External Communications Specialist

Job Description

External Communications SpecialistSalary £36,905Position: 6-month FTC - possible extensionLocation: Birmingham/ HybridIf you’ve got the creativity to tell great stories, the experience and knowledge to deliver effective communication campaigns, and the skills to understand how our client’s diverse stakeholders will receive and act on all oftheir communications then comeand be a part of a fantastic organisation creating foundations for life.Communicating effectively with their customers and external stakeholders has never been more important within the social housing sector. As a communications specialist you will use your storytelling expertise to strengthen their brand through effective externaland customer communications. You will support internal clients including colleagues, senior leaders, and c-suite members with effective and impactful external communications. You will manage the delivery of exceptional levels of customer communication, devisingand delivering comprehensive, coordinated multi-platform campaigns, and creating tools and mentoring for leaders, to enable them to play a lead role in delivering customer communications.In housing you can make a real difference, the role of External Communications Specialist will involve:

• To drive, help to maintain and enhance our positive reputation with external stakeholders, local, national and trade media, public and customers.
• Develop engaging content for an external audience that helps tell the story of our business and brand. This content will not only effectively position us with our key stakeholders, but it will also achieve demonstrable business outcomes e.g raising customerand partner perception
• Support the Head of External Communications with the delivery of exceptional customer communications, share informative, accurate, and honest, compelling, and engaging content for customers, bringing to life customer experience and involvement.
• Develop and maintain a media relations programme and produce a broad spectrum of content - PR, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, events, publications, digital emails etc.
• Maintain an awareness of market issues to develop and share opinion pieces that are aligned with the brand
• As well as responding to calls from the business for communications, you will actively build relationships with key contacts that seek out opportunities to tell our story
• Mentor and advise colleagues in the business on what communications channels and approaches will have maximum impact for their goal, developing campaigns where appropriate

As an External Communications Specialist they need you to have:

• Professional copywriting skills
• Experience of using CMS, Adobe Creative Suite, Hootsuite, MailChimp/Campaign Monitor
• Ability to create and edit video content
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, Teams, Sharepoint, key social media and media monitoring platforms
• Demonstrable experience in PR or corporate communications
• Proven experience in using metrics and user feedback to define and improve content
• Proven experience of managing relationships with stakeholders
• Experience of creating a broad spectrum of content
• Knowledge of how to set goals for content against campaign objectives, monitoring and interpret performance data against these goals

They would be really excited if you have:

• Degree level or equivalent experience
• CIM/ CIPR qualifications preferable but not essential

Their people are everything and they offer:

• Opportunities for salary progression, which is directly linked to performance reviews
• IT equipment to allow some optional home working
• Live work better’ scheme which actively encourages work-life balance
• Annual leave starts at 25 days per year, increasing with length of service
• Enhanced family leave
• Company Pension - match up to 10%
• If part of the pension scheme you are entitled to Life cover (three times your annual salary)
• Organisational Sick Pay (benefit increases with length of service)
• EAP - a 24/7 service which gives free, confidential advice and support on a range of issues including telephone counselling
• Medicash scheme -which includes GP Access, digital Physiotherapy app, retail vouchers and discounts, discounted gym memberships and more!
• Recognition through our Employee Excellence Awards
• Representation opportunities on our Staff Consultative Forum
• Access to Citizen’s Wellbeing platform
• Employee Excellence Awards (winners receive extra days annual leave that year)
• Occupational Health
• They believe everyone has something to give and encourage everyone to be the best they can be to reach their full potential with extensive learning and development opportunities and Study Leave

With over fifty years of experience, they have grown to be one of the UK’s most trusted social housing providers,our client owns and manages 30,000 homes for diverse communities across the West Midlands, from urban tower blocks to rural villages and towns.There are some fundamental challenges people in their communities’ face, and they want to be an organisation which can help them deal with these. So, they are working to solve some of the most pressing issues around housing and homelessness.They adopt a proactive approach to safeguarding to ensure everyone accessing their services can do so without fear of harm, abuse or neglect.Closing date: Friday 15th SeptemberInterview date: Tuesday 19th SeptemberPlease note they will be reviewing applications throughout the campaign and may invite candidates to interview at any time. They reserve the right to close this role earlier than the published closing date should a suitable candidate be identified.