Communications Officer in Southend-on-Sea

Havens Hospices is looking for a skilled, passionate communications professional to join our award-winning Fundraising and Marketing Team on a 12 month fixed term contract (maternity cover). You'll bring experience in marketing, PR, or digital communications, along with sharp copywriting skills (design knowledge is a bonus) and the interviewing instincts to spot a compelling, emotive story, then shape it for the right channel to drive both engagement and donations from our local community. Many of the supporters you'll work with are supporting Havens Hospices for deeply personal reasons, so empathy and sensitivity are essential to how we tell their stories.

With dozens of fundraising events, campaigns and initiatives running alongside more than 25 charity shops across Essex, you'll need strong organisational skills to manage competing priorities and expectations. You'll work closely with colleagues across the Fundraising and Marketing Teams, plus the Head of Fundraising and Marketing and the Head of Trading, supporting direct and digital marketing, media relations, and in-store promotions.

Main duties of the job:

• The ideal candidate will seek out inspiring stories about people fundraising, volunteering and being cared for by Havens Hospices, researching and developing these stories to support events, campaigns and issues agreed by the Director of Fundraising and Marketing.
• Support and advise teams across Havens Hospices in planning their activity, writing Activity Plans and identifying effective ways to promote their event, initiative or campaign.

At Havens Hospices, we care for children, young people and adults with complex or incurable conditions. Our specialist Care Teams can support them and their family living throughout illness, death and bereavement in the comfort of their own home and through our hospice services, Fair Havens and Little Havens. Working at Havens Hospices allows you to give the gift of time to patients and families, creating memories. Although you may not be giving direct care to our patients, your contribution will have an immediate effect on our care services.

In return for your expertise and passion, you will receive a competitive salary package, and most of all, by making the most of every day you work at Havens Hospices you’ll be helping us continue ‘Making every day count’ for those who need us most.

Havens Hospices is committed to being an inclusive employer where everyone feels valued, supported, and empowered. We are committed to recruiting and interviewing all diverse, talented individuals from all sections of our community, who share our purpose of 'Making every day count' under the Disability Confident Scheme if they meet the minimum criteria.

We encourage applicants to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design an accessible and positive interview experience. Please contact AskPeopleHR@havenshospices.org.uk if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities:

• Adhere to the Brand Guidelines to write, create and approve materials to support the activities of teams across Havens Hospices.
• Compiling and writing editorial and interviews for internal and external publications.
• Handle media enquiries, photo and filming opportunities, building strong relationships with all forms of local media.
• Maintain a photographic library of Care and Income Generation activities, obtaining and recording the appropriate information and consent.
• Create, upload and monitor content (written, photographic and film) for our website and social networking sites including Facebook, Tiktok, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube.
• Provide administrative and research support.

Person specification:

Personal Skills:

• Meticulous in terms of attention to detail, able to deliver with speed whilst working within tight timescales and under pressure.
• Ability to manage competing demands whilst maintaining resilience and a positive outlook in challenging circumstances to deliver calm, measured, and professional service.
• Ability to be proactive, use initiative, and resolve problems to ensure service delivery.

Job Related Skills:

• Experience in public relations, communications or a journalism environment.
• Copywriting with accuracy for different audiences and mediums.
• Interviewing skills.
• Photography, filming and editing skills – Adobe, Canva.
• Ability to build and maintain good working relationships with stakeholders and manage expectations around what can be delivered within clear professional boundaries.

General Experience:

• Good standard of IT skills, including using Microsoft Office, Teams, Outlook and Excel.
• Ability to update and maintain records, databases, and other systems accurately and efficiently.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Fundraising and/or Marketing qualification.
• Experience in CRM systems i.e. Raisers Edge.
• Driven by charitable mission.

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.