Registered Charity No. 1091608

JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Marketing & Communications Manager

Accountable to: Head of Brightlife

Location:Hartford

Date Written:February 2015

Primary Purpose:

To lead the Brightlife marketing, media and communication function and provide a high quality service working with organisations across the Brightlife Partnership and with an externally contracted marketing agency. To develop social marketing campaigns to support cultural change about later life with the aim of reducing social isolation and motivating stakeholders to become engaged and to generate active participation in the Brightlife project.

Duties:

1.To develop an inclusive marketing and communication strategy that ensures continuous community involvement throughout the life of the project and maximum reach for older peoplewho are, or are at risk of being, socially isolated including:-

  • To motivate socially isolated older people to co-design and co-produce the marketing and communication strategy
  • To ensure marketing and communication methods best fit the audience using a blend of traditional and innovative approaches
  • Utilising and developing social media platforms
  • Use of digital tools in tackling social isolation, eg. app development, Breezie tablets
  • Increasing access to new technologies and providing support
  • Development of brand assets to be used across all materials to grow “brand” awareness to build trust and credibility
  • To establish synergy throughout communication platforms
  • Ensuring local communities are linked up and knowledge and learning is shared
  • Consider barriers to communication and participation and make efforts to reduce them
  • Adapt marketing and communications to the needs of the local community and acknowledge that these will change throughout the duration of the project
  • Manage the Brightlife campaign launch

2.To ensure the use of brand identity helps to challenge perceptions on later life that may serve to stereotype or discriminate against older people.

3. Create and manage content for social media channels, eg. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. to ensure maximum reach for socially isolated older people.

4.Working with agency support to design, develop and create marketing materials including:-

  • Posters / flyers
  • PR packs for media releases
  • Billboards / bus sides
  • Case studies
  • Promotional items and incentives
  • Information packs for volunteers / healthcare professionals
  • Promotion of stakeholder engagement events

5.To develop strong relationships with communities and partners to maximise marketing and communication opportunities (eg. Brightlife partnership, Brightlife reference groups, health partners and community groups) and facilitate Brightlife reference groups as appropriate.

6.Act as a source of marketing advice and expertise to all stakeholders in the development of the Brightlife project.

7.To ensure quality, consistency and compliance with the Big lottery fund and Age UK Cheshire’s communication and brand guidelines.

8.To manage the initial development of a web site for the Brightlife project using an externally contracted marketing agency. To write, edit and proofread site content to maintain site standards with regard to the on-going development of the website.

9.To measure the impact of Brightlife campaigns, marketing activity and communication platforms. To regularly report findings to the Brightlife partnership.

10.To promote and share learning locally, regionally and nationally celebrating successes and accepting and understanding failures.

Equality & Diversity Policy

  1. Undertake all duties with due regard to Age UK Cheshire’s Equality and Diversity policy.

Brightlife Development

1. Over the term of the project it is anticipated that job duties and responsibilities will evolve and flexibility will be required of all the Brightlife team to meet these developments.

General

1. Positively promote Brightlife and its services to the general public and partners.

2.To attend training courses as required.

3.To support and participate in fundraising activities for Age UK Cheshire.

4.To undertake such other duties as may be required which are consistent with the duties and responsibilities of the post.

5. Act at all times to protect the organisation from any risk of wrong doing or loss of reputation.

Marketing & Communications Manager

Person Specification

Essential:

  • NCTJ, CIPR, CIM or equivalent qualification in a communications / marketing discipline
  • The ability to innovate and create new concepts of delivery
  • Experience of working in public relations, communications teams or working in journalism
  • Experience of using social media for organising large groups towards action
  • An understanding of how traditional and social media works and the role of internal communications within a project team and diverse environment
  • Experience in public engagement and involvement, including preparing innovative presentations and leading stakeholder events
  • Experience of partnership working
  • Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the drive and ability to create rapport with others
  • The ability to produce reports to include both outcomes and outputs
  • Experience of connecting with hard to reach communities
  • Ability to work as part of a team and to provide both collective and specific support to colleagues
  • Ability to work to tight deadlines / self-motivated with the ability to set and manage priorities
  • IT literate with an awareness, ability and willingness to adopt, support and utilise digital tools
  • Ability to travel freely for work purposes

Desirable:

