United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: Digital Communications Officer – Partnerships and Entertainment

Contract Type: Permanent, Full Time (37.5 hours per week)

Reports to: Head of Digital

Working with

The role involves working closely with the following stakeholders

· Staff in the Advocacy & Communications Directorate

· Staff in the Fundraising Directorate, specifically our corporate partnerships and entertainment teams

Overview

War Child is striving for a world where children’s lives are no longer torn apart by war.We are the only specialist charity for children in conflict, delivering high-impact programmes that are rebuilding lives across Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Central African Republic. We understand children’s needs, respect their rights, and put them at the centre of the solution - from supporting Syrian children to access education, to reintegrating child soldiers in the Central African Republic and working on juvenile justice in Afghanistan.

We aim to reach children early in the conflict cycle and stay to support them through their recovery, providing education and protection services and building longer-term livelihood opportunities. We support children to deal with the traumas of armed conflict, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to go back to school, and providing training to young people so they can support themselves.

We believe that children and young people know what matters to them and that their voices and demands should be heard – we work with them to build their confidence as advocates and to mobilise others to take action in support of them. Through standing by these principles War Child plays a unique role in helping children and young people to overcome the devastating impact of conflict.

Purpose of Post

The Digital Communications Officer will sit in the Digital Communications team, as part of our expanding Advocacy & Communications department. You’ll be at the frontline of our online communications with supporters, fundraisers, campaigners and wider audiences.
We’re looking for someone who is passionate about digital communications; particularly social media channels. You’ll have a strong understanding of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, blogs, and emerging trends. You’ll also be comfortable and competent with website content management systems, analytical data, and online research.

The Digital Communications Officer will support the Head of Digital in delivering strategies to support our partnerships and entertainment strands – including our growing work with the gaming industry, our valuable corporate partnerships, our entertainment loyalty programme and our legendary music events.

You will also provide support, advice and insight regarding content and audiences to support these efforts.

This is an exciting and varied role in one of the UK’s fastest-growing and most innovative charities.

We want to identify and exploit the potential opportunities which present themselves by having a strong and informed team which can react to the fast-moving digital communications landscape, creating excellent content that resonates with the right audiences and expands our digital reach.

A) Job Specification: Task and responsibilites:

· Work with colleagues across our Corporate Partnerships, and Music & Entertainment teams to devise digital strategies that expand the online reach and impact of these initiatives.

· Manage the development of a steady stream of engaging and sharable content (particularly for Facebook, Twitter and Instagram), replying to/moderating comments, sharing/retweeting content from other users, and identifying/engaging target profiles and accounts.

· Produce website content and update website pages which are dedicated to Partnership and Entertainment projects.

· Devising strategies to utilise our partnerships to engage more followers and supporters – and increasing the conversion of engagement to donation.

· Advise Head of Digital and colleagues regarding marketing spend on digital channels i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Google, YouTube, media sites and so on.

· Stay abreast of, and advise others regarding, social media trends and developments, producing regular and timely reports on social media reach, impact, and influence in the areas this role manages.

· Work closely with the Press and PR team to fully exploit opportunities to promote our digital content via mainstream media channels, and help to develop partnerships with media outlets to increase our online reach.

· Deal with ad-hoc requests from colleagues for digital content.

· Write or edit other web pages when required.

· Manage external designers, agencies, and projects, if required.

B) Person specification – Essential Criteria:

War Child’s office is a lively and fast-paced environment made up of a team of extremely dedicated staff. We’re looking for someone who can fit in well and bring their personality, creativity and professionalism to our communications and the wider charity.

Experience and mandatory criteria:

Demonstrable experience of:

· Devising targeted digital strategies that expand organisational reach, impact and income.

· Managing, growing and nurturing online communities; Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, blogs or other interactive web platforms.

· Harnessing the latest trends and developments in social media to engage new audiences and deepen engagement with existing audiences.

· Using Google Adwords, Facebook Ads, Twitter cards and/or other digital marketing channels to expand reach, impact and income.

· Advising and reporting on digital communications impact and outcomes.

· Managing and producing digital content to encourage supporters to engage and donate.

· Producing digital content as part of a wider organisational strategy or project.

· Using search engines and other online tools to research topics.

· Right to work in the UK

Competencies (Soft Skills):

·Excellent writing, editing and proof-reading skills.

· Strong knowledge of the latest trends/developments in social media.

· Good knowledge of content management systems.

· Good understanding of UK/NGO sector digital landscape.

· Ability to manage and prioritise multiple tasks and requests, and respond flexibly as urgency requires.

· Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to deal with a variety of internal and external stakeholders.

· Creative, results-oriented and problem solving approach to work.

· Willingness to work long or anti-social hours on occasion, where time off in lieu is agreed.

· IT literate with strong knowledge of Microsoft Office and CRM systems.

Desirable Criteria:

· Photography, audio/visual editing skills.

· Experience of working with creative agencies.

· Ability to speak a second language (French or Arabic preferable).

C) Contract Terms

Post: Permanent

Working Hours: Full time, 37.5 hours per week

Probation: 6 months

Start date: February 2017

Location: London, UK

Salary: £26,008 - £29,870 per annum (depending upon experience)

Leave: 28 days pa pro-rata, increasing by one day for each year’s service up to a maximum of 5 additional days

Pension: All eligible employees are automatically enrolled into a Group Personal Pension Plan. Contributions will be made on a salary exchange basis as follows: employees contribute a minimum of 3% of basic monthly salary to receive a contribution of 5% from War Child.

Other: As defined in standard War Child contract terms

· Download the Application Pack and complete the Application Form (Please note that individual CVs will not be accepted).

· Send all completed application forms to recruitment@warchild.org.uk

· All completed application forms must reach War Child by 11:59pm on Monday 9 January 2017