Communications Lead (Job Share)

Role:

Scottish Women’s Aid has an exciting opportunity to join their communications team. This is an influential and dynamic position, reporting directly to the Chief Executive, the Communications Lead shares responsibility for leading SWA’s communications work, campaigning, messaging, and delivering a media strategy in line with our strategic objectives.

Working collaboratively across Policy, Fundraising, member, and training teams at SWA you will co-develop and deliver a communications strategy, identifying the best ways to lever change through media campaigns around key issues for women, children, and young people experiencing domestic abuse. You will shape a wide variety of materials and outputs that support SWA’s broader advocacy and campaigning aims.  You will devise engaging communications approaches and craft compelling content. This will include media responses, PR, press releases, and briefing notes as well as articles for a range of audiences comprising our network, partners, stakeholders, the media, government, and wider civil society. You will also co-curate our online presence, creating engaging content across a range of platforms, and be adept at analysing engagement metrics and evaluating impact.

Background

Scottish Women’s Aid is the lead organisation in Scotland working to end domestic abuse. We are both a children's rights and a women's rights organisation.

• We directly campaign to institutions and leaders for policies and laws that address the drivers of women’s inequality and improve responses to domestic abuse. This work makes women and children safer and helps them disentangle themselves from their abusers.
• We provide training to public and private bodies from the police and judiciary to child welfare systems, to effectively respond to survivors.
• We raise the profile of domestic abuse nationally and internationally so that domestic abuse is treated like the critical threat to human rights that it is.
• We host Scotland’s 24-Hour Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline to ensure help is always available while actively supporting a network of 33 specialist local Women’s Aid services that directly support and provide refuge to women and children of Scotland affected by domestic abuse
• We are the umbrella organisation for 33 autonomous Women’s Aid groups delivering direct services to women, children and young people across Scotland, providing guidance, support and training to our members

What We Need

We’re looking for someone who can fulfill the above description and has:

• Relevant experience in a communications role (of at least 4 years)
• Understanding of social justice communications principles and best practices
• Excellent written communication skills and experience producing content for key audiences
• Experience of campaign work within a VAWG, political, parliamentary or public affairs context.
• Experience of working with or in the media
• Experience coordinating digital communications, including websites, and social media and how to utilise their potential. 
• Competent in using own initiative, managing work, and responding to opportunities effectively.
• Experience of Canva or similar graphic design software, and video editing platforms to create quality on brand social media and other related design content
• Experience of evaluation and monitoring impact
• Ideally, we would also like
• Experience of communicating a gendered message
• Understanding of the media and culture sectors in Scotland
• Experience of translating detailed and complex information into compelling and accurate information for use in the media

What we offer

There are many reasons to work for Scottish Women’s Aid. We have a inclusive, collaborative  working culture and our mission and vision attract a brilliant staff team. Your hard work is rewarded with a package of support and benefits including:

Flexible working

We offer flexible hybrid working options for the majority of our employees. Some posts are eligible for full-time homeworking.  We also offer flexibility for staff and work/life balance through a number of flexible working options such as flexi time, condensed hours, job sharing.

Pay

SWA are a Living wage employer, our pay and grading system offers a competitive starting salary and yearly progression.

Annual Leave

We offer a full-time annual leave entitlement of 30 days (210 hours) per year plus 10 Public Holiday days (70 hours) per year. Leave is accrued at the rate of 3.33 days (23.3 hours) per month.

Pension

SWA believes it's important that we help you save for your retirement so access to Nest pension scheme is given to all eligible employees. SWA contributes 10% of gross contractual earnings on the provision that the employee contributes a minimum of 3% towards their pension contributions.

Learning and Development

SWA supports and develops staff to ensure they have the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities. There is an internal schedule of training on key skills and knowledge relevant to all staff. There is also scope to attend ad hoc training for employees who are working to develop specific skills.

Enhanced Maternity and Paternity Pay

SWA offers staff who meet the criteria for Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) an enhanced maternity pay of 20 weeks on full pay and 20 weeks on half pay.

Wellbeing

As part of SWA’s commitment to staff wellbeing, staff are offered access to a confidential 24/7 health and Wellbeing service with AIG which provides confidential advice, counselling and legal support to all staff, and where applicable, immediate family members. 

Bike 2 Work

An interest-free loan to purchase a bike, can be arranged up to the value of £1,000.

Edinburgh Leisure Gym Subsidies

Edinburgh based staff are able to access Edinburgh Leisure facilities for the reduced price of £1 per session.

Equalities Statement  

SWA exists to end violence against women and girls, we are committed to opposing and eliminating all forms of intersectional discrimination at the system, institutional, and individual level. This includes challenging barriers that prevent women’s equal participation in the workplace. To achieve this, our workforce must reflect a diversity of identities and perspectives. We strongly encourage applications from underrepresented women, including but not limited to, women from minority ethnic communities, women with disabilities, LGBTI communities, carers, and women who have experienced economic deprivation.  

To ensure that all of our staff thrive and succeed, we work to continuously improve the inclusivity, accessibility, and fairness of our workplace to create a working environment that promotes dignity and respect to all, where differences in background, culture, identity and lived experience are recognised and valued.  

We offer disabled women the option of requesting that their application be considered under the terms of our Guaranteed Interview Schemes. You will be asked if you’d like to be considered on the application form.  

Salary: £36,622 – £42,024 per year (pro rata).

Hours: Up to 25 hours (to be worked flexibly).

Location: Blend of home working and office, based in Rose Street, Edinburgh. There will be a requirement to attend in-person events and meetings, based predominantly in Edinburgh.  Please talk to us about your flexible working requirements!

Closing Date: The recruitment panel will be appointing for this role on a rolling basis. After considering your application, the panel will be in touch if they would like to invite you to interview, please don’t delay in applying as the post will close once the position is filled.

Scottish Women’s Aid is an equal opportunities employer, applications will be accepted from women only under Schedule 9, part 1 of the Equality Act 2010.