Communications & Marketing Officer

Job DescriptionReporting to:   Communications & Marketing ManagerContract:         Permanent; Full time 37.5 hours per week Monday to Friday. Some evening or weekend working will be required as part of this role. Location:         Hybrid. Home working with minimum of 40% of contracted hours at our office in Welwyn Garden City. Candidates must be based in the UK and within reasonable commuting distance to our office in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire.Job purposeThe Communications & Marketing Officer is a key role within our busy Communications Team. They will support the wider Willow team in delivering on plans to raise the charity’s profile and increase supporter engagement. The Communications Team supports the communications needs of all teams across the organisation.Principal responsibilities and dutiesContribute to, and help to evolve, Willow’s communications activity, including emails, website, marketing and social mediaWork with the Willow teams to plan and deliver a regular calendar of content, ensuring the communication and marketing needs of colleagues across the organisation are metManage the promotion of fundraising campaigns and eventsEngage with press, supporters, beneficiaries, partners, volunteers and medical professionals to help establish Willow as a national brandGather and create engaging content, including case studies, images and videos, to be used to raise awareness of Willow’s work locally and nationallyDevelop and manage working relationships with creative agencies, printers and freelancers to deliver high quality communications, on time and within budgetUse analytics tools to report back on performance and identify learnings and opportunitiesAttend Willow and third-party events, providing communications support including social media posting, videography, photography and media managementWork with the managers of Willow’s shops to deliver a program of communications projects and activities to engage new donors and customersWork with Communications Team colleagues to plan and deliver activity to support the Digital Comms Strategy, Ambassador & Influencer Strategy, Growth plan and key themes and projectsBe an active member of the team and charity as a whole and undertake training and skills development and keep up to date with the changing requirements of the role and the external environmentUndertake other duties that may be required as part of the rolePerson Specification Experience of working in a busy marketing/PR/communications team, ideally in a charity environmentA responsive, confident self-starter who is enthusiastic and highly motivatedExcellent planning, time-management and organisational skills with ability to stick to timetables for delivery of work and meet deadlines under pressureAble to express ideas clearly, both verbally and in writing, with an ability to adjust tone and content appropriately for different target audiencesStrong copywriting and editing skills with the ability to turn complex information into compelling stories and contentAbility to think creatively, offering new ideas, concepts and solutionsExperience of developing multi-channel communications plans and taking a communications campaign forward through different digital and offline channelsDesign skills, particularly in creating and/or overseeing the design of visually appealing digital and non-digital content which adheres to brand guidelinesExperience of using analytics and other tools to report on performance of campaignsExperience of media relations and evaluating media coverage and PRExperience of using social media as a professional communications toolExperience of producing and editing photo and video contentExperience of using software including Microsoft, Canva or other design tools, Google Ads, analytics tools, email marketing platforms, website CMS systems (we use Wordpress) and charity databases (we use Raiser’s Edge)Organised and able to keep good records for data protection, confidentiality and financial purposesKnowledge of the digital charity landscape, including best practice for social media, web content creation and engagement strategiesOtherFull driving licence required as regular travel across the county will be part of the role, in particular to our retail stores and events. Some national travel may be necessary on occasion.GeneralWe offer the following competitive benefits package:25 days annual leave plus bank holidaysHybrid working arrangementsLife Assurance and Group Pension FundSeason ticket loanCycle to work schemeFlexible Working policyEmployee assistance programme