PR and Communications Officer

RSPCA Assured; Horsham; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 42,000; Full time

Job summary

RSPCA Assured is seeking a dynamic PR and communications officer to support media activity and shape public understanding of farmed animal welfare. You will bring stories from across the UK farming supply chain to life.

Working on a hybrid basis, primarily from home with weekly Horsham office presence, you will write press materials, build media relationships, coordinate campaigns and track coverage while upholding our mission to improve welfare for farmed animals.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in a PR, press office, or journalism role with a track record of securing positive media coverage.
• Exceptional copywriting skills and ability to translate technical agricultural information into accessible narratives.
• Strong understanding of media needs, tight deadlines and reputational risk management.

Responsibilities

• Write press releases, opinion pieces, thought-leadership features, Q&As and briefings for trade and consumer outlets.
• Pitch stories to journalists and build strong media relationships.
• Monitor daily news and react to enquiries with sound judgement.
• Develop storytelling with farming members and manage the storytelling library.
• Collaborate with teams across RSPCA Assured to align messaging and evaluate coverage.

Skills

PR & communications

Storytelling

Copywriting

Media relations

Journalism

Stakeholder management

Driving licence

Job description

RSPCA Assured is a not-for-profit charity and the UK's only farm assurance scheme dedicated solely to improving the welfare of farmed animals. We have a vision for all farmed animals to be respected and treated with kindness and compassion. Our mission is to ensure higher welfare for farmed animals through a robust assurance scheme and trusted supply chain.

We are now recruiting for a dynamic PR and communications officer to support our media activity, shape public understanding of farmed animal welfare and bring stories from across the UK food and farming supply chain to life.

Contract: Permanent.

Working hours: 35 hours per week, Monday to Friday.

Location: Hybrid: You will work mainly from home and from the Horsham office every Wednesday. Some travel will also be required.

Closing date is 14th of September.

What a day might look like for you

Working closely with the senior PR manager, you will play a key role in delivering strategic, high-impact PR campaigns. This unique role combines strategic communications planning with hands-on, field-based journalism, getting you out into the field to gather compelling case studies directly from RSPCA Assured's farming members.

As our PR and communications officer, we will look to you to:

• Research, build and maintain a pipeline of rich stories and multimedia assets
• Write press releases, opinion pieces, thought-leadership features, Q&As and briefings tailored for trade and consumer outlets
• Pitch stories to journalists, forge strong media relationships and project lead PR initiatives
• Monitor the daily news agenda, evaluate potential reputational risks, exercise sound professional judgement and handle reactive enquiries effectively
• Build strong relationships with our farming members, share their stories and shape our storytelling library
• Work in collaboration with teams across RSPCA Assured to align messaging, evaluate coverage impact and support overall organisational goals
• Maintain media records, carry out daily monitoring and produce performance reports to evaluate campaign impact and engagement metrics.

What you'll bring:

To succeed within this role, you must be a talented storyteller, with sharp journalistic instincts and a passion for farmed animal welfare, along with:

• Proven experience in a PR, press office, or journalism role, with a proven track record of securing positive media coverage
• Exceptional copywriting skills, with keen attention to detail and the skill to translate complex or technical agricultural information into accessible, engaging narratives
• A strong understanding of media needs, tight deadlines and how to navigate reputational risks
• A proven ability to build strong working relationships with diverse stakeholders - from farmers to journalists
• A full, clean driving licence and the willingness to travel for field-based story gathering.

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK - We are unable to sponsor visas at RSPCA & RSPCA Assured

First stage interviews will be held remotely during the week commencing Monday 21 of September, with second stage interviews taking place in our Horsham office during the week commencing 28 September.

Good luck with your application.

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible.

We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed to our mission. For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family!

Our mission is to ensure animals have a good life by rescuing and caring for those in need, by advocating on behalf of all animals and by inspiring everyone to treat them with compassion and respect