Senior Press and Social Media Officer

**About Us**:
**THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM**

Innovation and Change in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where people use their vision and commitment to open doors for the next generations.

Nothing beats the feeling of helping someone find their passion. At Westminster City Council, our City Lions team helps young local people engage with culture, creativity and dreams. When they came across a lonely, isolated 16-year-old who called himself a failure, they knew what to do. They worked 1-2-1 to find the thing this boy really loved. YouTube, it turned out. But it’s impossible to turn that into a career, right? Wrong. A week later, he was enrolled on the British Film Institute film-making programme. It was the ultimate light-bulb moment. And it turned him into what he is today - a budding Spielberg with a world of opportunity at his feet.

Please view the extraordinary story of the Impossible Dream **here**.

**The Role**:
As a Senior Press and Social Media Officer you can make your own powerful contribution as you communicate the Council’s policies and enhance its reputation by implementing media handling strategies for our key campaigns. Working with your colleagues in the media team to provide a swift, accurate service to Cabinet members and journalists, it’ll be your job to research, draft and issue clear, concise lines to take across a range of channels.

Working closely with other teams in the communication directorate including campaigns and digital, you’ll help to provide a 24/7 service as part of our out-of-hours media office service. Analysing evidence to assess our approach to media handling, and identifying lessons learned, you’ll use all your knowledge and expertise as you suggest ways in which the media team can better understand the effectiveness of its work. We’ll also expect you to keep up-to-date with the latest industry innovations, and share your insights into how we can improve our communication projects.

Committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of professionalism and building good relationships with Council members and officers, you’ll also work to develop effective relationships with key external stakeholders, including journalists and partner organisations. You’ll also empower, engage and encourage your colleagues to deliver our corporate vision, and support our commitment to equality and diversity in everything you do.

Please refer to the **Job Description** for more information.

**About You**:
Educated to degree level or with a marketing/communications qualification or its equivalent by experience, you’ll have at least 2-3 years’ experience in a media/communications role. Ready to use your own initiative as you grasp complex issues to secure attention-grabbing media coverage in formats ranging from local newspapers and national TV news to international magazines and websites, you’ll also have experience of delivering engaging digital content for our social media channels.

Proactive and positive, you’ll possess the skills to cut through policy jargon and clearly communicate our work to audiences while remaining calm under pressure in a fast-moving, fluid environment. Your well developed understanding of media and the news cycle will allow you to spot a good news story and any issues that might pose a reputational risk for the Council.

Capable of writing engaging news releases, media statements and other briefing material, your superb communication and organisational skills will enable you to work to tight deadlines and manage competing priorities. In addition, you’ll also possess the ability to work on your own initiative and grasp complex issues quickly, and be ready to build a wide range of collaborative relationships and connections across different areas of our business.

**What We Offer**:
Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to over 250,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

As a forward-thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.