Media and Communications Manager (News and Emergencies), UNICEF UK

Deadline: 5pm, Friday, 25 March, 2022
Salary: £37,000
Term: Full time – Permanent
Location: Part home /part office (London) based
Other: Interview date – Monday 4 April 2022

UNICEF ensures more of the world’s children are vaccinated, educated, and protected than any other organisation. We have done more to influence laws and policies to help protect children than anyone else. We get things done. And we’re not going to stop until the world is a safe place for all our children.

This is a great opportunity to join the UK Committee for UNICEF (UNICEF UK) as Media and Communications Manager (News and Emergencies). In this role, you will lead UNICEF UK’s media work on some of the most important issues affecting children of our time – including Covid, climate change and conflict. You will manage relationships with news editors and journalists across UK media, working with UK and global colleagues to deliver effective and well messaged multi-media coverage on emergencies and global advocacy and campaigns.

The Media team delivers world class media and communications work for UNICEF UK, leading on all public relations, news and emergencies and corporate communications work. It is part of the Communications Department, which sits within the wider Public Engagement Directorate.

About the role

The Media and Communications Manager (News and Emergencies) is a member of the Media team and the broader Communications Department, with a focus on emergencies and advocacy.

You will lead UNICEF UK’s media work on some of the most urgent child rights issues and humanitarian emergencies of our time – including the climate crisis, vaccine inequity and conflict. You will manage relationships with news editors and journalists across UK media, working with UK and global colleagues, to deliver effective and well messaged multi-media coverage, as well as working on global advocacy and campaigns.

What we will expect you to achieve

• Work closely with UK and global colleagues to develop and deliver proactive media strategies, that highlight crises affecting children globally; all to support UNICEF UK’s advocacy, brand and fundraising objectives.

• Act as a communications expert on issues and emergencies affecting children globally; providing information and advice for colleagues across the organisation.

• Work closely with the Advocacy team and Senior Media and Communications Manager in order to deliver media and communications, for priority policy and campaigning issues such as: global health and children’s immunisations, vaccine inequity and Covid-19 vaccines, the climate crisis and mental health. This also includes developing key messages, proactive and reactive media strategies, regular drafting of Q&As, handling politically sensitive topics and delivering media for UNICEF advocacy reports.

• Develop and manage productive relationships with target media, including news editors, social affairs editors, foreign editors, political commentators, influencers, working with them to secure media coverage of key strategic issues.

• Keep abreast of the external news and political agenda, working with advocacy colleagues to identify external moments to respond to; with a view to influencing policy and political change through impactful media commentary on these issues. Regularly turn around reactive media statements at short notice.

• Keep abreast of humanitarian events to issue timely media responses, aligned with UNICEF UK’s emergencies priorities across West and Central Africa, East Asia and Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean, and capitalising on opportunities to pitch UNICEF experts, spokespeople and human-interest stories. Lead proactive media activity for global/humanitarian report and news story launches.

• Lead on planning and delivery of international programme visits with UK media (when Covid travel guidance permits).

• Write and issue first class media materials including press releases, statements, opinion pieces, letters to editor, blogs, social posts, spokesperson briefings and Q&As and brief UNICEF UK spokespeople for media interviews.

• Liaise with communication UNICEF colleagues in UNICEF Headquarters, Regional and Country Offices and across teams at UNICEF UK (including Ambassador Relations, Programmes, Creative and Fundraising teams) on issues affecting children and UNICEF programmatic work that will be of interest to UK press.

•  Be willing to work outside of normal office hours (where required) and take part in the out of hours on call media team rota. This includes some evening and weekend work.

•  Demonstrate and model a commitment to our shared values, behaviours and inclusive practices (known as Our Shared Commitment)  in all aspects of your work.

Behaviours, experiences and skills

This section contains the essential behaviours, experience, knowledge and skills needed in order to be effective and successful in this role. All criteria in this section are essential.

Effective behaviours:

Supporter driven and mission aligned

• Is committed to children and their rights and motivated to work towards achieving a world that is fit for every child.

Creating and innovating

• Keeps abreast of relevant key issues, insights and developments on the news and political agenda. Develops unique and creative ways, to strengthen our organisational position in a crowded news space.

Positive relationships

•  Forms and maintains effective professional relationships with colleagues at all levels, and with journalists, external contacts and partners to support the achievement of objectives.

Communication

• Conveys complex ideas using a variety of methods to engage an audience and win understanding and support, and produces excellent written materials

• Presents complex and difficult messages clearly and with impact.

Efficiency and effectiveness

• Manages conflicting priorities to ensure that objectives are achieved and deadlines met.

• Anticipates risks and put plans in place, to minimise their impact.

• Responds flexibly to unforeseen events, to ensure that effectiveness is not compromised.

Resilience

•  Takes a solution focused approach to problem solving, to succeed in difficult circumstances.

Relevant experience

• Managing and delivering effective media relations; in a fast-moving, breaking news environment, with extensive experience of acting as the lead contact for senior news journalists and internal stakeholders.

• Proven experience of developing, implementing and evaluating high profile, innovative and ambitious, multi-media strategies (news, digital and consumer) and securing effective coverage; ideally with a background in one or both of the following: experience of turning policy priorities into engaging media campaigns; experience of working on humanitarian issues and crises.

Specific knowledge and skills

• An up to date knowledge of recent and ongoing humanitarian situations, international development issues and children’s rights.

• An up to date knowledge of the political agenda and media space, including journalists, elite media influencing tactics and political commentators.

• Using the best tools and tactics to ensure a truly multi-channel, digital first media approach.

To succeed in this role, you will have:

• proven experience of working in a busy press office
• an excellent track record in developing, delivering and evaluating audience centric, objectives-focused media strategies and activity
• first class interpersonal and relationship management skills, including with senior journalists to aid effective media relations
• strong interest in child and human rights issues, with an understanding and awareness of the broader political, news and humanitarian agenda

Closing date: 5pm, Friday, 25 March, 2022
Interview date: Monday, 4 April, 2022

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We are gradually moving back to our offices on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London and we anticipate most colleagues will work one or two days a week, in the office and the rest of the time from home. We are happy to discuss other flexible options to suit your circumstances.

We particularly welcome applications from black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates, LGBTQ+ candidates, disabled candidates, and from men, because we would like to increase the representation of these groups at this level at UNICEF UK. We want to do this because we know greater diversity will lead to even greater results for children.

UNICEF UK promotes equality, diversity and inclusion in our workplace. We make employment decisions by matching business needs with skills and experience of candidates, irrespective of age, disability (including hidden disabilities), gender, gender identity or gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, or sexual orientation.

We are happy to talk about flexible working, personal growth, and to promote a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

The successful candidate will be required to apply for a criminal records check. A criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the role and the circumstances of your offences.

We only accept online applications as this saves us money, making more funds available for us to help ensure children’s rights.

If you require support in completing the online form or an application form in an alternative format, please contact Supporter Care on 0300 330 5580 during office hours.

If you do not hear from us within 14 days of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. Please note that we only provide feedback to shortlisted candidates.

Registered Charity Nos. 1072612 (England and Wales) SC043677 (Scotland)

For more information, or to apply for this role, please click here.