Senior Media Manager

Location: Hybrid with occasional travel to Newark (Nottinghamshire) and rest of the UK
Full time: 35 hours per week
Closing date for applications: 7th August 2024
First interview: 21st August 2024
Second interview: 28th August 2024

About Us

The Wildlife Trusts are a federated movement of 46 charities, supported by a central charity,
the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts. Together we have 900,000 members, 32,500 volunteers and
3,400 staff across the UK. We are at an exciting moment in our 110-year history, with the
development of an ambitious new strategy, setting out a vision of nature in recovery, with
abundant, diverse wildlife and natural processes creating wilder landscapes where people and
nature thrive.

Wildlife Trusts have restored and care for some of the most special places for wildlife in the
UK. Collectively we manage more than 2,300 nature reserves, operate 123 visitor and education
centres and own 29 working farms. We undertake research, we stand up for wildlife and wild
places under threat, and we help people access nature.

The next few years will be critical in determining what kind of world we all live in. We need
to urgently reverse the loss of wildlife and put nature into recovery at scale if we are to
prevent climate and ecological disaster. We recognise that this will require big, bold changes
in the way The Wildlife Trusts work, not least in how we mobilise others and support them to
organise within their own communities.

About You

Can you use your expert media relations and proven line management skills to help put nature
into recovery with one of the UK’s best-loved environmental charities?

The Wildlife Trusts’ small, but brilliant national media team creates billions of opportunities
to ‘see’ our work in print, radio, online and on screen each year: from our commentary on
Government policy to stories about our work on the ground, our interviews, quotes, videos and
press releases are used in national and international stories as varied as action on peat to
whale sightings. We regularly appear on BBC Countryfile, Springwatch and BBC Radio 4’s Today
programme, as well as in international media such as National Geographic, Times of India and
Washington Post. In 2023 alone, the team achieved c.43,000 appearances in the national media
and a reach of over 530 billion opportunities to see. This coverage ensured that we remain at
the heart of the national conversation on why we need nature.

But we’re not standing still because the nature and climate crises demand greater and more
urgent action. We’re therefore looking for a resourceful and strategic thinker who can exploit
new opportunities for The Wildlife Trusts to continue to raise our profile and use our
communications to drive greater awareness of and engagement with the things that need to happen
to turn things round.

This is a senior role and we’re looking for an experienced media manager with an excellent
track record in media relations for high profile organisations, who can confidently deal with
high-profile reactive media as well as developing and delivering evidence-based creative,
innovative media strategies. You will be leading a small media team, so line management
experience is essential to ensure the consistent delivery of high-profile, high-impact media
activity, supervising the team’s research, writing and editing. Working alongside the Head of
Media you will build an environment where your team can continuously develop to be their best
and have space to innovate and find new channels to reach broader audiences with our messages.
In particular, we are keen to do more to highlight the role of people power (community
organising) in nature’s recovery.

You will have significant previous experience of generating compelling news stories and
features, and ideally you will have been involved in publicising policy and campaigns. There is
never a dull moment at The Wildlife Trusts and you will need to thrive working in an extremely
fast-paced environment where organisational skills, prioritisation and attention to detail are
a must.

The Wildlife Trusts value passion, respect, trust, integrity, pragmatic activism and strength
in diversity. Whilst we are passionate in promoting our aims, we are not judgmental and are
inclusive. We particularly encourage applications from people who are underrepresented within
our sector, including people from minority backgrounds and people with disabilities. We are
committed to creating a movement that recognises and truly values individual differences and
identities.

At The Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts we take our Safeguarding responsibilities extremely
seriously. Please read our commitment statement in the documents section. We are committed to
safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults at risk. For applicable roles,
applicants must be willing to undergo checks with past employers and Disclosure and Barring
Service checks at the eligible level.

As a Disability Confident employer, we are committed to offering an interview to anyone with a
disability that meets all the essential criteria for the post. Please let us know if you
require any adjustments to make our recruitment process more accessible.

Please do not use artificial intelligence tools to assist you to complete the application form.
We may not accept applications that have been completed utilising AI tools. If you would
usually use tools such as these to assist you in filling in a form, please contact us to
discuss this further and understand other options.