Communications Officer (Media and PR) London, England
Job description
About Us
We are a world-class visitor attraction and leading science research centre. We use the Museum's unique collections and our unrivalled expertise to tackle the biggest challenges facing the world today. We care for more than 80 million objects spanning billions of years and welcome more than five million visitors annually and 16 million visits to our website.
Today the Museum is more relevant and influential than ever. By attracting people from a range of backgrounds to work for us, we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things.
We employ 900 staff in a variety of roles, all united by our vision of a future where people and planet thrive. We need everyone to have the passion and drive to help us with our mission to create advocates for our planet and inspire millions to care about the natural world.
Diversity and inclusion matter to us.
Our vision is of a future where both people and the planet thrive. Diversity is one of our core values and we strive to build a workplace where everyone feels a sense of belonging. All new staff who join us learn about the importance of diversity and inclusion to the Museum and how to contribute to creating an inclusive environment.
We know we have more to do, but we are committed to ensuring that everyone who works at the Museum feels they can thrive and feel valued and respected.
About the role
The Communications team is responsible for protecting and promoting the reputation of the Natural History Museum as one of the UK’s most popular visitor attractions and a world leading scientific research centre through the media and key opinion formers.
The role of the team is to support the NHM’s mission to create advocates for the planet through proactively generating coverage for the Museum’s public programme. Reporting into the Communications Manager, you will work on some of the Museum’s most prominent public programme campaigns, supporting the Museum’s fundraising priorities and generating coverage and recognition for its cutting-edge scientific research including that of our world-leading Palaeontology group.
The team is primarily responsible for all the Natural History Museum’s editorial dealings with media. The role of Communications Officer is varied – no day is the same!
You will also support the Museum’s Communications & PR team’s wider activities including press launches, events and supervising filming as and when required.
About you
Demonstrable experience of organising and supervising journalist visits, photocalls and filming for a high-profile consumer brand in support of business objectives and profile
Experience of reactive press work in a busy press office
Ability to consistently and accurately communicate complex ideas to non-specialists, ideally gained through working with academics, scientists or technical specialists in a PR capacity
Diplomacy and the ability to maintain confidentiality
Ability to work well under pressure, prioritise effectively and respond to deadlines, maintaining multiple simultaneous projects
A flexible team member, with an adaptable approach to ensure the smoothest and best outcomes
Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English, including the ability to write attention-grabbing press releases and social media copy that positively influences
Proven experience of identifying and managing both reputational risks and opportunities to secure positive media coverage
Experience of managing or supervising others and their outputs is desirable, otherwise a willingness and ability to line manage and effectively support a direct report
Thriving at the Museum: the way we work
We are proud to work at the Museum and have identified the qualities we all need to embody to reach our shared ambition. This sits alongside the Museum’s values and forms the framework for the way we work.
Find out more here
What we offer
- 27.5 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays (full time equivalent)
- Generous defined contribution Natural History Museum Pension Scheme (employer contribution 4 - 10%)
- Season ticket, bicycle and rental loan
- Life insurance
- Free admission to our exhibitions and many other paid exhibitions at museums, galleries and institutions across London and the UK.
- Staff discount at our Museum shops and cafes
- We offer a wide variety of training initiatives and opportunities to build skills. Investing in staff development is important to us, and we are ambitious about helping staff to grow and fulfil their potential.
- Affordable membership to the Civil Service Sports Council which offers a range of benefits including an extensive list of special offers and reduced entry fees at a selection of cinema chains, theme parks, theatres, retailers and supermarkets. It also provides entry to up to 300 English Heritage sites and other national treasures. For more details, visit https://www.cssc.co.uk
- Membership to our Sports and Social Association (for a small fee), which includes access to our in-house gym and clubs such as football, softball, table tennis and tennis and classes in Middle Eastern dance, yoga and Tai Chi
How to apply
If that sounds like you, please apply online on the Natural History Museum’s careers portal,
at https://careers.nhm.ac.uk/
Closing date: 9am, Monday 11 September
Interviews expected week commencing 18 September
Salary: £31,779 per annum (plus additional payment for shared on-call duties and other benefits)
Contract: Fixed Term 12-months, Full Time 36 hours
Please note that this role does not qualify for Museum sponsorship so the successful postholder will need to have a valid right to work in the UK at the point of offer.
Job Types: Full-time, Fixed term contract
Contract length: 12 months
Salary: £31,779.00 per year
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Gym membership
Work Location: In person
Application deadline: 11/09/2023
Reference ID: Natural History Museum
