Senior Communications Officer

The job of Save the Children UK’s SUN CSN Senior Communications Officer is varied and critical to our success:

• Are you a communications professional with strong writing and organisational skills?
• Would you enjoy co-ordinating and collaborating with colleagues across a range of countries, cultures and languages?
• Are you proficient in French and/or Spanish?
• Do you have an interest in nutrition and its importance to creating a world where every child can survive and thrive?
• Are you motivated by the production of compelling narrative and design that can communicate complicated concepts in a simple way?

If the answers to these questions are yes, we would love to hear from you!

This role can be based internationally outside the UK provided it is in a country with an SC office from which you would be able to work – the salary will be based on local pay structures if not based in the UK.

Note: To avoid disappointment, you are advised to submit your application as soon as possible as we reserve the right to close the vacancy early if a high volume of applications are received. This is to ensure that we can manage application levels whilst maintaining a positive candidate experience. Unfortunately once a  vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications.

About Us

Save the Children UK believes every child deserves a future. In the UK and around the world, we work every day to give children a healthy start in life, the opportunity to learn and protection from harm. When crisis strikes, and children are most vulnerable, we are always among the first to respond and the last to leave. We ensure children’s unique needs are met and their voices are heard. We deliver lasting results for millions of children, including those hardest to reach.

Job Purpose

This role leads on communications for the SUN CSN (Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network), with a diverse and senior set of stakeholders both within the network and externally.  This includes creating and implementing a comms strategy for the network, writing our regular bulletins and newsletters, management of our social media channels, and ensuring the good functioning of the website. The role also develops and manages key administrative, budgetary, planning, and information systems in support of the network’s objectives, as well as providing project management for key SUN CSN events and activities. As the secretariat team supports a significant number of alliances around the world, a developing part of this role is to provide technical support and relationship management to a set portfolio of alliances, alongside other members of the team.

As a rights-based organisation, we are committed to anti-racism and actively opposed systemic oppression of any form. The role holder will visibly lead our commitment to celebrate diversity, challenge inequality, and build an inclusive environment for every one of our employees so we can better represent the children we protect.

Main Accountabilities

The Senior Communications Officer’s key duties are to:

• Develop and implement the CSN communications strategy for SUN 3.0
• Manage and develop the SUN CSN website, including leading the relationship with the web developers, and ensuring the site is maintained as a source of news, events, stories, and resources for the network.
• Manage and strengthen the network’s Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram social media channels, with the aim to increase engagement from network and non-network members.
• Lead the development and dissemination of weekly email update to the network, as well as a regular newsletter.
• Produce, commission, and deliver new channel specific and network-driven social media content as needed, to drive awareness and engagement with the SUN CSN through all online channels.
• Produce strategic and impactful communications material for colleagues in the Secretariat as required to ensure their key pieces of work are well understood by network members.
• Work with colleagues across the SUN CSN, Save the Children, and SUN Movement Secretariat to share content, messaging, and social media approaches to ensure efficient and aligned approach.
• Create or collect content from country level visits, including acting as photographer or videographer as required.
• Lead country support for one region of civil society alliances, including relationship management and technical support.
• Develop and manage administrative systems to ensure the SUN CSN Secretariat functions efficiently, including oversight of travel planning, IT, folder storage, and maintenance of the network’s contact list.
• Act as the initial point of contact for external and internal enquiries about SUN CSN by managing requests that come in via the website or shared email accounts.
• Spend a portion of the CSN budget to deliver on the team workplan, subject to sign-off from the Head of Team.
• Undertake other tasks and projects alongside SUN CSN team members as required.

Person Profile

Technical Skills:

• Significant experience of operating and setting up administrative systems and working in a busy office environment.
• Experience of project coordination, including monitoring budgets, action tracking, and milestone planning.
• A high level of computer literacy (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and databases) and ability to support basic coaching of team members to be more self-sufficient.
• Good writing skills, with the ability summarise complex information accurately, draft accurate responses to a variety of queries using appropriate styles.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Experience of developing and managing websites and related content management systems.
• Proficient in design, including working knowledge of Premier Pro, Adobe Spark WordPress, Creative Cloud and Photoshop.
• Experience of editing and proof-reading to ensure content is on brand, accurate and error-free.
• Experience of producing tailored, channel-specific, content for social media.
• Proficiency in French and/or Spanish.

Personal Skills:

• Ability to be proactive and show initiative with demonstrable ‘can do’ approach to work.
• Ability to organise and prioritise multiple tasks efficiently and deliver tasks to tight deadlines.
• Ability to work flexibly, managing reactive and proactive work from a range of colleagues.
• Strong networking skills and ability to build good working relationships both internally and externally
• Commitment to support cross organisational initiatives and team working and understanding of how to contribute to these.
• Resilience, enthusiasm, energy, and drive with a commitment to SUN CSN’s mission, values, and approach
• A team player. Someone who is open and who is able and willing to deliver beyond his or her personal brief
• Commitment to the SUN CSN mission values and approach.
• Ability to operate within a predominantly self-servicing administrative environment.

Aptitude:

• A demonstrable commitment to the principles of diversity and inclusion and their practical application and integration in the work environment
• A commitment to Save the Children UK’s aims and core values of accountability, ambition, collaboration, creativity, and integrity

Save the Children UK is committed to diversity and equality of opportunity in all aspects of our work both external and internal. We strive to be an inclusive employer and particularly encourage applications from under-represented groups such as returning parents or carers who are re-entering work after a career break, people who are LGBT+, from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds, with a disability, impairment, learning difference or long-term condition, with caring responsibilities, from different nations and regions, and from less advantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.

Ways of Working:

Remote First – The majority of our roles can be performed remotely, however you may work from the office as often as you wish. Whilst you will be predominantly  working from home,  we may at times require you to come to your contracted office (up to 2-4 days per month or 6-8 days per quarter).  Note: This will be agreed with your Line Manager and team. This is intended to be time spent on collaborating with colleagues and relationship building.

On-site – There are certain roles that cannot be performed remotely and so your role will be based in an office location and you may occasionally be able to work from home.

Flexible Working – We are happy to discuss flexible working options at interview.

Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion: 

Save the Children UK believes in a world that is fair, inclusive and equitable where all children have the opportunity to change their world. We apply this to our workforce and we are committed to developing and supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive organisation where all employees have a sense of belonging and feel that they can be “Free to Be Me”. We are mot looking for just one type of person – we want to recruit people who can add fresh perspectives, innovative ideas or challenge that disrupts the risk of group think.

We are especially interested in people whose childhood experiences – of life on a low income, of migration, of being in a racialised community, of the care system, of being LGBT+ or in an LGBT+ family or living with (or with someone with) a disability – help us to see things we might otherwise miss. Whatever your story is we want to hear it because we know that different voices, ideas, perspectives and knowledge, working together will enable us to better the lives of children around the world. This is the reason why we are all here.

To see our full statement please visit this link: https://jobs.savethechildren.org.uk/our-policies/diversity/

Salary Structure: 

Save the Children is committed to paying staff in a fair and equitable way and will benchmark all salary offers in line with the pay of existing staff. To see our full offer please visit this link: https://jobs.savethechildren.org.uk/what-we-offer/

Interview Expenses: 

Candidates should note that unfortunately it is not our policy to reimburse expenses accrued when attending interviews at Save the Children UK unless you are requested to attend an interview in an alternative location to where the role is based.

Pre-employment Checks:

Any Employment with Save the Children UK will be subject to the following checks prior to your start date:

• a satisfactory police record check to include a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and/or an International Criminal Record Check (If applicable)
• receipt of satisfactory references
• proof of eligibility to work in the national location for this role