About us

We are Britain’s national equality regulator and a United Nations accredited ‘A status’ national human rights institution.

We uphold people’s rights without fear or favour. We use the full force of our legal powers to defend people from unfair or unequal treatment and to challenge breaches of the law. We advise on developing laws and provide guidance, training and support to enable compliance.

We bring people together to create change. We work with employers, governments and a wide range of organisations, to promote understanding of equality and human rights and we support them to make improvements in practice.

Our new strategy for 2022-25 gives us a strong platform to show that we will use our powers to protect and promote equality and human rights, and that we have identified the main challenges in society where we can make a difference in our role as a regulator.

Overview of the role and responsibilities

Working as Head of Content and Channels at the Equality and Human Rights Commission, you will lead a growing digital team to ensure engaging, creative and innovative content reaches our target audiences and beyond through a range of channels.

With day-to-day editorial oversight and responsibility for the Commission’s websites, online communications, external-facing digital products and social media, you will develop and promote standards and processes to ensure quality, usability and consistency for our audiences - helping ensure our work is the best it can be and making a real difference to people’s lives.

You will help to upskill colleagues across the directorate (and beyond) and set a transformative culture, ensuring our digital presence is constantly improving and creating the space for your team to deliver their best work.

You will work in a way that displays a high degree of flexibility, accountability and initiative and is in keeping with our values of fairness, dignity and respect.

You will:

• Ensure our digital channels reach and grow our audiences, meet user needs, provide a first-class user experience and showcase our credentials as a world-leading equality and human rights institution.

• Complete the launch of our new website and continue to make improvements to its quality, appearance, function and content.

• Lead a growing team of content designers, creators and editors to ensure our messages are delivered across digital channels in an engaging, innovative, accurate and impactful way.

• Play a key role in ensuring we stay ahead of the curve in the way we produce and share our digital content; constantly keeping pace with technological developments and best practice and learning from leading organisations and influencers in this space.

• Ensure all digital content is highly compliant with accessibility standards and guidelines; provide advice and guidance on accessibility best practice.

• Appoint and manage suppliers of digital services and oversee relationships and contracts with them, ensuring they provide a high-quality service and value for money.

• Constantly and supportively push and challenge the team and our partners to develop our creative approach, based on audience insight, evaluation and best practice.

• Combine your deep digital communications experience, with strong influencing and persuasion skills to coordinate and plan across channels, manage a team, explain your advice to a range of stakeholders - and make great digital content happen.

Team Responsibilities

You will lead a team of content designers and editors, ensuring a high performing digital communications function.

The precise size and structure of the team is evolving, and you will help shape and position the team to commission, create, publish, post and send the right strategic and creative content for our campaigns and priority areas.

The key responsibilities for this team include:

• Managing the website and digital channels. Designing, producing, writing, creating, editing and commissioning digital content.

• Working to increase the number of people reached through our web and digital presence; constantly improving the quality and relevance of content.

• Providing search engine optimisation expertise and boosting positive social media impact among target audiences;

• Keeping on top of trends and developments in digital content; proposing and experimenting with ways to apply new learning and develop content in line with business objectives and audience preferences.

• Using analytics data, user research and other evidence to inform, improve and iteratively develop relevant and high quality content; understanding our audiences, users and the best ways to reach them.

• Ensuring the development and delivery of integrated communications strategies and plans; working proactively with colleagues to identify ways to communicate key messages, target relevant audiences and co-ordinate communications across different channels.

• Prioritising, dealing with complex requests and troubleshooting to work at pace and manage multiple competing deadlines.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience

The role requires practical skills and expertise in end-to-end website and digital channel management; a vision for high quality, eye-catching templates and content; a sharp eye for smart design; engaging visuals and an uncompromising appetite for clear, accurate, concise and precise text.

You will know how to present complex information in an interesting and accessible way, with a rich understanding of what makes effective multimedia content and data visualisation. You will be happy demonstrating skills – to inspire, coach, develop and lead a new team to produce and publish content of the highest standard.

Excited by digital communications, you’ll have a keen interest in new developments in social and digital, and will ensure the team keeps pace with best practice, tools and trends, continually improving their knowledge, skills and outputs.

As a trusted adviser to senior leaders, you will feel comfortable explaining and making provision for the team’s and organisation’s needs.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience required include:

Essential

• Detailed knowledge of digital communications best practice across channels.

• Technical knowledge of websites and content management systems (e.g. Drupal) with an understanding of HTML and CSS.

• Strong technical skills, knowledge and experience using a range of digital communications tools, social media and emerging platforms to produce create, edit and publish high-quality multimedia content.

• A strong understanding of SEO (search engine optimisation) and how this affects the content you create.

• Good working knowledge of tracking and analytics tools and a thorough understanding of website performance and evaluation measures. Experience pursuing a data-led approach to content and channel development.

• Experience leading a team; managing and developing people to ensure high performance and motivation. Strong coaching skills and experience advising colleagues in content design best practice, tools and methods.

• An ability to organise work and time productively to oversee and ensure end-to-end content workflow across channels.

• Experience championing continuous digital learning, demonstrating commitment to high standards and leading by example.

• Experience managing suppliers and contracts to commission development work and multimedia content.

• Excellent writing, subbing, copyediting and proofreading skills, with a comprehensive understanding of creating accessible content.

Desirable

• Experience of procuring external suppliers and managing contracts and relationships to deliver digital projects.

• Experience of taking a new website through private and public beta testing phases and launch.

• Coordinating and planning activities across departments to manage projects.

• An understanding of how digital communication works alongside press and marketing campaigns and messaging.

Benefits

In addition to a competitive salary, we offer a range of benefits including flexible working patterns, 30 days annual leave plus 8 bank holidays (full time FTE), access to the Civil Service Pension Scheme and partnership pension schemes, and enhanced parental leave benefits. More information can be found in the candidate pack.

How to apply

If this sounds like the role for you, please review the attached Candidate Pack for more information and submit your application today!

If you have any questions, please contact Cihan Seabright: (Head of Media and Content)- cihan.seabright@equalityhumanrights.com or 07870 491253.

Guaranteed Interview Scheme

The Equality and Human Rights Commission is an accredited Disability Confident Leader and operates a Guaranteed Interview Scheme (GIS) for candidates with a disability.

Should you wish to apply under our Guaranteed Interview Scheme or request a reasonable adjustment, please indicate this in your application.  

If you require an alternative accessible version of the application form or wish to discuss your application or reasonable adjustment  – please contact us by email at recruitment@equalityhumanrights.com or by telephone on 0161 829 8100.

Diversity in our workforce

At the Commission, we are proud of our respectful workplace that values the contribution of all our staff, whatever their background.  We do not tolerate discrimination or harassment. Our recruitment decisions are based on fair, open competition, with appointment on merit. We welcome applications from everyone to ensure we achieve a balanced representation in our workforce in all grades.