum of three days per week and we will ensure that any working from home is supported by appropriate equipment.  ACF is also open to flexible working arrangements.

The open application process

ACF uses Be Applied https://www.beapplied.com/ as its recruitment platform to remove as much bias as possible during the recruitment process.  Candidates will complete questions on the platform, which are scored for every candidate who completes an application by a suitably trained and qualified panel. Those selected to be interviewed are as a result of these scores; we do not take CVs into account at this point in the process.

Interview questions will be shared in advance to enable candidates to prepare thoroughly. The Panel will independently score each candidate’s responses with a review of candidates’ summary scores only when all interviews are completed. 

Communication will be via email through the platform and managed independently by ACF’s HR team. Any support a candidate needs can be directed to recruitment@acf.org.uk which will not impact their application, negatively or positively.

All candidates who apply for the position will receive feedback from the panellists at the conclusion of the process to support your future applications.

Application deadline: 11.59pm Monday 1 April 2024