Volunteer Social Media Lead - Remote & Flexible Hours

Commitment

Flexible hours either in or outside of business hours estimate 3 to 6hrs a week

About the National Coastwatch Institution (NCI)

The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) is a Registered Charity (No. 1159975), established in 1994. Our objective is the preservation of life at sea and along the coasts of England and Wales by spotting vessels and/or people at risk or in distress and initiating their rescue. We maintain a visual and listening watch during daylight hours for 365 days per year from most of our 61 lookout stations and 96 CCTV cameras. When we do SPOT, we need to PLOT an exact position of the casualty and then REPORT the incident to the Coastguard Maritime Rescue Control Centres. If a lifeboat launches on service – we will if required maintain contact with the RNLI and ASSIST in steering them to the casualty. In 2025 our watchkeepers were involved in 937 search and rescue incident resulting in the rescue of 298 people and assistance provided to 568 people.

As an independent charity, NCI relies on public support and fundraising to maintain its stations, equipment, and training, enabling volunteers to continue their essential role in keeping coastal communities and visitors safe.

Social Media Officer Role

As the National Coastwatch Social Media Officer you are one of the pivotal roles in the organisation to support raising awareness of the Charity. Your contribution will directly support the work our stations undertake and help provide a crucial extra set of eyes along the coast, helping to prevent incidents and assist emergency services when needed. You will also be supporting and guiding our stations social media officers to ensure we capitalise our reach through all our stations.

What you will be doing

You will be helping to raise awareness of the charity through engaging social media posts and content, a leading example of what our stations should be doing on their social media pages. Here are some of the tasks you will be involved in, supporting our stations fundraising activities:

• Demonstrable experience in implementing digital communications activities, including experience across a range of social media platforms – Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
• At least 3 years’ experience of working in a communications role
• Ability to deal with people at all levels with empathy, tact and credibility
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to distil large amounts of information and present it in engaging and innovative ways for a variety of audiences
• Good understanding of visual identity and corporate communication
• Strong organisational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritise
• Monitoring, analysing, and reporting on social media performance to inform continuous improvement
• Identifying trends, opportunities, and influencers to increase reach, relevance, and impact
• Supporting wider communications activity, acting as a guide/ support to station social media officers
• Be a self-starter and team player with experience of remote working, and able to work effectively with colleagues using remote technology (e.g. Teams, etc)
• Video and reels creation skills, including basic editing
• Strong knowledge of social media KPIs, analytics, and reporting
• Experience of paid social media campaigns (Meta, LinkedIn)
• Familiarity with analytics tools and translating data into actionable insights
• Basic knowledge of SEO and how social content supports wider digital presence
• Experience working with or for small charities or membership organisations

What’s in it for you

• Be part of a respected national coastal safety charity, supporting your community
• The opportunity to make a meaningful, organisation-wide impact
• Flexible, remote role with hours to suit availability
• The satisfaction of using your professional skills to support a charity’s mission
• Meet new people and join a motivated volunteer team making a real difference
• Gain practical experience to enhance your CV
• The chance to develop your professional and personal skills
• Pride knowing you are helping to protect lives along the coast

National Coastwatch Institution is a volunteer organisation, part of the search and rescue community.

This role is a volunteer role, with flexible hours and being remote working.

Thank you for your interest in supporting NCI