Rethink Plastic Alliance Communications Coordinator (Cover)

Position description

You are passionate about tackling plastic pollution and its root causes, and you know how to turn complex EU policy issues into communication outputs that decision-makers understand and act on. You are an experienced communicator and skilled writer who is equally comfortable writing a press release, running a social media campaign, managing a website and coordinating a newsletter.

You enjoy working in coalitions: bringing diverse partners together, finding the shared message and helping a network speak with one voice. You are organised, proactive and good at juggling several workstreams, and you can spot an opportunity in the news cycle and turn it into a timely, creative response. You work well with colleagues across Europe and the globe, and you like being part of an agile, collaborative team.

The Role

This is a temporary position, covering the role for up to 15 months. The post is being created because the current postholder has been temporarily promoted into a cover role within the team, and we need cover for her position. We anticipate the role lasting at least one year, but we can currently only offer an initial fixed-term contract of 6 months, followed by extensions of 3 months at a time.

The Rethink Plastic Alliance (RPA) Communications Coordinator (Cover) leads the development, implementation and evaluation of communications for the Rethink Plastic Alliance, working closely with Alliance members and the RPA Policy Coordinator. The role covers the full range of communications work, from managing the Allianceʼs website, social media and newsletter to coordinating press releases, publications and events.

The Communications Coordinator also ensures that RPA communications are aligned with the wider BFFP European and global movement. The role includes overseeing third-party contractors and contributing to the wider BFFP Europe coordination team.

Key Responsibilities

Coordinate communications of the Rethink Plastic Alliance (40%)

• Develop, implement and evaluate effective communication plans and campaigns for RPA, in close coordination with RPA members and the RPA Policy Coordinator;
• Coordinate the production of the RPAʼs communications materials, including publications and press releases. This includes providing support to RPA members in the form of drafting and disseminating publications and press releases, as relevant. It also involves corresponding with key journalists and handling press requests by connecting journalists and RPA experts;
• Coordinate the promotion of and communications around RPA online and in-person events;
• Plan and facilitate the RPA Communications Group meetings (approx. 6 per year), and liaise with RPA Communications Group and facilitate follow up from meetings;
• Support the RPA Policy Coordinator with the planning of regular policy-focused meetings by providing input, contributing to planning, agenda-setting and follow up;
• Support the RPA Policy Coordinator with the planning, agenda setting and preparation of the whole-day RPA Strategy Days (held twice a year) and facilitate communications-related sessions;
• Produce RPAʼs quarterly newsletter, presenting the advocacy work of RPA in an accessible manner and featuring RPA member updates;
• Develop suitable messaging for RPA campaigns in response to external events and developments, by adapting the RPA Messaging Guide;
• Support the RPA Policy Coordinator with the final drafting of the RPA Strategy, taking into account member inputs gathered in an ongoing process.

Manage Rethink Plastic Alliance communications tools (25%)

• Run RPAʼs daily communications, in line with its advocacy strategy;
• Manage RPAʼs website, which includes technical website management, sharing RPA publications and press releases on the website, producing content for the website, as well as ensuring the website is running smoothly, by fixing bugs and being in touch with website developers when necessary;
• Manage RPAʼs social media channels and online community, by producing and sharing digital multimedia content for Social Media and blog posts for RPAʼs website This includes amplifying content by RPA and BFFP members;
• Manage the RPA shared calendar by adding joint RPA and individual memberʼs campaigns and tracking policy developments (with support from BFFP & RPA Policy Coordinator);
• Ensure smooth communication and access to RPA tools through day-to-day coordination on Slack, especially with members of the RPA Comms group, and by managing the RPA Comms Google Drive.

Ensure coordination with BFFP communications (20%)

• Identify and leverage synergies between the EU policy focused communications from RPA and the work and communications of the wider BFFP movement in Europe (and beyond), together with the BFFP Europe Communications Officer;
• Coordinate with BFFP Europe Communications Officer on any joint RPA-BFFP publications;
• Produce Social Media toolkits for BFFP members at key EU advocacy moments;
• Oversee the work of third-party contractors for some projects, where relevant (i.e. graphic designers, web administrators, contractors, etc.);
• Manage the RPAʼs annual communications budget as well as any campaign-specific communications budget.

Contribute to the BFFP Europe coordination team, and the wider team (15%)

• Participate in weekly BFFP Europe Coordination Team meetings and support monthly online BFFP member meetings;
• Provide input for and contribute to the planning, agenda-setting and follow-up of BFFP events;
• Contribute to the drafting of funding proposals and reporting, specifically on comms-related activities;
• Participate in and contribute to global BFFP team quarterly meetings;
• Provide input for and participate in global team retreats, membersʼ meetings and team planning meetings, where appropriate;
• Contribute to implementing BFFPʼs upcoming Global Strategy, where appropriate.

Qualifications

Experience

Essenīial

• Substantial experience in communications, ideally for a campaign, advocacy, coalition or non-profit organisation;
• Experience developing and implementing communications strategies and campaigns;
• Experience writing and producing press releases, newsletters and web and social media content;
• Experience managing a website (e.g. a CMS) and social media channels;
• Experience working with journalists and handling media requests;
• Experience working with, or coordinating, groups, networks or coalitions;
• Experience managing freelancers or external contractors (e.g. designers, web developers).

Desirable

• Experience in advocacy communications, particularly on EU policy;
• Strong understanding of environmental and climate change topics, including the issues associated with plastic along its supply chain;
• Experience managing small budgets;
• Experience contributing to funding proposals and reports;
• Experience with digital multimedia content production (graphics, short video);
• Experience working with people from different cultures and nationalities.

Knowledge, skills and understanding

Essenīial

• Excellent command of English, with the ability to explain complex policy messages clearly to different audiences;
• Excellent writing and editing skills;
• Strategic thinking, with the ability to spot opportunities and synergies and to respond quickly to external events;
• Ability to facilitate meetings and coordinate with many partners at once;
• Strong networking and team-building skills suited to a multicultural, multidisciplinary environment;
• Ability to manage competing priorities and meet deadlines.

Desirable

• Knowledge of the BFFP movement and/or the Rethink Plastic Alliance;
• Passion for social and environmental justice;
• Understanding of the EU policy-making process and the Brussels environment;
• Excellent organisational skills and attention to detail;
• Solid IT skills with collaborative and communications tools (e.g. Google Drive, Slack, Asana, Zoom, Google Groups, newsletter and CMS platforms, Canva or similar);
• Other European languages, apart from English, are a plus.

Personal qualities

Essenīial

• Creative, proactive and solution-oriented;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a team player;
• Excellent listener and communicator;
• Impact-driven and resilient under pressure;
• Organised and able to prioritise;
• Capacity to run several tasks simultaneously;
• Appetite for working in an agile European and international environment;
• Willingness to occasionally work flexible hours and to travel, as required.

Application instructions

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