Turn2us is a national charity tackling poverty and the structural causes of financial insecurity. We work with co-producers and partners to provide people in financial crisis with the means and agency to get back on their feet, build resilience, move forward with their lives and thrive.

At Turn2us, everything we do is built for - and shaped by - people who have lived experience of financial insecurity. That includes our strategy, our digital tools, our approach to grant-making, our policy work and much more. We also believe that voices of lived experience should be at the heart of our communications and fundraising work, showing people the impact of financial insecurity, and why they should support our work to end it.

Our new Senior Storytelling Officer will grow the storytelling capacity in our team, building strong relationships with our storytellers and ensuring they’re supported before, during and after they tell their story to support our work.

In this role, you’ll build on existing work to establish a pipeline of strong storytellers, build trust and credibility in storytelling across the organisation, and develop storytelling best practice. Underpinning all of this will be your sensitive, diplomatic, and intersectional approach to storytelling.

This role requires a professional who can balance the sensitive nature of our work with the strategic needs of the organisation. The ideal candidate will have a proven track record in ethical storytelling and the ability to lead and innovate in this crucial area of our work.

We are actively welcoming people with experience of financial insecurity to apply for this role. We know that, for some people, this experience may have affected the opportunities available to them, and that as a result their career path may be untraditional. If that’s you, and you can demonstrate clear ability, experience and a deep personal commitment to our vision, we’d love to hear from you.

As an equal opportunities employer, we are committed to equity, inclusion and diversity and the value people from different backgrounds bring to a team. If, like us, you believe everyone has the right to have enough to live on, and you are ambitious about eradicating poverty, join us and build your career with a charity dedicated to ensuring dignity and equity for all.

We offer flexible working patterns, both in terms of hours and remote working. Please note that all employees are required to work from the office a minimum of 4 days a month on a weekly basis.

Some roles may be required to be in the office more often than others and this will be agreed with the hiring manager upon starting at Turn2us.

Please note that all job offers are subject to 2 – 3 satisfactory references and a disclosure satisfactory to Turn2us from the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS).

Please read the Senior Storytelling Officer Job Pack for further information.

Job Description

Job Title: Senior Storytelling Officer                       

Department: Brand & Communications team, Income & External Affairs Directorate           

Reports to: PR & Press Manager

Location: Hybrid: Turn2us London Hub (Farringdon) & homeworking

Type of role: Part-time, permanent (21 hours a week)

Purpose of the role:

Lead on the development and delivery of our storytelling function, ensuring wherever possible, communications are co-created with or led by the voices of people with lived experience of financial insecurity.

Key responsibilities and accountabilities:

1. Support Turn2us’s strategy by putting voices of lived experience at the centre of our work:

Develop a strong and diverse pipeline of prospective storytellers including for use in: 

• PR/Media 

• Brand/marketing 

• Policy/influencing 

• Impact measurement 

• Supporter engagement and income generation. 

• Create and identify opportunities for storytellers to tell their stories in authentic and powerful ways that play to their individual strengths. 

• Create a bank of storytelling content by interviewing, drafting, and signing off copy with storytellers. 

• Ensure stories reflect the diversity and realities of those experiencing financial insecurity. Our stories should challenge the stigma and narratives that compound disadvantage. 

2. Build relationships and collaborate with colleagues to generate storytelling opportunities:

• Build productive relationships across the organisation to build reputation, trust and credibility.  

• Work closely with Turn2us colleagues (e.g. co-production, grants, digital tools) to identify and approach potential storytellers. 

• Work closely with the PR team to secure impactful national, regional and local media coverage using storytelling voices.

• Create opportunities for content creation and liaise with colleagues in the Brand/Comms team to support storytellers throughout the content creation process. 

• Work with colleagues to identify and apply new and innovative approaches to storytelling. 

• Promote storytelling internally – share the impact of storytelling internally to build confidence and understanding of the value of storytelling. 

• Work closely with the Safeguarding Manager to escalate and manage any concerns.

3. Take a person-centred approach to storytelling:

• Develop and maintain meaningful relationships with storytellers, based in transparency and trust.

• Provide meaningful stewardship and aftercare of people stories and ensure compliance with our safeguarding and informed consent policies.

• Work with the PR team to ensure all lived experts who act as spokespeople receive appropriate media training and that they are properly briefed and supported ahead of media interviews.

• Stay up to date on best practice around story gathering processes, including informed consent, co-production and data asset management, and data governance. 

• Work with the PR manager to establish, maintain and report on KPIs around storytelling.

4. Develop and share best practice:

• Build on existing work to develop storytelling processes and strategy.

• Maintain excellent data management, including contacts, records of conversations consents, and archive management. 

• Develop and maintain robust systems for safeguarding storytellers. 

• Support colleagues across the organisation to use storytelling effectively in their work e.g. by creating story gathering best practice tools, guidelines and training. 

• Identify systems, tools and processes to drive continuous improvement of the stories function.

• Communicate regularly with other teams across the charity to keep colleagues up to date on storytelling developments. 

• Track how stories are used, evaluate their impact, and share insights with relevant stakeholders and storytellers.  

These are the normal duties, which the Charity requires from the position. However, it is necessary for all staff to be flexible and all employees will be required from time to time to perform other duties as may be required by the Charity for the efficient running of the charity.  This Job Description is non-contractual. It will be reviewed from time to time and may be subject to change.

At Turn2us, we are committed to protecting personnel, children, adults, and service users from any harm arising from each other, themselves, our activities, or organisational failings whilst in contact with us. The post holder will be required to follow the safeguarding policy and will be responsible for integrating safeguarding into all aspects of their work.

The post holder will be expected to ensure that their work complies with contractual terms and conditions, the Charity’s policies and procedures and key legislation, such as data protection and charity law. 

Personal Specification

Skills and Experience:

Necessary:

• Experience in a storytelling role e.g. journalism, communications, PR, copywriting etc.

• Excellent written and spoken communications skills, with a clear understanding of how to translate people’s stories into powerful and engaging content.

• Strong interpersonal skills, with a demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders from a wide range of backgrounds.

• Ability to energise and influence colleagues in the department, directorate, wider organisation and external partners.

Desirable:

• Experience of creating written content for a range of audiences.

• Experience of working with people in difficult circumstances - especially in a communications setting - effectively and with empathy.

• Experience of interviewing people, including those where sensitivity is required.

• Experience of working in the charity or advocacy sector.

Knowledge:

Necessary:

• Awareness of key issues related to financial insecurity and poverty in the UK, as well as the broader charity sector. This will ensure our storytelling effectively supports the organisation’s wider aims.

• An understanding of intersectionality and commitment to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging.

• Sound technical knowledge and experience maintaining standards of data protection and information governance compliance.

Desirable:

• Knowledge of trauma-informed approaches.

• An understanding of safeguarding and its importance when working with people sharing their stories.

Personal Attributes:

• A commitment to sensitive, authentic storytelling.

• Ability to exercise diplomacy and tact when working through challenges with the team or other internal or external stakeholders.

• Willingness to travel to meetings across the UK when needed.

• A commitment to embodying the charity’s values of:

  Financial Security for All.

  Listen, Learn, Improve.

  Together We Succeed.

  Impatient [for change].

Turn2us is fully committed to equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging in our sector. We want this to be reflected in the diversity of the people who work for us and we are interested in applications from people from varied backgrounds.

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