Job Title: Communications Officer
Contract Type: Full time, Permanent
Salary: £29,327 to £43,391
Deadline: Sunday 23rd July 2023
Location: Brighton, UK

The Institute of Development Studies (IDS) delivers world-class research, learning and teaching that transforms the knowledge, action and leadership needed for more equitable and sustainable development globally.

Based at IDS, the International Centre for Tax and Development (ICTD) is a research centre focused on improving tax policy and administration in lower-income countries. We support our partners in raising more revenue to fund public services in ways that are equitable, efficient, and strengthen accountability. The pillars of our work are 1) rigorous, collaborative research 2) purposeful communication and policy engagement, and 3) applied research training and mentoring.

We are seeking to recruit a Communications Officer to design and deliver successful communication and impact strategies in order to disseminate the ICTD’s research in an accessible and relevant manner for informing our stakeholders, shaping tax and development debates, and influencing policy and practice. The post holder will play a key role in achieving impact by coordinating engagement and relationship building with researchers, civil society organisations, government officials, policymakers, and the media. They will be responsible for coordinating the process publishing the ICTD’s research paper series and policy briefs, and will play a crucial role in working with researchers and partners to communicate their findings and ideas in an accessible and engaging manner by editing and publishing pieces in our dynamic blog series. They will also support a range of projects including providing advice to research programme leads on uptake strategies, and contributing to organising and promoting events and producing digital content and materials. Day to day work can encompass writing copy, using social media, supporting events and working on and commissioning communications products such as flyers, infographics, and videos.

The post holder will report to the ICTD’s Communication and Impact Manager and be supported by the ICTD’s Communications Assistant. The role will involve working closely with ICTD researchers, grantees, and partners, and coordinating with the Centre’s programme management team. It will also involve liaising with colleagues at IDS in the central Communications and Engagement Team and the Knowledge, Impact and Policy Cluster, as well as the communications team at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy in Toronto. The post is based at IDS, which is located on the University of Sussex’s countryside campus, and will involve a few trips per year in the UK and overseas for events.

Applicants will have strong all-round communication skills, excellent interpersonal skills, and an understanding and appreciation for the role that research has to play in informing media discourse, policy, and practice. We are looking for a team player who takes initiative and is willing and interested to learn about tax and development issues in order to effectively communicate the ICTD’s work and engage with our network and partners.

We can consider flexible working applications including hybrid / part remote working from candidates able to work 2 to 3 days per week in the IDS building.

For more information or to apply for this role, please visit the IDS Website.