Head of Communications

Harris Hill is working with a London based charity, who is partnering with Harris Hill to find them a Head of Communications who can start ASAP, for 6 to 12 months, on a full time basis.

We re looking for someone with strong internal communications experience as well as leadership skills, the team have been through a lot of change and require someone who can pull them together, but also, have a lot of internal changes being planned with an internal communications strategy.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Develop and deliver Communications strategy to deliver strategic objectives, in particular to raise our profile and improve understanding and reach of our work.

Lead, motivate and manage the Communications team to ensure delivery of the strategy and support the professional development of individual team members.

Work with the branch network where needed to act as liaison with regional and local media outlets to ensure PR opportunities are maximised

Act as the main POC for crisis comms planning with support from Director of Fundraising, Marketing and Communications (DFMC) and Deputy Director of Marketing and Communications (DDMC)

Act as the main POC for the crisis comms risk register and work with relevant internal stakeholders to ensure this is kept updated.

Ensure media training needs across the organisation are met and that anyone being interviewed by a media outlet is appropriately briefed and coached.

Accountable for the development, delivery and evaluation of the internal and change communications strategy that engages, motivates and informs employees and volunteers, ensuring organisations vision, mission, values and Standards remain at the forefront of delivery

Manage relationships with the organisations Celebrity Ambassadors as well as source new ones

Respond to political engagement requests where necessary.

Ensure that the senior management team is kept up to date with the latest relevant developments in national and regional government

Ensure that any crises which affect the wider sector are coordinated with counterparts at other organisations.

Consult on policy documents and coordinate the response from across the senior management team.

Manage the out of hours press office ensuring that there is the opportunity for the organisations network to speak to a press officer 24/7

Promote, maintain and protect brand, specifically supporting the branch network with reputational management issues and complaints as they arise

Ensure that any PR and digital communications and social media channels are aligned, appropriate and on point , helping to create relevant, integrated and timely messaging for their content

Plan, monitor and control budgets and resources to achieve agreed objectives

Work closely with the Head of Marketing, Head of Design, Head of Supporter Engagement, and wider teams to develop impactful, integrated campaigns which deliver joint objectives as part of the wider marketing and communications strategy.

Develop strong, collaborative relationships across the organisation and with key external stakeholders and partners.

Manage relationships with external agencies to ensure that projects are delivered on time and within budget and achieve agreed evaluation metrics.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list of duties. The need for flexibility is required and the post holder is expected to carry out any other related duties that are within the employee's skills and abilities whenever reasonably instructed.

If you feel you are able to deliver and add value to this list of responsibilities, please get in touch for a full JD and details about the personal specification