Media Communications Manager

Independent Age is the national charity focused on improving the lives of people facing financial hardship in later life. We believe no one should face financial hardship in later life. Our Helpline and expert advisers offer free, practical support to older people without enough money to live on. Through our grants programme, we support hundreds of local organisations working with older people across the UK. 

We use the knowledge and insight gained from our support services and partnerships to highlight the issues experienced by older people in poverty and campaign for change. We would love to find individuals from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds to join us on this journey.

Responsibilities and Person Specification:

The Media Communications Manager is responsible for overseeing Independent Age’s media communications programme, including media and PR, social media, celebrities and stories. They will lead the team to secure profile-raising coverage for our work in a range of print, online and broadcast media outlets including national news, consumer, sector-specific, and regional titles, oversee our organic social media and ensure our channels amplify our work and reach older people, decision makers and other influential stakeholders.

The Media Communications Manager will build excellent relationships with older people with lived experience of poverty, ensuring the voices of older people in financial hardship are at the centre of everything we do. They will also grow the organisations relationships with journalists, channel owners, celebrities, ambassadors, and other influencers to ensure that our media communications activity supports our organisational objective to tackle poverty in later life.    

You should have broad experience of developing and implementing innovative, successful profile-raising plans (across digital and traditional channels).  You will bring an ability to work both proactively and reactively, and experience of handling reputational or crisis issues. You should also have a passion for, and affinity with, the charity’s cause. 

For full details on the role and requirements, please review the job description and person specification.  If your experience doesn’t align perfectly with all of the criteria in the person specification but you do meet most of them and are excited about the role, we encourage you to apply anyway. 

This is a full-time role, 35 hours per week, which you can choose to work over five days or a 9 day fortnight.

What it’s like to work at Independent Age:

We celebrate diversity at Independent Age and champion the differences that make each of us unique. We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We aim to attract and retain a wide range of talent and create an environment where everyone can feel safe, protected, welcome and included.   

We offer great benefits including 28 days annual leave plus public holidays, a generous pension scheme with life assurance, and fantastic learning and development opportunities. We also offer a number of enhanced leave provisions and benefits.

We know that a good work life balance helps us perform at our best and supports wellbeing. Flexible working hours and hybrid working is standard for all (those contracted to work in the office usually attend 1 day per week). But if you need a different form of flexibility, we are always happy to talk flexible working. 

You can find out more about what it’s like to work at Independent Age on our jobs website.

Application Process:

To apply, please submit a CV and a Supporting Statement, detailing how your skills and experience meet the criteria within the Job Description and Person Specification, by visiting our jobs website (please do not hesitate to contact us if you have specific requirements and need support to apply in an alternative format).

To support our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion our hiring managers use anonymous shortlisting. Therefore, please do not include your name, photo, or information to indicate your gender or age in your CV and supporting statement. Please do not omit dates of employment. Please ensure the title of any uploads does not contain your name. 

Independent Age is committed to safeguarding and follows Safer Recruitment practices to ensure we are safeguarding those we work with. We therefore ask that you supply your full work history with explanations for any gaps in the application documents you submit and, if offered the post, we will require two employment references including your current or most recent employer. A Basic DBS Certificate will also be required for this role.  

Closing Date: 22nd September 2024

Interview Dates: 2nd October 2024