Senior Communications Officer

The Right Ethos - Specialist External Affairs Recruitment; United Kingdom; Hybrid; GBP 32,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading charity for rural communities is seeking a Senior Communications Officer to enhance external communications and advocate for rural issues. This role involves storytelling, relationship building with journalists, and supporting policy engagement. Ideal candidates will be creative self-starters with a strong connection to rural communities. The position is home-based with regular travel to London, on a permanent contract.

Qualifications

• Experienced in developing compelling stories and delivering campaigns.
• Ability to work creatively and build new connections.
• Direct experience of living in a rural community or strong empathy with rural issues.

Responsibilities

• Oversee external communications and build relationships with journalists.
• Support engagement with policymakers and stakeholders.
• Advise team members and member organisations on promoting their work.

Skills

Storytelling and content development

Campaign delivery

Relationship building with journalists

Digital communications

Job description

This role is home based with monthly in-person team meetings and regular travel to London. 4/5 days a week (30/37.5 hours per week), permanent.

Would you like to make a positive impact for rural communities across England? Would you like to help tackle rural deprivation and ensure rural areas have fairer access to essential services? Would you like to help rural communities reach their full potential?

About Us

Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) is the only national charity speaking up for everyone in rural areas. We champion thriving, sustainable and inclusive rural communities that have the services they need and the resources to secure equitable outcomes for everyone. We work closely with our 38 member organisations who support local communities across England. Together we campaign for change, enable local action, and improve support for people most in need. We work with government and other national partners to explore the issues affecting rural communities and identify solutions so that no one is disadvantaged by where they live.

About the Role

We are seeking an experienced and creative Senior Communications Officer to join our ambitious team. This is a new post that will play a key role in delivering our new five year strategy Rural Ambition: enabling communities to thrive. This includes a commitment to speak up more boldly for rural communities and to build new alliances to widen our reach. Reporting to the Head of Policy and Public Affairs, you will be responsible for our external communications, including telling eye-catching stories, building relationships with journalists and overseeing our digital communications. You will support our engagement with policy makers and other stakeholders, and advise and support other team members and our member organisations to promote their work and the impact they are making.

About You

You will be experienced in developing compelling stories and helping to deliver campaigns that raise awareness of low profile issues and drive change. You will enjoy having a varied role that offers the opportunity to be creative, build new connections and work with colleagues in the team and our wider network. You will be excited by our ambition to speak up more boldly for rural communities and to focus on the issues where we can make the most impact. You will be a self-starter as well as a team player, enjoy working in partnership with other organisations, and be used to delivering several projects at one time. You will have direct experience of living in a rural community or have a strong empathy with our cause.