Communications Officer

West of England Mayoral Combined Authority; Bristol; Hybrid; GBP 38,000 - 42,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

26 days annual leave

Bank holidays rise to 31 days after 5y

Volunteer leave

LGPS Pension scheme

Hybrid working model

Bus fare reduction

Job summary

The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority is seeking a Communications Officer to join our Communications team. Reporting to the News and Media Manager, you'll play a key role in supporting the MCA's communications and campaigns, helping us communicate clearly and effectively with a wide range of audiences.

You'll be a communications, marketing or media professional with experience creating engaging content and working across digital and traditional channels.

Qualifications

• Excellent writing skills and the ability to adapt copy for a range of audiences.
• Experience creating digital content and managing social media channels.
• Translate complex information into clear, accessible plain English.
• Experience working with external partners and internal stakeholders.
• Creativity to produce engaging content for online and traditional channels.
• Experience planning and supporting integrated campaigns across multiple channels.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the confidence to work with stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills and ability to manage workload and deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Create engaging content across communications channels.
• Support campaigns promoting the Mayor's priorities and the MCA.
• Write copy for press releases, social media, blogs and digital content.
• Support relations with regional media.
• Produce briefings, presentations, reports and other materials.
• Ensure messaging is clear, consistent and audience-appropriate.
• Monitor and respond to media queries when required.

Skills

Copywriting

Digital content

Social media

Stakeholder management

Campaign planning

Interpersonal skills

Organisation

Plain English

Education

Degree level or equivalent

Communications/PR/marketing qualification

CMS experience

Film/photography/video editing knowledge

Job description

The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) is seeking to appoint a Communications Officer to join our Communications team. Reporting to the News and Media Manager, you'll play a key role in supporting the MCA's communications and campaigns, helping us communicate clearly and effectively with a wide range of audiences. We're looking for a creative, confident and digitally savvy communicator with strong copywriting skills and a flair for producing engaging content. You'll be someone who understands how to adapt messages for different audiences and platforms, from social media and digital content to media releases and other communications materials. You'll work across the Communications team, helping to coordinate external communications and support activity that raises the profile of the Mayor and the work of the Combined Authority. This is a critical time in our transformation and growth journey, and you'll be pivotal in helping us achieve our ambitions by:

• Creating engaging and accessible content across a range of communications channels.
• Supporting communications campaigns that promote the Mayor's priorities and the work of the MCA.
• Writing copy for press releases, social media, blogs and digital content.
• Supporting the development of positive relationships with regional media.
• Helping to produce briefings, presentations, reports and other communications materials.
• Ensuring our messaging is clear, consistent and appropriate for different audiences.

What you'll be doing

Are you someone who can write compelling copy, create engaging digital content and adapt your communication style for different audiences, while working collaboratively and managing competing priorities? As Communications Officer, you'll support the delivery of communications activity across the organisation. You'll write and develop content for a variety of platforms, including press releases, social media, blogs and digital channels, ensuring our communications are engaging, accurate and accessible. You'll help manage social media channels and websites, creating content that supports campaigns and projects and helps us connect with our audiences. You'll also support the development and delivery of communications campaigns, bringing creative ideas and helping to promote the activities and achievements of the Mayor and the Combined Authority. Building strong relationships will be an important part of the role. You'll work with colleagues across the organisation, external stakeholders and regional media, helping to support positive coverage and responding to media queries when required. You'll also help monitor and respond to issues that could affect the organisation's reputation, ensuring responses are timely, accurate and appropriate.

If you have an accessibility need, disability, condition or need any additional support that means you might require changes to the application or recruitment process (for example, you might need to submit your application in a different format), please get in touch with our Resourcing Team at [e-mail]. We are here to assist and accommodate your needs.

You'll be a communications, marketing or media professional with experience creating engaging content and working across digital and traditional communication channels.

We're particularly interested in people who can demonstrate:

• Excellent writing skills and the ability to adapt copy for a range of audiences.
• Experience creating successful digital content and managing social media channels.
• The ability to translate complex or technical information into clear, accessible plain English.
• Experience working with multiple external partners and internal stakeholders.
• Creativity and the ability to produce engaging content for online and traditional channels.
• Experience planning and supporting integrated communications campaigns across a range of channels.
• Strong interpersonal skills and the confidence to work effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills, with the ability to manage your own workload and meet deadlines.

You’ll be educated to degree level or have equivalent professional experience, with a good understanding of communication principles, tools and techniques across digital and traditional platforms. It would also be great if you have a recognised professional qualification in communications, PR or marketing, experience using website content management systems, or knowledge of filming, photography and video editing.

We believe in fostering a culture of continuous learning and development, empowering you to thrive in your career. We prioritise your growth and success by providing a diverse range of learning and development opportunities. Our goal is to keep you motivated, equipped with essential skills, and confident in delivering excellent services.

This is an opportunity to join a collaborative Communications team at an exciting time for the West of England. You'll have the opportunity to help shape how the MCA communicates with its audiences, bringing your creativity and ideas to campaigns and content that showcase the work of the Mayor and the Combined Authority. You'll work across a wide range of communications channels, collaborating with colleagues and external stakeholders to ensure our messages are clear, consistent and engaging. This is an opportunity to make a real difference - using your communication skills and creativity to help tell the story of the work we're doing across the West of England.

Alongside the opportunity to make a real difference to the people who visit, live and work in the West of England, we offer an excellent benefits package including:

• 26 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 31 days after 5 years continuous service. There is also the option to increase your annual leave with our annual leave purchase scheme.
• 2 days of paid leave each year to volunteer
• Local Government Pension Scheme (one of the most generous pension schemes in the UK).
• Flexible, family friendly and hybrid working options to ensure you achieve the best work/life balance and career goals. We follow a hybrid working model with typically 2 or 3 days in the office each week
• Reduced bus fare travel across the West of England, The salary for this role is £38,220 - £41,771. This is the full-time equivalent salary, and will be pro-rata for part-time. We advertise salary ranges for job roles, with new appointments for external candidates typically starting at the lowest salary point. In exceptional cases, where higher skill levels or experience are applicable, the salary point may be adjusted to secure the best candidate. This approach allows for potential year-on-year salary increases, offering progression and appropriate rewards to employees.