Job Description

Senior Communications Advisor – Forests, Land and Climate campaign

Reports to:Deputy Director of Communications

Job purpose:

Toprovide communications expertise to all aspects of Global Witness’s Forests, Land and Climate campaign, becoming an integral part of the campaigning team. The senior communications advisor will understand and effectively communicate the issues relevant to the campaign and its associated teams. The role holderwill lead on the development and implementation of the campaign’s communications strategy as well as individualproject strategies.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and leadership

  • Contribute to strand and team campaign strategies, including:
  • ensuring campaigns-communication integration from the start (from research planning through to delivery)
  • supporting Global Witness’s fundraising and profile building in key markets
  • Lead on devising and implementing campaign communications strategies, including:
  • advising teams on best tools to communicate for greatest influencing impact
  • identifying innovative approaches to deliver on campaign objectives
  • identifying campaigns and angles that will engage the public
  • Build a comprehensive understanding of Global Witness key audiences and promote evidence-based approaches to engaging them effectively.
  • Help develop and maintain influential communications partnerships that deliver on campaign objectives.
  • Champion excellent communications across the organisation, providing training and ensuring high quality output in line with Global Witness’s style and brand.

Planning

  • Keep Global Witness’splanning calendar up to date and help to ensure communication products are delivered on time, keeping oversight of delivery timelines and flagging issues to senior management in timely fashion.
  • Advise on budget requirements and operate within the budget available.

Delivery

  • Drive a proactive and strategic news approach, including spotting opportunities, delivering influential media coverage, selling journalists unique story ideas, creating and pitching compelling content and stimulating debate in media and social media.
  • Work with team to develop high quality, engaging and well-targeted campaign materials, across print, film, photography, audio, infographics, data visualisation etc.
  • Ensure delivery of well-written and channel appropriate content for Global Witness digital channels.
  • Develop expert knowledge of and contact with key international and national media, across print, broadcast, multi-media and digital platforms, including being an up to date source of information on all aspects of the teams’ work.
  • Monitor and evaluate communications campaigning activity and contribute to organisational and team evaluation of campaigning.
  • Protect the reputation of Global Witness, monitoring for and highlighting both risks and opportunities, implementing crisis management media strategies as required.

Ways of working and collaborating

  • Work collaboratively with colleagues across Global Witness to collectively deliver our mission, vision and aims
  • Make a positive contribution to the team and the wider organisation by playing an active role in organisation-wide working groups and meetings
  • Demonstrate a strong commitment to creating an inclusive, equal and diverse workplace
  • Work within Global Witness’ policies, processes and procedures at all times

Other

  • Play active role in communications team, including providing back-up support where necessary.
  • Admin jobs and share of ‘out of hours’ on-call media work. Travel overseas where required.

Person Specification

Essential:

  • Solid operational experience working in a busy press office, communications department or as a senior journalist, preferably in an international and / or campaigning environment.
  • Excellent understanding of how strategic communications can influence change.
  • Strong editorial judgment and understanding of different audiences, content, media formats.
  • Sharp news sense and demonstrable ability to create, pitch and deliver news.
  • Excellent writing and/or broadcast skills, including the ability to summarise complex data and make it accessible to mainstream and social media.
  • Basic web editing and CMS skills.
  • Strong planning, evaluation and project management skills, including ability to set priorities, manageable work-plans and work within budgets.
  • Sound experience of news management, including identifying issues which involve operational and reputational risk.
  • Demonstrable ability to meet deadlines and prioritise when working under pressure on a number of projects.
  • Strong leadership and inter-personal qualities, including experience of inspiring, negotiating and working with campaigning / policy colleagues to deliver excellent strategies and communications.
  • Ability to do ‘on call’ rota work at weekends and out of hours.
  • Commitment to Global Witness’s mission, values and approach
  • Confident, ambitious and willing to learn.
  • Fluent in English.

Desirable:

  • Knowledge of development, human rights, environment, natural resources, corruption, or transparency.
  • Experience producing multi-media materials e.g. photo and video editing, photography.
  • Fluency in other languages.
  • Relevant media contacts.
  • Ability to travel