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Form of work
SalaryKey information:
- Salary: £35,000 pro rata
- Contract type: This is a part-time position and a one-year fixed-term contract, with the possibility of extension depending on funding.
- Benefits: Flexible working hours; 8% employer pension contribution; 25 days annual leave (pro rata) plus bank holidays.
- Hours: 2.5 days per week. Future Economy Scotland is a 4-day week accredited organisation, and the salary for this role reflects an equivalent uplift in salary for part-time staff. Working days for this role are negotiable between Monday and Thursday to accommodate other employment, caring or other responsibilities.
- Location: As this role involves meeting with journalists and close coordination with the Co-Directors, applicants should live within a reasonable travelling distance to Edinburgh and Glasgow. Employees currently work from home, but should you prefer to work from an office, we are open to resourcing a co-working space, budget permitting.
- Reporting to: Co-Director.
About the organisation
Future Economy Scotland is a non-partisan think tank that aims to create a new economy that is democratic, sustainable and just. We believe that Scotland cannot overcome the intertwined challenges it faces by making minor tweaks to the status quo, or by simply ameliorating the worst excesses of a broken model. Instead, we must embrace bold new ideas to transform the economy. Our mission is to develop transformative policies that aim to decarbonise, democratise and decommodify Scotland’s economy. Future Economy Scotland has organisational values that aim to underpin our work.
These values are:
- Solidarity: understanding different but often interconnected struggles;
- Generosity: operating in a movement-generous way that amplifies the voices of others; and
- Respect: rooting the way we work in care, compassion and sustainability.
We are an accredited Living Wage employer and have been accredited as a Gold Standard 4-day week employer by the 4 Day Week campaign.
Role summary
Future Economy Scotland is looking for an experienced, news-driven communicator to scale media coverage and widen audiences, disseminating research through strategic communications to increase appetite and support for a sustainable, democratic and just economy. The role is an opportunity to join a small, dynamic and purpose-driven team focused on driving progressive change across Scotland. The role involves working closely with the Co-Directors in a fast-paced environment, ensuring that the organisation functions effectively and produces high-quality, impactful work.
Key responsibilities:
- Developing and maintaining trusted relationships with journalists and key media figures in Scotland
- Reading and digesting analysis and reports, identifying press lines
- Drafting and disseminating proactive and reactive press releases, pitches and comments
- Responding to journalists’ requests in a timely way
- Landing exclusive coverage in Scotland’s national and regional press
- Developing a successful organisational communications strategy
- Monitoring the broadcast and print landscape, identifying opportunities for media coverage
- Managing output on social media pages, including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn
- Overseeing the organisational newsletter, issued every 6 weeks
Personal specification
Essential experience:
- A strong commitment to Future Economy Scotland’s mission and values
- Experience in a similar or related role (this does not need to have been at a think tank or in the third sector)
- Experience drafting and disseminating press releases and a proven track record in securing press coverage
- Excellent written, editing and proofreading skills
- Translating complex research into accessible and accurate media-friendly information and tailoring persuasive communications to different audiences
- Experience producing impactful social media content across different platforms
- The ability to work effectively in a small team
- A commitment to anti-oppression in the workplace
Nice to haves but not essential:
- Experience in newsletter management tools like MailChimp
- Experience in creating social media graphics
- Experience producing videos and other multimedia content
- Knowledge of PDF design
How to apply
To apply for this role, please submit a two-page (maximum) CV. Your CV should include:
- Your full name and contact details;
- present and previous employment - including voluntary work - providing the job title and the period you worked there;
- a brief description of the main duties and achievements of each in bullet form;
- and education and training.
Please also submit a cover letter of no more than two pages demonstrating your suitability for the role and clearly addressing each point in the person specification. Do not repeat your career history here. Instead, address the points in the person specification, outlining the skills and abilities you have developed, referring to clear examples for each. Do not forget to include other relevant experience outside paid work that may contribute to meeting the person specification, such as community, voluntary, and other interests.
The cover letter and CV should be combined into one PDF document and returned to info@futureeconomy.scot. Please also complete Future Economy Scotland’s equality and diversity monitoring form and attach it in a separate document to your CV and cover letter. Those involved in interviewing and/or deciding who to hire will not have access to this information.
Download a copy of the equality and diversity monitoring form here
The closing date for receipt of completed applications is midnight on Thursday, 30 November 2023.
Successful applicants will be invited to attend an in-person interview that will take place at The Melting Pot in Edinburgh during w/c 11 December 2023. Applicants who proceed to the interview stage will also be asked to undertake a two-hour practical task. This task will be carried out online, not in person. Times for completing this task will be agreed a week in advance of it taking place, and a time slot can be arranged outside of normal working hours should that be more suitable for your schedule.
If you have any special requirements that would allow you to participate more fully in the interview, please let us know when you are invited to the interview.
Future Economy Scotland wants to be an inclusive workplace. We recognise that people from oppressed and marginalised groups and backgrounds are structurally underrepresented in the sector, and we are committed to tackling this. If you need information in a different format, please let us know. Please note that we cannot sponsor visas, so applicants must be eligible to work in the UK.
Unfortunately, as a small team, we cannot provide feedback to candidates who are not invited to the interview stage. All unsuccessful candidates who have attended an interview will be contacted by email and offered the opportunity to receive constructive feedback.
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