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Communications Officer - Leeds

£26,775 to £28,875 per annum

Band C / L 2

The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom’s national museum of arms and armour and one of the most important collections of its type in the world, housed at its headquarters and flagship museum in Leeds, its historic home at the Tower of London, and the Victorian Fort Nelson in Hampshire.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Communications Officer to join our Marketing & Communications team.  Reporting to the Communications Manager the successful applicant will be essential in our ambitious plans to increase our engage with audiences across a range of communications channels.

We’re keen to hear from skilled communications professionals who want to join a fast-paced team with a track record of delivering millions of impressions every year. We’re on a mission to grow our visitors as well as increase our reach and reputation. This role is essential to help us inspire a wide range of people to find out about our collection of arms and armour and the stories of human endeavour connected with our objects.

The successful candidate will have a high level of copywriting skills, knowledge of developing audiences using organic social media, and ability to influence and work with a range of internal and external stakeholders. They must be able to analyse data and create digital content that delivers engagement, as well as experience of working in a communications team.

Working 36 hours per week, typically Mon – Friday with some weekend and evening working.  The role will be hybrid with a mix of home and office working from our Leeds museum.

Benefits

• Access to the discounted bicycles via Bike2Work scheme
• Access to free EAP services via the (Employee Assistance Program)
• 27.5 days holiday plus Bank Holidays
• Company sick pay scheme
• Discounted staff car parking
• 25% off staff shop
• 10% off food in on-site café
• Pension scheme max employer contribution is 9% 
• Access to free on-line learning

A Police Check/ Disclosure will be requested in the event of a successful application. Please refer to the job description for the level of check required. A criminal record would not necessarily be a bar to employment.

Please note that all job offers are subject to the receipt of satisfactory references, DBS/Police checks and right to work documentation.

Closing date: midnight on 4^th March 2024 

Interview dates: 18th & 19th March 2024

Full Job Description

To undertake tasks and projects which support the smooth and efficient running of the Marketing & Communications team, generating awareness of the Royal Armouries Museum across its three sites and online in line with RA brand guidelines. The postholder has special responsibility for management of our social media channels, from initial ideas to creation of posts, plus managing filming opportunities to build reputation and public engagement.

Key Tasks

Social media management

• Create, implement, monitor and evaluate digital marketing and social media campaigns and assets, be a guardian for social media guidelines, ensuring tone and content offer a level of quality, consistency, appropriateness and engagement.
• Analyse, grow and refresh our digital audiences and establish a distinctive position for the Royal Armouries across these channels.
• Monitor activity on social media channels alerting the team to potential communication issues and working with the Head of Marketing & Communications to mitigate as may be necessary.
• Working collaboratively across the organisation to be a conduit for creating engaging content and bringing to life the stories of the museum and its collection for social media.
• Support digital and social media communications for the Fort, working with the Communications Officer at the Fort to ensure communications are in line and supportive of the Royal Armouries brand.
• Commission and manage paid-for social media campaign management.
• Supporting strategic decision making in digital marketing campaigns, particularly around channels and messaging.
• Undertaking and commissioning film and photography for marketing and promotion purposes, working with other teams to deliver projects.
• Identifying opportunities for audience growth to ensure the Royal Armouries reach a more diverse audience.
• Customer relationship management through social media and responding to queries and requests for information.

PR and reputation management

• Working with Head of Marketing and Communications, create excellent press and PR campaigns, generating press releases, organising and overseeing press calls and development of media releases and communications, generating additional content where required.
• Manage inbound film requests, proactively seek out film opportunities, positioning the Royal Armouries as the partner of choice for relevant productions, actively involved in negotiation with broadcast companies, supervise all filming within the museum.

General

• Supporting the Marketing & Production Manager and Head of Marketing   & Communications with the internal communications strategy

• General administrative duties, including horizon scanning across the sector to report on key issues in the public domain weekly, answering press office enquiries and managing online listings.
• Relationship building with external stakeholders, such as press or influencers on social media to seek opportunities to raise brand profile.

• Co-ordination and planning of any marketing & communication events to be delivered through different channels.

Relationships

• Cultivate internal relationships that cross team boundaries and demonstrate a willingness to collaborate with all team members.
• Maintain and build partnerships with senior managers in other departments and museum partners, particularly in respect of content development for social media.
• Being an ambassador for digital ways of working across the organisation to ensure strong social media engagement.

Policies and Procedure

• Comply with H&S legislation
• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures to protect people and the museum’s reputation.

Personal Responsibilities

• Work flexibly to meet the needs of the team.
• Work as part of a team and support colleagues.
• Protect the reputation of the museum.
• Demonstrate the museum’s values.

Functional Expertise

• Use specialist knowledge and expertise to achieve the delivery of objectives and targets.
• Analyse corporate data and qualitative and quantitative market competitive data to inform future plans.

Reporting Structure

This post reports to the Communications Manager.

Person Specification

Selection Criteria

E = Essential for applicants to meet relevant standard. D = Desirable for applicants to meet the relevant standard.