Senior Digital Communications Officer

About us

Practical Action is an organisation that focuses on complex issues and works with multiple stakeholders on diverse challenges, seeking to achieve systemic change to permanently lift people out of poverty and provide vulnerable communities with resilience against climate change. These diverse areas of focus make the Practical Action brand a multifaceted and very rich framework that provides distinct opportunities to meaningfully engage with multiple audiences and deliver galvanising communications that offer relevant calls-to-action to varied stakeholder groups. To successfully leverage the full power of the Practical Action brand, all activations, campaigns, and communications projects ought to maintain an optimal degree of coherence and consistency, taking as a base of reference the key principles that conform our holistic brand narrative and identity mosaic.

Practical Action’s communications needs vary and follow the type of mobilisation we seek from diverse audiences. There are instances in which we seek to increase our profile and engagement with other organisations, so that they fund us, partner with us, or work with us towards shared impact goals. There are also moments in which we aim to implement communications campaigns that prompt an emotional response from individual supporters, so they make the generous and recurring donations that are key for our work. At times we also need to influence policy makers and governmental bodies, often in collaboration with partners, to achieve the systemic transformation which will enable our Theory of Change and take us closer to our organisational vision.

About the role

Working collaboratively with stakeholders across the organisation, the Senior Digital Communications Officer plays a crucial role in developing and implementing a Social Media strategy and Digital Communication plans that are aligned and feed into Practical Action's Global Communications strategy. In addition to managing the group social media profiles and digital communities, the Senior Digital Communications Officer will coordinate the creation and optimal utilisation of digital content across various platforms and channels, reaching and engaging a variety of audiences, and making decisions and recommendations based on data insight.

The Senior Digital Communications Officer will always be looking for new and effective ways to communicate our key messages online, keeping up to date with digital trends and best practice and eager to share what they learn. They’ll collaborate with colleagues from across different teams and geographical locations, providing them the tools and expert advice to represent our brand and work with consistency through digital platforms and achieve our profiling, awareness, fundraising, and advocacy objectives.

About you

You are a dynamic digital communications professional with a proven track record in developing and executing impactful social media strategies. With a deep understanding of digital trends and best practices, you thrive on using data-driven insights to inform your decisions and enhance audience engagement. Your exceptional communication skills enable you to collaborate effectively with diverse stakeholders, fostering a culture of creativity, knowledge sharing, and consistency across all platforms.

You have a strong background in content creation, with the ability to craft compelling narratives that resonate with various audiences. Your expertise in community management ensures that you can cultivate vibrant online spaces, responding to engagement with thoughtfulness and agility. You are adept at leveraging social listening tools and other analytics to optimise performance and drive meaningful conversations around key issues in social justice, dignified livelihoods, and climate resilience.

Passionate about international development, you stay informed about emerging digital innovations, always seeking new ways to elevate Practical Action’s work and profile. Your leadership style is collaborative and supportive, empowering colleagues through training and guidance while ensuring alignment with our strategic objectives.

If you’re ready to take your digital communications expertise to the next level and make a significant impact in a global organisation that is changing the lives of communities at the frontlines of poverty and the climate crisis, we’d love to hear from you!

Accountabilities

Social Media Strategy & Community Management (internal & external)

• Create and implement a comprehensive social media strategy aligned with Practical Action's organizational objectives.
• Responsible for daily community management on social channels, monitoring engagements, responding to comments and/or escalating as appropriate; including out-of-hours cover during major events or exceptional circumstances.
• Leverage Social Listening tools to optimise our social activity performance and reach through creative engagement tactics, including reinforcing Practical Action’s position as a leader in the international development sector.
• Create social media toolkits to allow colleagues and partners to use their own social media channels to share our messaging and campaigns consistently and engagingly.

Digital Content Creation & Dissemination

• Collaborate closely with colleagues from the Brand & Communications unit and beyond in the development and constant optimisation of a content calendar; sourcing stories, updates, and relevant content for digital dissemination across multiple channels including social media and websites.
• Manage the creation of digital content (copy, audio, and graphics including moving image and video), working with cross-functional teams to determine the type of content to produce, and for which platforms, to best meet audience needs and further our objectives.
• Ensure all digital content is engaging, consistent with our brand identity and narrative, and aligned with Practical Action’s strategic objectives.
• Proactively seek opportunities to promote Practical Action content through digital channels -owned, earned, paid, and shared-, identifying gaps and opportunities to develop or repurpose existing content.
• Contribute to the development of integrated communications campaigns and initiatives, ensuring strong digital components that complement other channels are factored into the plans.
• Oversee quality assurance, ensuring best practice is adhered to with regards to platform, target audience, accessibility, and other considerations.

