Description
We are seeking a Communications Officer on a part-time, ongoing employment basis to play a central role in ensuring that our communications to both internal and external audiences are strategic, engaging and in line with our organisational values.
Working within the Fundraising and Communications team, the Communications Officer will co-ordinate and create accessible and engaging content across various channels, including the website, intranet, social media and printed resources to both internal and external audiences; helping raise the profile of Harmeny’s services, events and projects.
The successful candidate will work 28 hours per week (0.8 FTE), with options to work these hours flexibly over Monday to Friday. There is also the opportunity for some hybrid working following the induction period.
The successful applicant will be placed appropriately on the current national scale between £24,734 - £26,998 per annum (equivalent to a full-time salary of £30,917- £33,748 per annum).
Harmeny Education Trust is a charitable organisation providing therapeutic care and education to children who have experienced early years trauma through abuse, neglect and family disruption, referred from all over Scotland. We currently work with children and young people aged 5-18, both on a day and all-year-round residential basis.
Harmeny is situated in a beautiful 35-acre woodland estate, which includes residential and education accommodation, community garden, orchard, wildlife habitats and children’s play areas. Harmeny is located in Balerno on the outskirts of Edinburgh, at the foot of the Pentland Hills; we are easily accessible by bus and there is on-site parking available.
We offer benefits and opportunities that promote wellbeing, work-life balance, staff development and security. Benefits include:
· On-site Wellbeing spaces and free massage therapy
· Free gym membership and cycle to work scheme
· Access to a wellbeing app and counselling
· Access to discounts on shopping and events
All staff receive a comprehensive induction package, and access to a range of learning and development opportunities throughout their career with us. If you do not have experience of the specific communication tools we currently use (WordPress, SharePoint, Canva and Adobe InDesign) training and support will be given as part of your personal development plan.
Harmeny is a values-led organisation and a good fit with our ethos is as important to us as having relevant experience.
If you would like to find out more about this rewarding opportunity, please contact Alison Acosta, Fundraising and Communications Manager, on 0131 449 3938.
To apply, please complete the application form via our recruitment section at .
Key Responsibilities
Overall purpose of the job
1. The Communications Officer will play a central role in ensuring that our communications to both internal and external audiences are strategic, engaging and in line with our organisational values.
2. Working closely with, and reporting to, the Fundraising and Communications Manager, the Communications Officer will help to raise and strengthen the profile of our work, including our services, events and projects. They will also support the implementation of our internal communication strategy, including the maintenance of our staff intranet.
3. The Communications Officer will develop, edit and publish accessible and engaging content across various channels, including video, websites (WordPress), intranet (SharePoint), social media and printed resources. The role sits within the Fundraising and Communications team but will also work with teams across the organisation to raise the profile of Harmeny at events and conferences, while progressively improving organisational understanding of what works for different audiences.
Principle Responsibilities / Key Areas of the Job
1. Promote a positive ethos and culture across Harmeny, consistent with Harmeny’s vision, purpose and core values.
2. Help to promote and explain the nature and value of the work that we do with the children and young people within our community, dealing sensitively with the complex nature of their backgrounds.
3. Work across the organisation to raise the profile of Harmeny via conferences, events, awards, articles and campaigns.
4. Ensure that print and marketing resources are in stock and available to other teams as needed, and support with the development of new materials including adverts for brochures and campaigns.
5. Maintain our social media accounts using appropriate stories and information from within our community, including monitoring news and socials to identify reputational risks.
6. Review the impact of our social media channels and keep abreast of developments in social media to inform the social media strategy with the FCM.
7. Provide communications support for our planned campaigns and publications, including working with our senior leadership team (SLT) in the preparation and dissemination of accessible and engaging published material.
8. Act as a brand ambassador, ensuring that our branding is used consistently across internal and external communications and marketing materials, providing constructive feedback on designs made by colleagues.
9. Co-ordinate, review and update content for our staff intranet (SharePoint) and subsites, including our therapeutic framework ‘The Harmeny Way’ site, with the aim of increasing staff engagement, supporting staff learning and development, and improving effective working across teams.
10. Under the guidance of our Therapies Manager, implement annual updates to our therapeutic framework ‘The Harmeny Way’ using Adobe InDesign.
11. Report regularly on performance in areas of responsibility and use that data to identify areas for improvement.
12. Work in accordance with all Harmeny policies and procedures.
13. Attend supervision, performance review, training, and other meetings as required.
14. Undertake any other duties delegated by the FCM or another member of management.
Qualifications, Skills, Knowledge and Experience
Essential
1. Experience of content development and delivery across a variety of media (copy, adverts, video, images, social media content).
2. Experience of using social media on behalf of an organisation or group to raise awareness, drive engagement and/or provide information.
3. Experience of collaborating with others to source, write and deliver engaging content.
4. A good understanding of the different needs and requirements of different communications and engagement channels.
5. Effective written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to present information clearly to a wide variety of audiences with good attention to detail.
6. Demonstrable experience of prioritising, planning and delivering work to clear timelines. Balancing multiple projects and identifying and flagging workload issues before they become unmanageable.
7. A good understanding of applying branding principles.
8. Strong IT skills and experience of Microsoft Office 365.
9. A good understanding of the importance of relationship building both internally and externally.
Desirable
1. A relevant qualification.
2. Experience of using Canva and/or iMovie and Adobe InDesign.
3. Experience of website content management systems (e.g. WordPress) and/or SharePoint communication sites. (No coding experience required).
4. A good understanding of search engine optimisation, user experience and interpreting user analytics tools.
5. An understanding of digital and visual accessibility standards.
6. Project management experience.
7. Experience of continually improving work practice including reviewing procedures and ways of working.
8. Experience of developing and improving internal communications within an organisation or group.
9. Good understanding of the impact of trauma in early years.
Harmeny Education Trust is a charity that provides care and education to remarkable children from all over Scotland who’ve had a challenging start in life. Our therapeutic services enable children to discover the wonders of childhood, and develop the skills and resilience to lead happy and fulfilling lives.