Communications Lead (Part-time, FTC) - UWE Bristol

The National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement (NCCPE) supports culture change in the UK higher education (HE) sector. We are working to build an inclusive higher education sector where communities can contribute to, and benefit from, knowledge, teaching and research. We do this by supporting excellent public engagement practice; creating the conditions for public engagement to thrive in universities; and building strong networks and partnerships to amplify our impact.

We are an agile and creative organisation, funded by UK Research and Innovation, Research England, Wellcome, Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, Scottish Funding Council and the Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland. The Centre is jointly hosted by University of the West of England (UWE) and University of Bristol (UoB), benefitting from being part of two vibrant universities. This role is being recruited through UWE. NCCPE team is part of Research and External Engagement service.

The NCCPE is involved in a wide range of activities, and we are looking for an experienced Communications Lead to shape and deliver our strategic communications. Your role will be responsible for planning and implementing approaches to ensure NCCPE communications activity reflects our vision and values, and that it is always developing in line with sector and business needs. You will have delivery oversight of existing NCCPE communications channels, and will develop, curate and commission content that maximises project and services opportunities. You will procure and manage relationships with external contractors and provide advice and support to the wider team in their communications activity.

This will be a varied and interesting role, so come and join our friendly, busy team based at 4, Portwall Place in central Bristol – and help unlock the potential of universities to make a positive difference to society.

About you

You will be an experienced communications professional with experience of leading and implementing communications strategies at an organisational level. You will be skilled in creating complex communication plans that reach diverse audiences. You will be experienced in using metrics and web analytics to report and measure the success of communication campaigns and use these to develop your approaches. As well as a good knowledge of a range of communications channels, you will have excellent copywriting skills and experience of curating digital communications and media assets. You will have proven IT and time management skills, and the ability to manage and prioritise your own workload in a busy work environment. If you have additional experience of producing video and audio content or an understanding of public engagement, this would be an advantage.

Where is this role based

Our offices are based in Bristol city centre at 4 Portwall Place, Bristol BS1 6NB. We are one of the largest providers of Higher Education in the South West with 38,000 students and 4,000 staff from right across the globe. Based in Bristol, one of the UK’s most exciting and forward-thinking cities, we are regionally embedded and globally connected, with an established network of employer and academic partners.

We offer a wide range of employee benefits including progressive pay rates, generous annual leave and career average pension schemes as well as retail savings, onsite nursery and opportunities for training and personal development.

Add your individuality to ours

UWE Bristol recognises the power of a truly diverse university community. We are proud to be part of a vibrant, multicultural city that celebrates diversity, we’re always looking for talented people from all backgrounds to join us. Our people are our strength, and diversity enhances our creativity and leads to better decision-making and problem-solving. Bring your talent and ambition to our growing community and find yourself in a stimulating and supportive environment where you’ll thrive. We particularly encourage applications from global majority candidates as we are currently under-represented in this area of the organisation, however all appointments are made strictly on individual merit. As a Disability Confident employer, we welcome applications from those who identify as having a disability.

At the NCCPE, we are looking for people who thrive working in a flexible way in a small, but busy team. We strive to live our values and have created an inclusive and supportive working environment which aims to help our team to grow and develop. We put learning and reflection at the heart of all our activities to enable us to realise our commitments to inclusive practice. Our commitment is public, and you can read more about it here NCCPE Statement of Inclusion | NCCPE (publicengagement.ac.uk).

In line with our inclusive culture, we will welcome applications from people with a wide variety of backgrounds, life experiences and organisational knowledges, recognising that they bring rich experiences and different perspectives that are of great benefit to our work, alongside their skills and expertise.

Further information

If you have a question about these job roles then please post it on our Padlet in the first instance and we will try and answer it within 48 hours. You can access our Padlet here NCCPE Communication Lead. Your questions and our answers will be visible to all interested candidates.

The recruitment will be in two stages. Online interviews for longlisted candidates will be held on Monday 2nd March. Second interviews will be in person in Bristol on Monday 9th March. We have created an online Padlet board to allow you to submit questions to the NCCPE team: Communications Lead Padlet Q&A.

This is a part-time, fixed-term post until 31st March 2028, working 22.5 hours per week. UWE Bristol is a campus-based University and it is vital to our success that our campuses are dynamic and vibrant places to learn and spend time. This role is therefore office based for a minimum of 1 day per week with the opportunity to work from home on the remaining days.

To ensure fairness and equity all salary offers will be made in line with the University's salary assessment guidelines and will be based on your relevant skills and experience.

Right to Work in the UK

The University has a legal responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK. You will therefore be required to provide evidence of your right to work in the UK, please refer to the Home Office Right to Work Checklist for information on which documents are acceptable. We are unable to provide sponsorship for this role under the Home Office Skilled Worker visa route. If you do not have current right to work in the UK you may wish to explore other visa options. Please note that UWE Bristol does not cover any visa or health surcharge costs.

Advice to applicants

We’d love to hear from you - if you are excited about this opportunity please complete our application form as soon as possible. Tell us how your skills and experience relate to the requirements of this role by describing how you meet each of the essential and desirable criteria listed in the Person Specification section of the Job Description and include specific examples wherever possible. Once we have completed shortlisting we will let you know the outcome of your application by email, so please check your inbox for updates.