Living Wage Foundation

 

The Living Wage Foundation was launched in 2011 by Citizens UK to tackle in-work poverty and ensure that workers earn enough to live on and participate in family and community life. Citizens UK is the home of community organising with diverse civil society alliances set up to develop leaders to work on the issues that matter to them, such as the Living Wage. Other projects include PACT (Parents and the Community Together) and Sponsor Refugees to add depth to the impact of Citizens UK’s work.

 

The Living Wage is a movement of businesses, organisations and people who believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. The real Living Wage is an independently-calculated hourly rate based on the cost of living and announced each November during Living Wage Week, our annual celebration of a growing network of over 15,000 Living Wage Employers.

 

The Living Wage Foundation celebrates employers that voluntarily choose to pay the real Living Wage through an accreditation scheme that recognises a long-term commitment to fair pay and has secured pay rises for over 480,000 low paid workers.

 

The Living Wage Foundation is part of Citizens UK – a community organising charity which works with a broad base of institutions across the political spectrum. At the Living Wage Foundation, we take a deliberately broad-based approach and accredit all organisations who pay the real Living Wage to their directly and indirectly employed staff and are committed to tackling in work poverty.  As a team we work across a range of industries and sectors to achieve this mission. We seek pragmatic coalitions in order to progress specific campaigns, and partnership around a particular issue such as Living Wage, does not imply an endorsement of broader purpose and policies.

Citizens UK

 

Citizens UK is the biggest, most diverse and most effective people-powered alliance of local communities working together for the common good. Our mission is to develop leaders, strengthen civic organisations and make change. Our 550 member communities are deeply rooted in their local areas and connect every day to the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Through the method of community organising we enable people experiencing powerlessness to develop their leadership and come together with the power and strategy to make change.  

 

This leads to hundreds of neighbourhood improvements - from zebra crossings outside primary schools to renovated public toilets in cemeteries. And it leads to some of the biggest campaign impacts in the UK, such as winning over £3 billion of wages through the UK Living Wage campaign, securing a legal cap on the cost of credit to control exploitative lending, and ending the detention of children for immigration purposes. We enable local campaigns to grow into large-scale social change projects such as the Living Wage Foundation, Parents and Communities Together (PACT), Sponsor Refugees, and Refugees for Justice, that form an integral part of our theory of change. The most prominent of these is the rapidly growing Living Wage Foundation with a network of almost 15,000 accredited Living Wage Employers across the UK. 

 

Purpose

 

The Living Wage Foundation has an exciting opportunity to join our dynamic team as a Communications Officer. We are looking for an exceptionally motivated and organised individual who enjoys working in a fast-paced, high-profile communications environment.

 

The role will support the objectives of the Living Wage Foundation by communicating our work to a wide range of audiences, including senior business leaders and politicians, through a mix of communications methods: social media, newsletters, media outlets, website and internal communications channels.

 

The post holder will be responsible for day-to-day monitoring and management of our social media channels, supporting with written and visual content creation for the Living Wage Foundation, and will support the development of press campaigns to build awareness of the Living Wage Foundation’s work. The role will work closely to support the Communications team’s work and help communicate the work of the wider-team and our employer network.

 

 This post will be joining a Communications team that spans media, digital communications, research and events, with colleagues based across the UK with monthly in-person team meetings.

 

The role is also responsible for key communications with our network of over 15,000 accredited Living Wage Employers, including our monthly newsletters, blogs, videos and case studies to celebrate our network of accredited employers

The position would suit an applicant with strong written and communication skills, with some experience of working within a communications team and a passion for social media and content creation.          

 

This is an entry level role and we don’t expect you to have experience of all areas of this job, training will be provided to help you develop into this role.

 

Main Responsibilities

 

Social Media and Website

·       Oversee our digital communications channels to raise awareness of the Living Wage and our wider accreditation schemes, champion responsible employers and grow our movement.

·       Help the team keep up to date with social media trends and opportunities.

·       Create, manage and schedule posts for our Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram accounts, tailoring the content to different channels and audiences.

