Digital Communications Manager in London

Platform brings together workers and communities to create new, liberatory systems that tackle injustice and climate breakdown. We are seeking a skilled Strategic Communications Manager to make our campaigns strategic and effective, and help us creatively shape the direction of our work. This unique role will help support our two main campaigns, as well as our evolving arts programme.

Our North Sea just transition project is campaigning on public ownership of the renewables industry, through research, worker outreach and community organising. We are currently working with partners across Scotland to call on the Scottish Government to make a renewables industry benefit everyone in Scotland through public and community ownership. We want to scale up our press and media interventions and outputs to bolster this work, and create visual storytelling pieces of an industry we want to transform.

Our Food Justice project uses arts and community organising to dream a just, POC-led food system in Tower Hamlets into being. Now at an exciting juncture, we are looking to transition this project into a wider network supporting POC communities fighting gentrification across London. We want to support a range of creative storytelling outputs from this project, including long‑form reflections and audio and digital archiving.

We need someone who is excited to help us shape our distinct organisational voice, while sensitive enough to speak to our wide range of audiences and allies.

About the role

The Strategic Communications, Press and Editorial Manager will work closely with the Digital Communications Manager to create strategic communications and develop Platform’s organisational voice. You will be responsible for strategising, planning and delivering communications across the organisation. Activities will look like:

• Working with project managers, coordinating and developing the delivery of communications work across Platform’s campaigns and programmes;
• Shaping narratives (and drawing in voices from local communities) framing and developing local audiences across our communications;
• Reviewing and evaluating the effectiveness of our communications and outputs;
• Delivering proactive and reactive press and editorial interventions;
• Driving the impact and effectiveness of our campaigning work through engaging and creative content that engages and expands our audiences;
• Along with the Digital Communications Manager, shaping Platform’s organisational voice.

Role Details

Hours per week: 16 hours per week (0.4 FTE)

Contract: Permanent. All permanent staff members help fundraise for the organisation and the continuation of their roles.

Proposed start date: ASAP, depending on notice period.

Salary: £18,412.20 for 2 days (16 hours) per week (£46,030.51 FTE) is our baseline salary, adjustable according to our Socially Just Waging System. Terms and conditions apply.

Other benefits include: 12 days annual leave plus pro rata bank holiday entitlement (based on 30 days annual leave for full time), enhanced parental leave, enhanced sick pay allowance. We offer Wellbeing and Training and Development funds to all staff. All policies subject to review.

Location: Co‑working space in Glasgow, or at Platform’s registered office at Oxford House, Derbyshire Street, London, E2 6HG, but remote working is expected. Most Platform staff are supported to work from home most of the time, but all permanent members of staff are expected to attend at least four in‑person meetings a year, with more in‑person meetings in the first six months, and other in‑person meetings when required.

Responsible to: Platform as a collective, Platform’s Management Group and Trustees

What we are looking for

We need an experienced, ambitious and imaginative communications manager who is committed to campaigning models that centre impacted communities. You will have experience of developing and delivering strategic media interventions to aid campaigning or organisational strategy, with a background in journalism, media relations or communications. You will bring a strong network of journalists and press outlets and be skilled in generating hooks to land stories and editorials at key moments. You will have exceptional writing and analytical skills, and be able to distill research, data or complex copy into campaign messaging. You will have good knowledge and commitment to climate justice and anti‑oppression. You will need to be a self‑starter with excellent organisation skills, since you will be responsible for managing Platform’s press and media strategy.

Duties and responsibilities

Strategic communications development

• In collaboration with the Digital Communications Manager, coordinate the design and delivery of communications planning across all of Platform’s projects and channels;
• Support campaign managers to develop and research messaging, narrative and framing within campaigning activity;
• Undertake audience analysis in order to set targeting & engagement goals for each campaign, regularly reviewing efficacy of communication interventions;
• Create and maintain shared comms resources for the organisation to help campaigns centre collective liberation, workers' rights, anti‑racism, public ownership & global justice in public debate about climate action.

Press and editorial

• Building relationships with media outlets and journalists in legacy media, specialist press and other forms of media; growing and maintaining a press list;
• Working with campaign managers to draft, distribute and effectively pitch press releases;
• Researching, writing and producing editorial and multimedia content more deeply exploring ideas relating to Platform campaigns.

Communications delivery and support

• Developing our audience reach through community & engagement growth;
• Developing coalition comms with movement allies and partners;
• Create research library (eg. messaging tools and resources);
• Packaging & promoting Platform's annual report;
• Crafting and developing Platform’s organisational voice across all channels;
• Ongoing evaluation and monitoring of the impact of our communications work;
• Provide advice and guidance around policies and processes related to communications e.g. data protection and management, use of AI etc.

