Sebastian's Action Trust – Job Description
Family Services PR & Communications Officer
About us:
We are a registered charity providing specialist respite holidays and practical and emotional support to seriously-ill children and their families. The children and young people we support battle with life-limiting or life threatening conditions, whilst their parents and carers provide around the clock care to help them.
The aim of our charity is to walk beside families of life-limited and seriously-ill children from diagnosis, through treatment and beyond.
The charity was formed in 2004 to fulfil the last wish of nine-year-old Sebastian Gates to build a holiday home that would give other children a chance to enjoy precious time with their families. Our respite holiday house, The Bluebells, opened in July 2011and is now welcoming families with very sick children from all over the country.
We are also committed to a programme of practical support, helping families in the community in a variety of different ways; including transportation to and from specialist hospitals, equipment provision, wellbeing therapies for parents and support for siblings.
Reporting and accountable to:
Director of Care
Job Summary:
The post-holder will work within our Family Service’s Team to cultivate and develop and manage media relations. The aim of the role is to maximise publicity for the Trust, effectively communicate the Trust’s core messages and to support the Family Service and Fundraising function by promoting events.
The post-holder will:
- Act as the key point of contact between the Trust and the media.
- Take responsibility for the content and design of materials relevant to family services and communications.
- Work with the CEO and the Director of Care to oversee the design and content of the annual impact report.
- To demonstrate a basic working knowledge of the Mac, InDesign and Photoshop software to create web slides, email footers etc.
- To show an understanding of the Content Management System to ensure all Family Services pages on the website are kept up to date.
- To create and lead Family Services related campaigns throughout the year through social media and the website.
- To develop and cultivate positive relationships with key journalists working within both print and broadcast media, with the aim of maximising coverage from the Trust.
- To ensure that media and communications are thoroughly evaluated after each event and/or campaign.
- Keep a log of all media coverage for prominence.
- Develop and nurturerelationships with families who use the services provided by the Trust with the aim of getting their consent for press coverage.
- Develop relevant case studies (including supporting images) from families for use on our website, for media use and for the Trust & Grants team, ensuring the full range of services used is shown along with conditions and geographical locations.
- To manage the Trust’s website, taking responsibility for overseeing content of which the writing will be delegated to other members of the team.
- To manage and maintain all social media related to the Trust
- Keep abreast of policy developments relating to the work of the Trust
and provide medial comment on these by working closing with the Trust’s Policy Officer.
- To ensure that email footers highlight each new campaign and be responsible for ensuring that the Team utilise these.
- Develop a celebrity network that can be used to support the Trust at events and during campaigns.
- To ensure the PR photos folder is kept up to date with relevant consent confirmed by families and images placed in the relevant folders.
- Support the team at events as directed by your line-manager.
- Attend appropriate training as sourced by the line manager.
Location: Based at the Charity’s Head Office in Bagshot
Salary: £26,000 37.5 hrs per week