Digital Channels Reporting

• Report on relevant KPIs highlighting key achievements, challenges, insights, and recommendations to inform ongoing optimisation.
• Support the optimisation of user experience using testing, data and insight to champion an audience centric approach.
• Stay informed about emerging digital trends, opportunities, and best practices, recommending the incorporation of relevant innovations into our approach.

Subject Matter Leadership & Guidance

• Engage and collaborate with various multi-functional departments across the world, fostering a culture of collaboration and mutual respect.
• Ensure digital channels are consistently maintained across the organisation, working with channel managers to ensure up-to-date branding, messaging, and accurate records of account access.
• Provide expert advice and proactive recommendations to colleagues, giving best practice guidance and promoting the use of digital content in support of annual business plans.
• Support the growth of digital capabilities through delivery of guidance, training, and ongoing coaching of staff.
• In partnership with the Digital Manager and the Head of Brand and Communications, develop, maintain, and ensure compliance of relevant social media policies for employees and teams to follow.

PERSON PROFILE

Person Specification

To be successful in the role, the ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate:

Experience & knowledge (Essential unless otherwise indicated).

• Proven experience in digital communications, with a strong focus on multi-regional websites and social media strategy and management, ideally in the international development / INGO sector.
• Demonstrable track record of creating and implementing successful social media initiatives for a wide array of audiences with diverse needs, insights, and digital consumption patterns.
• Robust experience using digital analysis and reporting tools (including Google Analytics and social listening) and applying data-driven insights to optimise communication strategies.
• Expert knowledge of each of the major social media platforms (e.g. Linkedin, Instagram, YouTube) unique opportunities and strengths, and how to leverage them to maximise results.
• Strong understanding of current digital trends, best practices, and emerging platforms.
• Knowledge of SEO, content marketing, and email marketing principles is desirable.

Skills, Abilities and Competencies:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to adapt tone and style for different audiences and platforms.
• Strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate digital data into insight and interpret it in simple terms to create accessible reports and actionable recommendations data and insights into recommendations and actions.
• Proficiency in social media management tools (e.g. Sprout Social), content creation apps (e.g. Canva, Adobe Creative Suite) and content management systems (e.g. Wordpress).
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities in a fast-paced environment. Proficiency in Project Management tools (e.g. Mondaycom, Trello, Asana) is desirable.
• Spotless attention to detail and commitment to high-quality outputs.
• Ability to work with a diverse array of colleagues from multiple backgrounds and cultures at all levels and experience.
• Strong sense of collaboration.
• Creative thinking and problem-solving abilities.
• Excellent oral, listening and visual communication skills

APPLICATION INFORMATION

Why join us?

The opportunity to work for an organisation that is making a positive difference to the lives of people worldwide, a friendly and supportive culture, and working with values-driven and highly engaged colleagues are just some of the reasons we think Practical Action is a great place to work.

Our open plan offices are located in the centre of Rugby and near to Rugby train station.

In addition, we offer the following benefits:

• Full time roles are contracted at 35 hours per week.
• Hybrid/flexible working options
• 27 days’ holiday rising with continuous service, in addition to public holidays
• Pension scheme - employer contributes 10.5% of salary and the employee contributes a minimum of 5%
• Enhanced family friendly policies, including maternity, adoption, paternity, and shared parental leave.
• Life assurance (3 x annual salary).
• Bike to Work scheme.

This will be a global role based in the UK.  The final salary for this role will be determined at the end of the recruitment process, at the offer stage.

The successful applicant must have the pre-existing right to both live and work in the UK. They must be within a commutable distance from our office in Rugby, as they would be expected to attend the office on certain key dates and for specific meetings.

Additional information

Practical Action believes that having a diverse workforce and inclusive workplace culture based on respect will enable us to be an effective organisation. We seek to create an inclusive workplace in which people are accepted as individuals, regardless of their differences and where they feel their contribution is valued.  Practical Action is an equal opportunities employer, and we encourage applications from under-represented groups.

We stay committed to cultivating an inclusive and diverse working environment and believe that people from different backgrounds or cultures give us different perspectives, and the more perspectives we have, the more successful we will be. By building a culture where everyone feels heard, respected, and valued we give everyone working with us the opportunity to achieve their full potential.

Practical Action is committed to safeguarding and protecting children and vulnerable adults and as such candidates will be subject to pre-employment checks including criminal checks and terrorist financing.

Closing date for applications:   20th of October 2024.  Please note that should we recruit a suitable candidate before the closing date, we will close applications earlier than the specified date.

Interviews: It is anticipated that interviews will take place in the week commencing 28th of October 2024

If you do not hear from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful on this occasion.

HOW TO APPLY

If you want to work for a charity with significant people ambitions, then we would like to hear from you. To apply please submit a copy of your CV and send us a cover letter or supporting statement.