  • Good local knowledge of Cheshire West and Chester
  • Degree level qualification (ideally in Marketing/Communications)
  • Prior experience of using marketing or communication based software
  • Experience of service and/or project development
  • Knowledge of issues that affect older people’s lives especially in relation to social isolation
  • Knowledge of how organisations and systems respond to the challenges and opportunities in relation to an ageing population
  • Prior experience of agency management
  • Knowledge of the voluntary sector including engaging and supporting volunteers

Attitude & Behaviours:

  • The ability to create and shape innovative ideas around project needs
  • Possess the drive to ensure that work is defined and accomplished with a high degree of assurance that quality, health, safety, environmental, regulatory and Company procedural requirements are met
  • Possess the desire, intention and ability to persuade, convince, influence or impress others
  • The desire and ability to understand other people
  • Ability to adapt to a variety of situations, or to various individuals or groups including the ability to understand different perspectives on an issue, and to consequently adapt strategies
  • Commitment to valuing diversity, reducing inequality and ensuring all people are treated with dignity and respect
  • An understanding and empathy of the needs of older people

AGE UKCHESHIRE

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER – SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Brightlife is about change, challenging the negative perceptions and assumptions about growing old and focussing on the positive role older people play in their communities. It will create a social movement using a clear and recognisable brand reaching out to the diversity of older people in Cheshire West and Chester. 4,850 older people aged 50 and over will feel less socially isolated by the end of this five year project.

Older people, their families, friends and carers are central to the development of Brightlife. They will co-design and co-produce the services to ensure that they meet actual needs rather than perceived needs aligning and building on personal, social and community assets. Their involvement, participation and engagement through the project’s life will be integral to its success. A diverse partnership will support and manage this, with Age UK Cheshire as the lead partner, cutting across all aspects of our local communities, bringing together the public, voluntary, community, faith and private sectors to work collectively to provide a person centred and holistic approach to reducing social isolation.

Brightlife will ensure that older people are at the centre of developments, whilst enabling communities and organisations to develop new initiatives, responsive to local needs and preferences.

Brightlife consists of two themes – delivery of activities that support the reduction of social isolation and support cultural change and influence; and social prescribing. These are both underpinned with a strong brand, marketing and communications strategy and robust evaluation to evidence the outcomes.

The Marketing and Communications Managerwill join the Brightlife team andbe responsible for Brightlife’s communications, including digital, brand and campaign management. You will also ensure local communities are linked up and knowledge learning is shared through developing social marketing campaigns and implementing an integrated communications platform.

An exciting element to this post is the role of increasing access to new technologies to the Brightlife audience and providing awareness in its use, the Brightlife project identifiesthe role of digital tools as important in tackling social isolation. The post holder will also be expected to explore new ways to promote social action through increasing awareness and motivating people to join the Brightlife movement.

Location :HartfordCentral Office with travel across Cheshire West and Chester.

Hours : full time, 36.25 hoursper week. Occasional evening or weekend work to support organisational promotional events or service delivery will be required.

Salary : £29,538per annum

Travel: The nature of the job will require travel and candidates must be able to meet this requirement. Travelling expenses will be paid for travel incurred in the course of duty (mileage paid at Inland Revenue dispensation rate – currently 45p per mile).

Holiday Entitlement: Five weeks leave p.a. (excluding Bank Holidays) rising after 5 years continuous service by one day per year (pro rata) to a maximum of 6 weeks leave after 10 years.

Contract: All new staff are subject to a six month probationary period. Four weeks’ notice is required to terminate employment by either side i.e. the employee or Age UK Cheshire. During the probationary period, one week’s notice is required by either side.

Funding: The project is funded by the Big Lottery fund until March 2020.

Pension: Age UK Cheshire has an automatic enrolment workplace pension scheme in place for eligible employees.

Health Care: After the 6 months probationary period staff will automatically join the Age UK Cheshire’s Health Care Cash Plan and will be entitled to receive healthcare benefits.

Childcare Vouchers: After the 6 months probationary period staff will have the option to make use of the Age UK Cheshire Childcare Voucher scheme (available to eligible staff whilst in receipt of salary).

Criminal Disclosure: Not applicable for this role.

Age UK Cheshire is a Mindful Employer and positive actions will be taken to ensure that people will not be excluded from working for Age UK Cheshire because of their age, race, ethnicity, faith, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, physical or mental health.

Applications must be made on an Age UK Cheshire application form to be received no later than 5:00 pm on Thursday 5th March 2015.

First Interview Date:Thursday 19th March 2015

Second Interview Date: Wednesday 25th March 2015