JOB TITLE: Press & Campaigns Officer 

Salary: £26,623 (plus £3,000 London Weighting where applicable)  

Hours: 37.5 hours per week, 5 days per week (open to alternative working patterns) 

Contract: Permanent 

Based: London / open to home-based from other UK locations with ability to travel to London 

Deadline: 25 September 2022

Provisional Interview Date: 3 October 2022

PURPOSE 

We’re looking for a dynamic and relational Press & Campaigns Officer to join our communications team. This role will support Citizens UK’s ability to achieve change by helping to deliver high-impact campaign communications, particularly through media engagement.  

Our external affairs work is fast-paced but committed to the distinctive ethos of Citizens UK – where local leaders and people experiencing injustice are in the lead.  

This role will appeal to someone motivated by securing media coverage and excited by the prospect of working with a diverse range of spokespeople across different campaigns – from making London a Living Wage City, to supporting refugees to find a home in the UK, to getting schools and colleges involved in community organising. 

You will be joining us at an exciting time, entering a growing team delivering a range of activity including proactive and reactive press opportunities; maintaining a database of important publications and media contacts across our different campaigns; and helping to upskill others in press activity and securing local coverage. 

As well as this press focus, you will support Citizens UK’s wider campaigning activity, making sure our press communications are integrated with our communications strategies, adapting content for digital communications channels and aligning communications with public affairs. Across both the press and campaigns elements of this role, you will translate key campaign goals into compelling, public-facing communications which put the communities we work with at the centre. 

Reporting to the Press & Campaigns Manager, you will play an integral role in helping Citizens UK achieve change by raising the profile of our work and reaching new and growing audiences.  

 Situational Awareness and Research 

• Maintain a press database, mapping key contacts and publications against Citizens UK’s main campaigns and objectives 

• Implement tactical press strategies to secure press coverage that leverages key external stakeholders 

• Evaluate the impact of press activities through KPIs 

Strategy Development 

• Generate new ideas for press stories for Citizens UK proactive press plan, helping reach new press targets and grow awareness of campaigns and the Citizens UK brand 

• Demonstrate ability to adapt strategy to the starting position and interests of the audience 

Reputational & Risk Management 

• Help with occasional out of hours media activity during significant events, ensuring media enquiries are handled in a timely manner 

• Identify issues related to risk management and reputational risk, ready to respond appropriately (as part of the team) to risks as they emerge 

Materials Development & Dissemination 

• Write compelling press releases, broadcast notes, blogs and other content to reach Citizens UK’s organisational and campaign goals 

• Supervise the work of junior staff or contractors ensuring a high standard of content 

Digital, social media and website 

• Work with the communications team to develop integrated campaigns, aligning press with digital, marketing and public affairs activity 

• Adapt and create effective content for our digital channels to enhance concurrent press activity 

• Create content to support Citizens UK communications objectives, with a focus on sharing stories from local community leaders 

External Relationships  

• Proactively develop and maintain close working relationships with journalists across print, digital and broadcast media 

• Manage day-to-day press enquiries through the press inbox 

• With support from the Press & Campaigns Manager, set up media interviews and support spokespeople, including preparing and delivering briefings to ensure ‘on message’ and impactful interviews 

Campaign and Events Management 

• Help to maintain a press timeline, aligning press activity with all major campaign moments and events 

• Work closely with the Press & Campaigns Manager and the organising team for the ‘Making London a Living Wage City’ project to support press activity 

• Deliver key campaign objectives to time and budget; incl. reporting on KPIs. 

Internal Comms & Knowledge Management 

• Run periodic training/briefings for colleagues and Citizens UK community leaders 

• Support colleagues, chapters and campaigns with their press outreach 

• Champion press success and encourage greater press activity throughout the organisation 

Internal Relationships 

• Build relationships with leaders and key spokespeople across Citizens UK 

• Periodically update key comms files and assets; ensuring that informed consent is obtained if required 

• Work closely with the wider communications department to make sure press activity is as impactful as possible by integrating press with other tactics to achieve change 

PERSONAL SPECIFICATION 

(D) Desirable, (E) Essential

Experience:

• Experience working in a busy, high-pressure press office, marketing/public relations agency or in-house (E)

• Personal contacts with journalists, PR and marketing professionals (D)

• Journalistic skills of identifying stories and shaping key media lines (D)

• Ability to pitch stories to key external contacts and senior media professionals (E) 

• A track record in obtaining media coverage across national, broadcast, regional, trade and consumer media (E)

• Demonstrable experience of seizing reactive press opportunities (D)  

KEY SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE:

• Ability to pitch stories to key external contacts and senior media professionals (E)

• Ability to grasp new, complex information quickly and distil into news content for a generalist audience (E)

• Excellent writing skills – including writing compelling press releases, features and comment pieces (E)

• Ability to manage external agencies and stakeholder engagement (D)

• Demonstrable understanding of integrated campaigning tactics (D)

• A passion for social justice and communities (E)

• Interested working with diverse people of all backgrounds (E) 

• Inclusive (E)

• Self-motivated (E)

PERSONAL QUALITIES AND VALUES  

• Adaptable and innovative (E)

• Creative and curious  (E)

• A willingness to learn about and embed the practice of Community Organising  (E)

• A strong team player  (E)

• Accountable  (E)

• Relational  (E)

• Kind (E)