Communications & Fundraising- Media Relations Officer

Team:External Affairs-

Location:WOKING (INITIALLY GODALMING)

Job Level: 3

Job Family: Coordinating & influencing

RefERENCE:WWF-167

Context

The Media Relations team works alongside the Public Affairs team in External Affairs and will be responsible for managing media relationships and making sure external messaging is accurate, engaging and audience appropriate.

This team will co-ordinate message management across WWF-UK to priority audiences, with responsibility to ‘gate-keep’ WWF-UK’s relationships with journalists across all print, broadcast, online media and social media influencers.

What’s the purpose of this role?

  • To strengthen WWF-UK’s profile in the broadcast, print and online media, building relationships with journalists and connecting them with our stories.
  • Responds to daily media enquiries
  • Supports media relations managers in developing strategies to engage key media outlets
  • Sells in stories and content to media outlets
  • Promotes WWF successes
  • Gathers and analyses intelligence on developments in the media landscape
  • Organises media events
  • Ensures continuity through participation in out-of-hours emergency duty rota

What skills, knowledge and experience are needed?

  • Understanding of what makes a story attractive for journalists
  • Understanding of the differing needs of broadcast, print and online media
  • Experience of providing support to a project team and/or a senior leader
  • Ability to plan activities to make best use of time for self and others (e.g. project planning/diary management)
  • Ability to provide exemplary customer service to a wide client base with varying needs
  • Understanding of the organisation’s values, standards and processes in order to make consistent and appropriate judgements
  • Experience of capturing and managing information data to support a project and/or senior leader
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills including the ability to write copy for press and news releases at short notice to a high standard.

Minimum criteria for this role:

  • Significant experience of working individually and as part of a team, supporting managers for a high profile organisation with a public brand.
  • Experience of writing for media outlets.
  • An understanding of online media
  • An understanding of the UK media landscape and an awareness of digital developments.
  • Willingness to take part in an out of hours duty rota.
  • Ability to develop relationships with journalists in national print and broadcast media, and to promote an organisation’s key messages through those channels.

Name12 December 20121