Stories and impact communications officer

The Stories and Impact Communications Officer will gather the stories of people we have supported, generate ethical and compelling content to be shared internally and externally, to help build QSA’s public profile, and provide communications support to our wider team.

We would like ethical storytelling to be at the heart of sharing the incredible work we do at QSA. It is about shining a spotlight on the people and communities we serve, while being mindful, respectful, and genuine in how we portray their stories. Our intention is to bring stories forward with empathy, authenticity, and a commitment to giving a voice to those who can go unheard or are marginalised. It is about working alongside people to help make them comfortable, confident and in control of disclosing their experiences through our communications.

Done well, this will cover the 5Ps of good storytelling – putting people at the heart, making it place based, building a library of evocative and sensitive pictures, choosing the right and distinct online platforms to share these stories and engaging emotionally and making that personal connection with our audiences, stopping them in their tracks and inspiring them to act.

QSA makes a difference in a variety of ways and our intention is to generate content to showcase:

• The support we provide to people on low incomes across our services, Made of Money, Down to Earth, This Way Up, Cook Up, Turn A Corner, Plaistow South Big Local and Pimlico Million.
• The support we provide to staff and volunteers from other organisations who are part of the two large networks we run, Money Guiders England Network and 4in10.
• The support we provide with the online tools and resources on our website.
• The readership and reach of reports published by QSA staff.
• The changes that can happen around policy or practice as a result of our work.

This role will involve building relationships with a broad range of people, with a very strong focus on the people we work with, and doing this in a creative and sensitive way, getting to the heart of the story, and developing emotionally engaging content.

These stories will contribute hugely to our fundraising, creating a pipeline of content for us to demonstrate our work, and contributing to our financial sustainability. Our work has campaigning strands and areas where we seek to influence both policy and practice, and these stories will provide rich evidence of the realities of struggling on a low income.

As a solid team player and a lynchpin at the heart of QSA’s communications work, you will be open to providing communications support in other ways too when required e.g. supporting service staff to create materials for workshops/promote their services, either directly or by liaising with contractors.

The role will also require the marketing of our services and growing the reach of our messages, mainly via our website and social media platforms, but also through published materials.  So, this role will suit someone who is a natural and skilled communicator, and who relishes variety and building relationships.

How to apply

Please see our website for full job description and person specification. The deadline for applications is at 9 am on October 15th. Please send us the following:

• Your CV, highlighting the areas of your experience most relevant to this role.
• Your supporting statement. We encourage you to look at the person specification in this pack and clearly demonstrate how you fit what we’re looking for within your supporting statement.
• We invite you to complete our online equity and diversity monitoring form (on our website).

Interviews are on Tuesday 29 October at our office in Bethnal Green – we can arrange an online interview if necessary. Due to our capacity, we will only be able to contact shortlisted candidates. We will send you the questions the day before the interview, and on the day of the interview we will also invite you to complete a short test, to further assess your fit to our person specification. 

About Quaker Social Action

QSA was founded by Quakers in 1867, troubled by the social injustices of the time and keen to tackle them. This sense of taking practical action has stayed with us over our 150-year history and our organisational values are aligned with the Quaker value around equality. We are proud of our Quaker heritage and our place within the Quaker community. There is nothing religious about our work, our services, jobs and volunteering roles are open to all.

Our services are incredibly varied. We currently have nine different projects running, addressing a wide range of needs in a variety of ways, in person, over the phone, online. Services include crisis support for those unable to afford funerals; courses that enable people to manage their money more confidently; practical support for people experiencing homelessness such as a mobile library and a community kitchen space; wellbeing interventions; and a range of community development initiatives.