Collective Organisational Management

• Participate in Platform organisational management including: participating in sociocratic, consensus decision making in our team meetings, contributing to the general strategic development of Platform, being on Platform’s Management Group, taking part in our line management structure and attending collective management meetings;
• Fundraise for the Platform campaigns and the organisation and maintain key funder relationships;
• Any other reasonable requests made by the Platform staff team, MG and/or Trustees.

Person Specification

Outlined below is our understanding of the combined skills, experience and knowledge that the Strategic Communications, Press and Editorial Manager will need. These can be gained through paid work, volunteering or through your lived experience. We welcome people to apply even if they do not meet all of the criteria.

Essential:

• A track record of leading strategic communications, campaigning or marketing activity that has built reputation, influenced people and made impact;
• Experience of planning and delivering media activity for a charity, NGO, organisation or company;
• Experience of narrative development and evaluation of key audiences and allies;
• Excellent written skills across multiple channels to engage a range of audiences;
• A strong network of communications professionals, particularly POC or marginalised practitioners;
• Time‑management skills and flexibility to respond to opportunities and challenges;
• Demonstrable strong commitment to anti‑oppression.

Desirable:

• A strong network of media and press contacts from across the UK;
• Experience of landing stories in local or regional press;
• Experience of using Asana or digital project management tools;
• Experience in developing an artistic practice, creative form of activism or self‑expression;
• Experience of visual storytelling and/or artistic commissioning;
• Proven capacity to fundraise from trusts and foundations, individual donors and/or other sources;
• Experience of writing monitoring reports to funders;
• Experience of working with others in a horizontal structure;
• Experience of organisational management and line management.

About Platform

Platform works towards a just future beyond fossil fuels, by uplifting marginalised voices, building energy and food democracy, and working toward a just transition. Platform brings together researchers, organisers, educators, environmentalists, artists, and community activists. For over four decades, Platform has been developing policies and practices which aim to be effective, caring, just and democratic - such as our social justice waging system and parental leave policy.

Platform’s organisational goals for 2022 - 2027 are to:

• Embolden impacted communities to lead a just transition across our energy and food systems;
• Harness the power of arts and culture to build solidarity, imagine alternatives to injustice and inspire social transformation;
• Interrupt the flow of money, power and political influence to fossil fuel companies, and build support for public investment, community ownership and democratic control of sustainable alternatives;
• Develop ways of working that centre compassion, care and liberation;
• Collectively create and implement an internal structure that holds us accountable to our principles as a flat structured organisation and meets our capacity needs.

How we work

Trustees - as a charity we have a Board of Trustees who are supportive and legally responsible for the organisation. Management group - we do not have a Director; instead we have a rotating subgroup of staff who have oversight of the running of the organisation to ensure that HR, finance, fundraising and strategy are carried out properly and that the projects deliver on their promised outputs. Core staff - there are two core staff who lead on finance and administration. These include: General Manager and Finance Manager. We currently have 4 project staff who run 3 projects.

Consensus - Permanent staff make collective decisions through consensus in different meeting spaces, both online and in person.

Equal opportunities / Decolonising our work

Platform strives to apply equal opportunities principles both in its recruitment and in its work. The successful candidate will be selected purely on the basis of how well they fit the person specification, as judged by their application materials and their interview performance. Our first stage application process is fully anonymised. We would particularly like to encourage applications from people of colour / black or brown people, who are currently underrepresented in Platform. Where two or more candidates are judged to be of equal merit, priority may be given to a global majority candidate from a background less well represented at Platform. Due to the ridiculous and racist border restrictions in the UK, Platform is unfortunately unable to arrange work permits for applicants without UK leave to remain. Let us know if there are any reasonable adjustments you’d like us to make in the application and interview process in view of a disability or health issue. If you would like to discuss the role or the application process informally, contact us on. If you’re unsure about something in the person specs, please do get in touch!

Terms & conditions

Your salary will be determined by Platform’s ground‑breaking Social Justice Waging System, based on a salary of £18,412.20 for 2 days (16 hours) per week (£46,030.51 FTE). Under this scheme, not only are all staff subject to the same salary levels (regardless of position in the organisation), the levels are adjusted according to need. For example, there are extra salary increases available to those with children or dependents. We believe this system constitutes a major step forward in providing equal opportunities. Details of the system (including principles, rationale and mechanisms) are available here. Platform has an extensive staff policy handbook with terms and conditions that go above and beyond statutory requirements, including extensive leave and increased pension contributions. Candidates selected for interview are welcome to enquire about particular policies.