Job Description

Institute for Government. May 2015

Job Title:Web and Publications Officer

Reports to:Web and Publications Editor

Manages:N/A

The organisation:

The Institute for Government is an independent charity, founded in 2008 and dedicated to helping make government in the UK more effective. Working directly with leading politicians from all parties in Westminster, and with senior civil servants in Whitehall, the Institute provides evidence-based advice to help them do their jobs better.

The Institute is a well-respected voice, both in the UK and internationally. It has developed a well-attended programme of events and seminars, alongside a wide-ranging programme of research designed to help shape the future of government.

The Institute’s current focus is on:

  • Improving the accountability of government to parliament and the public;
  • Improving relationships between ministers and civil servants;
  • Supporting ministers to be better prepared for their roles;
  • Strengthening the way in which policies are developed and implemented;
  • Supporting the civil service to become more effective;
  • Helping government departments to work well with the wider public, private and voluntary sectors;
  • Supporting UK government to adapt to new democratic structures, particularly given the evolving nature of the devolved administrations.

For more details see

The job:

Working within our seven-strong communications team, the Web and Publications Officer plays a key role in our report production, web publishing, and email marketing operations, as well as providing some in-house design capacity for the Institute.

Reporting to – and deputising for – the Web and Publications Editor, the Officer works closely with research staff to sub-edit and produce their reports and blogs; maintains and updates our website; and writes, produces and sends out targeted emails forrelevant sections of our audience. They also provide some design or AV work, supplementing externally-commissioned design services; this is likely to comprise illustrations, publication lay-outs, infographics or video editing, depending on the post-holder’s skill-set.

Major tasks:

  • Querying, sub-editing and proof-reading Institute reports and blogs, producing reports in a Microsoft Word template, and working with research colleagues toplan production schedules;
  • Working with research colleagues to help them develop published outputs whose structure, presentation, language and dissemination are well-suited to reaching and engaging desired audiences;
  • Editing the website on a daily basis, publishing reports and blogs in concert with research staff;
  • Providing design or AV work for communications projects and research colleagues, and assisting in the commissioning and management of external suppliers of design services;
  • Using our CRM to pull out relevant audience lists for specific Institute reports and blogs,then writing, producing and sending dedicated emails to those audiences and monitoring performance via web metrics;
  • Working with the Media Officer to develop the Institute’s social media presence and operations;
  • Other tasks as identified by the Web and Publications Editor or the Director of Communications.

Person Specification

Essential:

  • Experience of sub-editing complex, technical and long texts, putting queries to authors to improve structure, argument, clarity and flow, and proof-reading amended copy in compliance with style and brand guidelines;
  • Project management skills, including scheduling, time management, and balancing the requirements of long and short deadlines;
  • Experience of uploading content onto websites (ideally using Drupal and Wordpress), and of using social media in a work environment;
  • The ability to write for the web, applicable to explanatory or marketing copy,and a detailed knowledge of Microsoft Word;
  • Strong skills in design, illustration or infographics work (ideally Illustrator) or AV editing;
  • Familiarity with image manipulation software, particularly Photoshop.

Desirable:

  • A demonstrable interest in the operation of government, and experience in the civil service, politics or the wider public sector;
  • Experience of running email campaigns, including copywriting, the use of bulk email management systems, and the analysis of performance metrics;
  • Expertise in email management software, ideally Campaign Monitor;
  • Basic HTML & CSS skills;
  • Experience of marketing, particularly to improve the readership of published work and/or the breadth and depth of data assets;
  • Expertise in managing and using data, and experience of using a CRM, in order to segment and target relevant audiences.