Communications and Advocacy Officer

Development Pathways Limited

Post: Communications and Advocacy Officer

Reporting to: CEO

Location: Greater London (Sidcup) and hybrid working of 2 days in the office and 3 days remote per week

Contract Type: Permanent and full-time

Starting Salary: £27,000 – £31,000 gross per annum (based on experience) plus benefits

Thought leadership and advocacy are core parts of Development Pathways’ mission. These activities are essential not only to grow our brand, but also to achieve our goal of influencing governments, donors, and multilateral institutions towards more effective social protection practices worldwide. To that end, we maintain a very active communications presence, through social media, blogs, news stories, research papers, and a variety of other publications. We also regularly host and participate in seminars and deliver training.

Therefore, the post-holder will prepare our communications products and maintain and enhance our platforms.

Content for our communications activities comes from across the company and from external consultants, so the post-holder will initiate and coordinate these products, before providing high quality editing, to produce finished products of a high professional standard.

Currently this role is the only dedicated communications role in the company. The successful candidate will be required to work with management to review our strategy annually and work with the whole company to support the implementation of the associated plan.

For more information about our organisation, please visit our website.

Purpose

The communications and advocacy officer will be responsible for coordinating Development Pathways’ communications and advocacy initiatives, engaging with advocacy partners, preparing communications products and maintaining and enhancing our platforms.

Key Responsibilities

Communications and advocacy planning:

• Work closely with management to review our communications and advocacy strategy and produce our annual plan. This will maximise the presence and influence of our advocacy work and brand in line with the organisation’s ambitions for sector influence and new business.
• Build and foster partnerships with key networks and organisations to amplify communications and advocacy around universal social protection.
• Play a role in responding to reputational risks posed to the company, with support from senior management.
• Engage staff across the organisation to build a sense of shared responsibility for our communications.

Content collection, creation and dissemination:

• Gather and produce clear, engaging, high impact content for a range of online and offline channels that demonstrate our creative and innovative leadership (reports, thought pieces, blogs, podcasts, video blogs etc.).
• With senior staff and external partners, identify and plan engagement activities (such as conferences, workshops, panel discussions, media events) to maintain the prominence of our staff and company, and build the reputations of emerging technical staff.
• Contribute to facilitating donor-funded project communications, including the Inclusive Social Security Policy Forum in the MENA region and the SSERJ project in Jordan.
• Collect photos and maintain a photo library, ensuring that appropriate consent is secured and properly catalogued.

Publications

• Coordinate our research paper production and dissemination process, including editing, proofreading, and formatting text to comply with the company’s brand and style sheet, and producing covers.

Platform management:

• Maintain and enhance our website (WordPress), project websites, newsletter and social media accounts (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook).

Skills, Qualifications and Experience

Required

• An undergraduate degree in a relevant subject
• At least two years’ experience of working in communications and advocacy
• Ability to take the initiative and work independently
• An enthusiasm to generate and disseminate knowledge
• A commitment to social justice
• An excellent understanding of social media and the use of various platforms (Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn)
• Understanding on how to use WordPress Must have excellent writing and editing skills.

Desirable

• Experience of professional social media publishing
• Experience or understanding of international development
• Additional languages, in particular Arabic and/or French.

Terms of Employment and Benefits

Recruitment will be for a permanent and full-time post. Along with the basic salary, the successful candidate would receive an attractive package of the following:

• Fulfilling work – working to make a difference to some of the world’s most under-served communities.
• Flexible working – Development Pathways offers employees flexible work hours and remote work options.
• Generous time off – recharge with 30-holiday entitlement plus public/bank holidays.
• Excellent health and well-being provision – access to the company private health care scheme (after the satisfactory completion of the probationary period), pension scheme and Employee Assistance Programme.
• Commitment to professional development opportunities – we encourage our staff to participate in professional learning and development.
• Provision of a company laptop
• Working from home benefit
• Monthly travel allowance if attend the office twice a week of up to £1,800 per annum

How to apply

We invite interested candidates to please apply for the post by including all of the following:

1. A cover letter explaining why you are applying for this position, and how you would meet the selection criteria for the post of Communications and Advocacy Officer,
2. A detailed CV (curriculum vitae) specifying your qualifications, education, and relevant work experience, and
3. Confirmation that they have the right to work and live in the UK.

Closing date for this post will be the close of business on 8 th July 2023.

Applications should be submitted by email.

Applicants must confirm if they have the right to live and work in the UK.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis and we retain the right to close this role without notice.

Due to the high number of applications expected, unfortunately only short-listed candidates will be contacted.

The applicant should note the Privacy Notice on our website.

Development Pathways is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We celebrate and support diversity and are committed to providing a work environment that is inclusive and free of discrimination and harassment. All employment decisions are based on individual qualifications and abilities. without regard to race, colour, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, family or parental status, or disability status.