Creative PEC, working in partnership with Newcastle University and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) is recruiting for a Head of Communications based at RSA House in London.
Location: Based either at RSA House, London or Newcastle University with remote-working flexibility
Contract Type: Fixed Term
Working Pattern: Part Time
Closing Date: 26 April 2024
Salary: £45,585 to £48,350 with progression to £54,395 per annum, pro rata
The Role
The Creative PEC working in partnership with Newcastle University and the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) is recruiting for a Head of Communications as part of an existing job-share.
You will be the strategic lead across all of the Creative PEC’s public facing in-person and online programmes, leading on the development of this new strand of activity with the support of the Communications Manager and the Communications and Events Officer.
This role will be based either at RSA House, London or Newcastle University with remote-working flexibility. This is a fixed term post available for approximately 9 months and will be offered on either a two or three day per week basis (either 40% FTE or 60% FTE). We can be flexible on the days/hours of work but please do contact us if you would like to discuss further.
We are looking for an individual who is passionate about the creative industries, arts and culture and wants to lead a dynamic and friendly team looking to support the sector across all nations and regions of the UK. If this sounds like you, then we want to hear from you.
Since its inception in 2018, the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC)-funded Creative Industries PEC, has succeeded in bringing about a step change in the quantity and quality of evidence available to UK policymakers seeking to support growth in the creative industries. Funding for a further five years has been awarded and we are in the first year of delivering of this new phase, which started in June 2023.
This is a job-share role working alongside our current Head of Communications to cover an approximate nine-month period of maternity leave. It reports to the Deputy Director.
Creative PEC currently delivers a wide variety of communications and events activity. To best compliment the job-share, we are keen for this half of the role to lead on events, alongside collaborating across the rest of the responsibilities.
Our events currently include: working with consortium partners to deliver launch events for up to eight major research publications a year; a monthly online Seminar Series; several in-person events with our partners at Newcastle University and RSA. We are also developing online and in-person events with our Industry Champions and our Policy Unit manage a wide range of stakeholder engagement events. Head of Communications are also responsible for publishing regular research reports, as well as managing our website, newsletters, social media and press to effectively communicate our work to policy makers, researchers and industry.
For this role we encourage applications from individuals who can complement our existing team. We believe that success is built on having teams whose backgrounds and experiences reflect the diversity of the UK population.
For more information about the Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre, please click here.
To apply, please complete an online application and upload a CV and cover letter. Your cover letter is a supporting statement, and you should outline how you meet the essential criteria of the role detailed in the person specification section.
For informal enquiries regarding the role, please contact Alice Kent, Head of Communications (job-share) alice.kent@pec.ac.uk
Key Accountabilities
- To co-lead communications across the Creative PEC’s London-based policy unit and Newcastle-based research unit, ensuring consistency of messaging and brand
- To provide monthly communications updates to the Senior Management Team and external consortium
- To co-lead the Creative PEC’s crisis communications strategy and implementation if required, potentially within a high-pressured and tight timeframe
- To have a firm understanding of the policy landscape for the creative industries across national and local government
- Act as media spokesperson if required representing the Creative PEC for national print and broadcast media
- To work closely with colleagues/teams across the PEC, RSA and University to deliver on the Creative PEC’s objectives, ensuring alignment with communications policies, guidelines and approaches
- To co-lead and manage workflow within the communications team to ensure key deadlines are met in a timely manner
- To lead on the implementation and monitoring of the Creative PEC’s Communications Strategy, setting and monitoring KPIs for the team in line with the Creative PEC’s objectives
- Be a pro-active and supportive member of the Senior Management Team, reporting in, attending and preparing reports for SMT and Board meetings
- Work closely with the Senior Management Team to ensure that priorities are aligned to optimise the development and maintenance of key internal and external partners and stakeholders
- Plan, develop and quality assure communications output of the Creative PEC including research reports, discussion papers, blog posts, press releases and opinion pieces
- Lead on the Creative PEC’s media engagement strategy, writing press releases and liaising with media and the wider University to deliver key messages and reports
- Secure high profile media opportunities for the Creative PEC across television, broadcast, print and podcast media
- Represent the Creative PEC at senior meetings with Newcastle University and RSA colleagues and at external meetings e.g. DCMS comms team
- Co-lead and manage the work of external contractors including designers, proof-readers and ad-hoc editors for specific reports
- Co-lead and oversee the Creative PEC’s digital communications activities, including website, curation and production of digital content and the social media presence of the Centre in order to meet the Creative PEC’s quantitative communications targets
- Act as Creative PEC brand guardian, ensuring alignment with PEC and University brand guidelines
- Maintain excellent relationships with the communications teams of our funders and other core partners to ensure alignment
The Person
Knowledge, Skills and Experience
Significant experience of relevant, management-level experience across the following core areas:
- Demonstrable experience executing an impactful communications strategy for policy and research work, including brand-level work
- Experience in events programming, development, management and delivery
- Experience managing a press function, with experience in media relations and securing high impact media coverage
- Experience of digital communications with previous responsibility for managing a website, social media channels, and a newsletter
- Experience working on projects with a wide range of stakeholders and partners
- Experience of managing websites and social media presences, of creating compelling digital content and delivering small scale website development projects
- Able to work in a fast-paced, impact-focused environment and flexibly respond to changing and competing priorities
- An adept and confident networker with strong influencing skills
- Excellent project management skills
- Experience of managing third party creative agencies to produce marketing materials
- Excellent editing and writing skills
Desirable
- Experience of working in/familiarity with the creative industries
Qualifications
- Degree or equivalent level qualification essential and post graduate qualification in a relevant field is desirable
- Experience in a similar role, demonstrating development through progressively more demanding, relevant roles
