The Organisation:

The British Academy is the voice of the humanities and social sciences. As a national body they support the study of people, cultures and societies, past, present and future.
Their purpose is: to be an independent Fellowship of world-leading scholars and researchers; a Funding Body that supports new research (nationally and internationally); and a Forum for debate and engagement.

The Opportunity:

This is a pivotal role in the organisation. You will support the Academy’s media relations strategy to secure greater visibility of the Academy’s role and value across on and offline media. The main responsibility will be to develop and place media stories that demonstrate the importance of the humanities and social sciences and position the Academy as the voice of these subjects. This role will source and manage a year-round programme of stories, identify opportunities to issue reaction and respond to journalist enquiries.

Main Responsibilities:

• Manage the life cycle of a news story, from identifying ideas to boost the Academy’s profile, to navigating approval processes, identifying risks and sharing outcomes with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Draft and write clear, lively and newsworthy releases, other written materials (including op-eds and speeches) and develop ideas for stories, features and broadcasts that showcase the Academy’s work and the importance of its disciplines.
• Identify stories from across the Academy’s work to feed into the forward planning process.
• Act as the first line of enquiry for the media, making independent judgements about how to best represent the Academy’s interests and policy positions accurately and responsibly and maintain the organisation’s reputation at all times, including occasional out of hours work where necessary.
• Build a network of journalists interested in the Academy’s work, its disciplines and the work of its fellows, pitching news stories and feature ideas as directed, and supplying them with a flow of relevant news material.

Experience Required:

• Experience liaising with journalists
• Strong writing skills
• Effective communication skills – comfortable liaising with key internal stakeholders

https://www.ellwoodatfield.com/job/Press-Officer-OC-2205-8404?source=W4MP