Communications Officer – Samaritans Ireland

Samaritans’ vision is that ‘fewer people will die by suicide’. We work to achieve this by making it our mission to alleviate emotional distress and reduce the incidence of suicidal feelings and suicidal behaviour. We do this by being available around the clock, working in partnership with other organisations, agencies and experts, influencing public policy and raising awareness of the challenges of reducing suicide.

We are looking for a motivated and enthusiastic communications officer with the ability to manage and lead projects to join our organisation and help us raise awareness of the support which Samaritans offers. You would need to demonstrate excellent communications and interpersonal skills; practical understating of social media and the ability to incorporate social media channels into campaigns; have a good understanding of the Irish media environment; strong project management skills and the ability to work on your own initiative. Additionally, the ability to establish and maintain positive relationships with colleagues and volunteers at all levels is essential as is competency in ICT skills including the use of MS office (especially Word and Excel), email and databases.

The position is based in Dublin however due to the nature of the role there will be occasional requirement to travel to our Head Office in England (Surrey) to liaise with the communications team based there. Some weekend and evening work will also be required.

If you are interested in the position, please visit our website www.samaritans.org/jobs where you will find a full Job Description and our application form.

Completed application forms should be emailed to recruitment@samaritans.org no later than 9am on Monday 6th March; and it is expected that first interviews will take place on Tuesday 14th March in Dublin.

1 .MAIN PURPOSE OF JOB
To play a key role in raising of Samaritans’ profile, increasing awareness, understanding and support for our work to reduce suicide in Ireland. This role also involves supporting a strong internal communications structure within the organisation.

2. POSITION IN ORGANISATION
Reports into the Policy & Communications Manager for Republic of Ireland
Liaises with staff in Ireland and UK across teams as required
Liaises with volunteers in Ireland branches
Liaises with senior volunteer management as required

3. SCOPE OF JOB
The communications officer role will include:
Planning and delivery of communications strategy
Responding to media queries and generating opportunities for coverage
Developing online profile
Developing and delivering communications campaigns and projects
General duties of a Samaritan’s staff member

4. DIMENSIONS AND LIMITS OF AUTHORITY
Manages own workload
Represents Samaritans in external forums
Liaises with key volunteers, branches and stakeholders

5. QUALIFICATIONS
3rd level qualification and a qualification in communications or public relations. Minimum of three years working in a communications or public relations role.

6. SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
Excellent project management and organisational skills
Strong written and verbal communication skills
The ability to prioritise a busy workload
Good IT skills
Thorough understanding of social media (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc)
An enthusiastic attitude and willingness to learn
Experience of working in a communication, policy or public affairs environment
Ability to communicate at all levels within and outside the organisation, to build and maintain positive relationships with key stakeholders
7. PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES

Strong communications, interpersonal and influencing and leadership skills
A strong team player
Flexible in approach to work and able to prioritise work effectively
Able to take constructive feedback from multiple stakeholders
Strong problem solving skills
Creative, with a good eye for detail
Calm and clear thinking
Prepared to undertake some work out of office hours

PART 2: DUTIES & KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Implementing Samaritans’ communications strategy, in consultation with the Policy and Communications Manager
Build and maintain relationships with key journalists, monitoring the external environment, identifying opportunities and taking a proactive approach to generating coverage.
Supporting Samaritans branches with local publicity activities
Support active external communication with the media and with local and national organisations
Producing corporate and consumer facing publications
Ensuring consistent messaging and style for all communications materials produced by Samaritans
Supporting communications across the organisation and with Samaritans branches across the country
Managing the organisations social media profile and growing the online profile of the organisation
Coordinating specific projects, coordinating launches and events, and developing communications programmes and campaigns
Developing and maintaining relationships with ambassadors and media spokespeople
Providing media training and interview briefings for spokespeople
Monitoring and evaluating media coverage
Any other duties as required from time to time

General duties of a Samaritans’ staff member
Contribute to the effective and efficient running of the Central Charity as appropriate.
Participate, as appropriate, in staff forums and meetings.
Adhere to all Samaritans’ policies and procedures.
Represent the Charity appropriately across Samaritans to the wider community as appropriate.
Treat all colleagues, volunteers and members of the public with dignity and work within and adhere to Samaritans’ equal opportunities statement and polices.
Carry out any reasonable requests made that are within the broad remit of the role.

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