·       Monitor our social media channels, replying to enquiries from the public and our networks of supporters and employers and flagging any potential issues to the wider team

·       Source and create original content for both the Living Wage Foundation and external websites, including creating blog posts, news, guidance, and general pages.

·       Audit and review existing website content to ensure it is effective and up-to-date. Support on improvements and developments where necessary.

 

Internal Communications

·       Administrate and facilitate communications team meetings.

·       Communications support for key events and campaign moments including the annual Champion Awards and Living Wage Week.

Situational Awareness and Research

·       Help the team keep up to date with social media trends and opportunities.

·       Monitor and evaluate media campaigns and reports.

Strategy Development·       Contribute to media strategies and plans that help to win public and political support for the Living Wage Foundation and its work.Reputational Risk and Management

·       Monitor our social media channels, replying to enquiries from the public and our networks of supporters and employers, and flagging any potential issues to the wider team.

·       Participate in the out-of-hours duty press (being on hand to very occasionally answer emails and phone calls in the evenings or weekends).

Content Creation and Dissemination

·       Working with the communication team, design and implement engaging digital engagement campaigns for Living Wage Employers and supporters, and to support Living Wage Foundation campaigns.

·       Design communications collateral to increase engagement on social media, including the creation and editing of short-form videos for our online channels and creation of social media graphics.

·       Improve our digital offering for our network of accredited Living Wage, Living Hours, and Living Pension Employers by creating resources and improving our communications support.

·       Liaise with the Living Wage and Citizens UK team to keep up-to-date with news to share with key stakeholders.

·       Collate and summarize content to schedule newsletters and updates for our varied audiences.

·       Support in the adoption of updated brand across our communications content and materials, supporting others to use brand and tone of voice guidelines.

·       Write compelling press releases, blogs, and opinion editorials to promote the Living Wage Foundation’s work.

·       Work with colleagues to develop case studies and ensure stories of low pay and the Living Wage are told effectively across all our internal and external communications channels.

·       Build effective relationships with the media, colleagues, and other stakeholders to find new ways to raise our profile.

Key skills

 

Essential

·       An interest and enthusiasm for communications and marketing, and the mission of the Living Wage Foundation

·       Interest in media and the news landscape

·        Excellent knowledge of a wide range of social media channels

·       Strong written and verbal communication skills including the ability to write for different audiences

·       Excellent attention to detail

• Ability to create high-quality and engaging content for social media (whether for a personal or business account) and a good understanding of what makes compelling content

• Strong analytical skills and ability to evaluate the success of a campaign

·       Ability to build strong relationships with colleagues and external stakeholders

·       Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with a wide variety of stakeholders

·       Ability to juggle and prioritise competing demands

·       Highly self-motivated with ability to work well independently as well as part of a team

·       Good IT skills, including experience using Microsoft Office

·       Creative thinker and problem solver

·       Excellent planning, organisation, and prioritisation skills.

 

·       Creative with an eye for design and ability to come up with new ideas for content

Desirable

·       Experience using graphic design software (e.g., Canva, Adobe Creative Suite).

·       Experience filming and editing video content

·       Experience with website and content management platforms.

Interviews will take place Thursday 5th September (subject to change).

About the Application Process

 

We work within diverse communities bringing people together. In line with our Inclusion value, we would love to see applications from LGBTQIA+ people, people from racialised communities, people living with disabilities and people of faith, all to better represent the communities we work in. We want our employees to have the working conditions that allows them to fully participate, be able to be their best authentic selves and thrive doing so, and we have employee networks to support staff. Even if you don’t quite meet all the required criteria still consider applying, as we invest in our employees and support them to develop the skills and knowledge required to deliver their role.

 

For questions and reasonable adjustments regarding your application including information in a different format, or our recruitment process, please email recruitment@citizensuk.org. 

Got any more questions?

If you would like further information on the role, the organisation, or our commitment to addressing under-representation and the development and progression of all colleagues, we would be happy to answer any questions.

We will be holding a webinar on 28th August at 12pm (register here) where anyone can attend to find out more about the role, all enquiries welcome. In the past, candidates have found this a helpful space for understanding whether the role is right for them.

If you’d like to know more but cannot attend the webinar, please email clare.duncan@livingwage.org.uk