Opportunities

Salary and Grade: FTE £27,344 (SCP 18) – £30,151 (SCP 23)

Hours of work: 30 per week, including occasional evenings and weekends for which time off in lieu will be given

Responsible to: Town Council, via the Town Clerk

Overview

Reporting to the Town Clerk this post will lead on delivering the Council’s Communications and Engagement Strategy and Action Plan. Working across all areas the post will support the council’s strategic priorities, e.g. the environment, regeneration, resilience, wellbeing, community development, community safety, the arts and culture.

This post will work alongside an external communications contractor who supports the Council on public relations and writes press releases and news articles for the Council’s website.

For further information and how to apply, visit the council’s website here.

Job Purpose

To deliver effective communications and engagement for the Council

Key responsibilities

• Have strategic oversight of external communications across the council
• Lead on the implementation of the communications and engagement strategy
• Implement a resource-appropriate council-wide communications and engagement plan
• Create and develop high-quality content,
• Monitor and report on performance relating to communications and engagement
• Use a range of tools and techniques to proactively communicate and engage with different audiences using identified key messages
• Ensure that the council’s communications and engagement activities comply with GDPR and equalities requirements
• Regularly liaise with staff from each service area, to understand their issues, their needs, requirements and any messaging issues.
• Develop and maintain an internal style guide

Newsletters and other printed material

• Produce regular newsletters and eNewsletters, including content produced by the Council’s Communications Contractor
• Liaise with the Town Clerk on editorial and layout matters
• Proofread all content
• Liaise with external printers, photographers and graphic designers
• Liaise with Assistant Clerk on delivery
• Ensure Council noticeboards are kept up-to-date, with appropriate and relevant ward information

Social media/Town Council website

• Advise Administration Officer and Project Administration officers on sharing and promoting external content relating to local or strategic issues, g. road closures or relevant external campaigns
• Create and/or edit content relating to council business and updates from Green Spaces Team
• Create video content for social media and other channels

Projects, campaigns and events

• Develop and deliver communications and engagement plans for key Council projects, campaigns and events in partnership with relevant internal project managers
• Deliver an annual budget consultation
• Create and/or edit content relating to physical engagement activities (posters, advertising)
• Create and/or edit content for online engagement such as surveys
• Analyze data from engagement/consultation activities and report on results

Strategic campaigns

• Develop an annual media plan/communications calendar linked to the Council’s strategic objectives, using appropriate communication channels, e.g. social media, surveys or newsletters
• Write content relevant to each channel ensuring tone, grammar and voice match target audiences
• Analyze campaign data and report on results

Community engagement

• Plan and deliver engaging community consultations and engagement events to support delivery of council projects and to inform strategic decision making
• Design and deliver an annual budget consultation to assess priorities for spending
• Explore innovations in public engagement to support public involvement in decision making
• Research better ways to engage with under-represented

Internal communication

• Provide regular staff briefings to ensure council messaging is understood, including new issues or projects
• Develop and improve internal communications to ensure staff and councillors are kept up to date with latest news from different service areas and projects
• Create and maintain an internal style guide

Other responsibilities

• Deputise for the Communications Contractor in their absence, whether planned or not
• Any other duties the Council may consider appropriate to the post
• The Communications and Engagement Officer may be required to undergo a DBS check in accordance with the Council’s Safeguarding policy
• To attend such conferences, seminars, meetings or training courses as appropriate and as required by the Council

The Town Council may wish from time to time to amend this job description