Press & External Relations Officer

GMB's London Region is a large and diverse region, currently serving nearly 90,000 members and 106 Branches from across the professional spectrum. The Region covers a large geographical landscape that includes: Greater London, Essex, Norfolk, Milton Keynes, through to Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. The region is seeking applications from a talented and dynamic press and media professional to join them as the Press & External Relations Officer.

The postholder will form a key part of the Region’s Policy, Communications and Media team, leading on the communication, media and external stakeholder management of the Region. We are seeking a knowledgeable, driven and committed individual to manage and shape and press on behalf of the region, and have oversight for the day-to-day operational implementation of key stakeholder management and regional press office activity.
You will possess strong knowledge and experience of developing effective communication strategies that support the region’s goals through both traditional and digital mediums, possess the right mix of technical know-how, creativity, passion and commitment. You’ll need to possess proven experience of building relationships with key stakeholders, particularly externally, and possess exceptional inter-personal skills to communicate and advocate across the key stakeholder groups to build influential, robust working relationships on behalf of the region.

You will manage all front-facing policy and campaign related issues with various media and political outlets and work proactively and reactively with our regional officers to ensure GMB London is forward facing in its responses, correcting inaccurate or misinformed commentary without delay. As you would expect, this will be a fast-paced role often responding to issues that can sometimes be seen as contentious, so the ability to think fast but with tact and diplomacy, is a must.

This is a fantastic opportunity to work within a diverse and collaborative team environment, devising and delivering media strategies that influence stakeholder support for the work of GMB London - and make a practical difference to our members’ lives.

In return, we offer excellent terms and benefits, including:

• Final salary pension scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Season ticket loan
• Cycle to work scheme
• Generous holiday allowance
• Childcare assistance scheme

This a varied and interesting role, and the successful applicant should possess a flexible and pro-active attitude; if you think you may be who were looking for and if you feel you meet the criteria outlined in the person specification of the job description, we’d like to hear from you.

Information about the role 

• The successful post-holder will be expected to attend regional and/or national meetings/events, so the hours of work for this post are designated as ‘unspecified’, as there will be a requirement to work unsocial hours, including weekend, early morning or evening work, when required by the role.