Communications and Marketing Officer

Duration: Full time (32hrs, 4-day week*)

*We are conducting a gold standard 4 day week trial until 31st December 2024, with
possibility to become a permanent change. Full time hours outside of the trial are 40hrs per
week, Monday to Friday.

Closing date for applications: 9am on Monday August 5th 2024

How to apply: Send your CV and a covering letter to [email protected] by 9am on Monday August 5th
2024. Please include the job title that you are applying for in the subject line in the email
and let us know if you require any assistance in the application process, so that we can make
any reasonable adjustments.

The role 

The Communications and Marketing Officer role is an opportunity to use your communications
skills to help tackle the UK’s wildlife emergency, by joining a ground-breaking project that is
delivering a step-change in the conservation of a rapidly-declining animal – the great crested
newt. This role sits within the company’s Strategy Team which has a broad remit and this is
currently the sole communication/marketing post.

The role would suit a mid-career graduate Marketing / Communications specialist looking to make
a difference with a friendly and growing company that is working with planning authorities and
NGOs to deliver high-quality nature conservation outcomes. This is both an outward-facing role
as well as a key internal position.

On the outward facing side you will be dealing directly with all the company’s stakeholders –
from planners, developers and their ecologists to local and national politicians and the
general public On the internal front you will be the company go-to for advice and support on
broader company communications.

The postholder will widen and deepen relationships with new and existing audiences. You alone
will design and deliver all of our communications including social media, website content,
newsletters, in-person and virtual training courses. We have a great message – a conservation
scheme that is better for developers, better for planners and better for wildlife – that we
need to promote. We want you to have one eye on the future and strategically steer our
communication and marketing strategy today towards the goals for tomorrow.

This role will suit someone who is great at telling a story, is creative with social media, and
is excited to challenge themselves in their career as we strengthen our brand and profile. We
are a small organisation and the ideal person for this role will be someone who is proactive,
dynamic and willing to embrace a variety of work streams from content creation to developing
strategic communications.

Key responsibilities: 

• To lead the ongoing development and delivery of the internal and external communications
  strategy.
• To proactively articulate the vision and the values of the business, delivering these
  messages via a full range of communication and engagement interventions, including press
  releases, media statements, social media and training presentations.
• To support and guide colleagues across the organisation to collate and co-ordinate the
  dissemination of information to the relevant audiences.
• To create, edit and proof-read content with a consistent tone of voice and unified message
  across a variety of communication channels.
• To continuously evaluate and report on the impact and effectiveness of communication
  channels.
• To establish and maintain effective relationships with key internal and external
  stakeholders.
• To manage and respond to media enquiries in a timely and accurate way.
• Monitor political, media and sector landscapes to identify relevant issues and work with
  the appropriate stakeholders to address and respond to these.
• Look at new and innovative methods of engaging and communicating with stakeholders in an
  effective, timely and meaningful way to achieve the best results and take the company to the
  next level.

Essential skills, knowledge, and experience: 

• Education at degree level or equivalent, or the ability to demonstrate work-related
  experience.
• Excellent proven writing skills, with a confident grasp of grammar, punctuation and
  spelling and have the ability to write to a variety of different audiences
• Experience or enthusiasm to work on nature conservation issues.
• Experience of delivering public-facing communications campaign.
• Public engagement and event management skills, both in person and virtual.
• Ability to translate complex, technical information into accessible communications for a
  range of audiences.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to engage and influence.
• Strong skills in creating engaging social media content, including the use of design
  software such as Canva to create image and video content.
• Ability to take the initiative, be creative, and to come up with original ideas.
• Experience of relationship-building with internal and external networks.
• Ability to plan, prioritise and project manage; organised, methodical, conscientious and
  able to enjoy high workloads and work efficiently to meet tight deadlines.
• Self-motivated and independent – able to work flexibly with minimal supervision.

Desirable skills, knowledge, and experience:  

• Good understanding of the current local and national planning policy and political
  landscape.
• Monitoring and evaluation of campaigns and communication activities to determine reach and
  impact, including on social media.
• Experience of using a CRM system or email marketing software to support targeted
  communication (specific experience using Zoho Campaigns would be an advantage).
• Experience creating short and/or long form video content

Company background

Great crested newts have declined dramatically in the UK over the last 50 years and although
still widespread across lowland England they are no longer common. Despite protection under UK
and European wildlife law, numbers are still declining, and habitat loss is their biggest
threat.

In 2018 the NatureSpace District Licensing Scheme was launched – set up in partnership with
national freshwater and amphibian Non-Governmental Organisations as well as seven local
planning authorities across the South Midlands. Since then, the scheme has expanded nationally
and now covers over 60 local planning authorities across Bedfordshire, Berkshire,
Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Milton Keynes, Northamptonshire,
Oxfordshire, Staffordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.

The scheme allows planning authorities to authorise (under strictly defined terms) activities
which affect great crested newts at the same time as they grant planning permission. The
District Licensing Scheme has significant advantages for newt conservation and wider
biodiversity benefits through a fully funded region-wide conservation strategy that creates
high-quality habitat at a landscape scale and delivers long-term management and monitoring for
newts, which is delivered via our partners at the Newt Conservation Partnership. The scheme
benefits developers because the licensing process for great crested newts is simplified and
streamlined.

NatureSpace also work with national infrastructure providers, such as Network Rail, to help
them secure and deliver ‘Organisational Licences’ for protected species with the same
conservation deliverables. The schemes are administered by NatureSpace, are regulated, and
approved by Natural England and are supported by the country’s leading amphibian and freshwater
NGOs – the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust and Freshwater Habitats Trust.

Company culture, employment benefits and location

NatureSpace Partnership is a small (c.50 staff) but busy and rapidly growing company. Being a
small organisation, everyone has a big say in what we do and how we do it. Our agility and size
mean that your voice will be heard, and you will have the opportunity to directly see the
results of your work.

Work/life balance is important to us. We actively support flexible working arrangement so that
our work fits in with our lives and we are open to exploring how this role could best work for
you.

The successful candidate/s will be joining a friendly, close-working team of home-workers and
will have responsibility for managing their workload and working independently as part of a
dispersed national team. The post requires high levels of motivation and high standards of
self-management. Location is entirely flexible within the UK – this post will be mainly
desk-based but some travelling to meetings in central England may be required.

NatureSpace embraces equal opportunities, diversity and inclusion and we welcome applications
from all suitable qualified and experienced individuals. To build a team of the most talented
employees, NatureSpace is committed to being a flexible employer and we place considerable
emphasis on wellbeing and job satisfaction.

We offer a significant benefits package for all staff including flexible working with an
extended 4-day working week trial during 2024, time off-in-lieu (TOIL) or overtime pay (in
agreement with your line manager), 20 annual leave days (which equates to 5-weeks off per year
in light of the 4-day working week, plus bank holidays, weekday birthdays and additional
holiday over the Christmas period), an annual performance bonus of up to 20% of your pay,
company pension contributions, company private health and life insurance, plus the option to
join our electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme.

Applicants must have the legal right to live and work in the UK.

Interview dates: You will be notified by Monday August 12th 2024 if you have
been selected for interview; with interviews being held virtually (via Microsoft Teams) week
commencing Monday August 19th 2024.

Expected start date: As soon as possible.