Closing date: Friday 30th August 2024 at 5pm

Salary: £45,000

Contract type: Maternity Cover, Full Time, Fixed Term for 9 months October 2024 – June 2025 (potential to extend to 12 months).

Want to combine your passion for young people, storytelling and music? Oversee communications and marketing in this exciting management role!

The Head of Communications and Marketing maternity cover will oversee delivery of our communications and marketing strategy, designed to respond to the organisational Business Plan 2024 to 2027. It’s an exciting position, as we expand our strategy and team, with scope to further build our public profile across a variety of key audiences and, ultimately, enhance the sustainability of our work.

The role has oversight of all communications functions at Youth Music including content, marketing, digital, campaigns, PR and insights. Working across all teams in the 30-person organisation, the Head of Communications and Marketing role will be about ensuring that everything fits together both operationally and strategically.

The successful candidate will oversee the team in embedding our brand new website (due to launch Autumn 2024), and exploring ways of developing our content strategy. They will also lead on several campaigns – from raising awareness of the funding crisis, to the annual Youth Music Awards event.

The role reports to the Chief Operating Officer. It sits in the Core team, working strategically across the organisation as a member of the Executive Group (formed of Directors and Heads) and Planning Group (formed of Senior Executives and Managers). It includes line management of the Digital Marketing Manager, Internal Communications Lead and Insights Manager, as well as several external suppliers and agencies.

You’ll be an ambitious, proactive, strategic and creative communicator with excellent project and people management skills. You’ll have previous experience of leading a communications function working across multiple teams and agencies, with a track record delivering results.

Bold and passionate about our cause, you’ll be inspired by the idea of empowering young people to tell the stories of how they are transforming their lives through music. A highly skilled communicator and storyteller, you’ll combine a keen eye for detail with an ability to see the bigger picture. Able to plan, execute and operate at pace, you’ll have a strong understanding of brand building, and the role of communications as part of this.

You’re engaged with the external environment, current affairs and social media platforms. You’re able to proactively spot and exploit relevant communications opportunities and have experience in maximising the potential of digital marketing for a brand. You’ll recognise the potential to be unlocked across Youth Music’s various channels and can work strategically across the organisation to achieve this.

You’ll thrive under pressure and can work flexibly to juggle multiple and competing priorities. You’re a strong team worker able to collaborate and drive your team, external agencies, freelancers, and senior stakeholders to achieve great outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Strategy and Planning

Building the brand and reputation of Youth Music as the UK’s leading young people’s music charity.
Delivering an ambitious and high-impact communications strategy and overseeing its implementation and communication across the organisation.
Playing an active role in the Executive Group, informing strategic decision making.
Collaborating with Youth Music’s trustees, keeping the group informed on communications activity, and equipped with key messaging. Also engaging relevant individuals where appropriate for their expertise.
Overseeing implementation of Youth Music’s new digital marketing strategy.
Working alongside the PR agency and CEO to ensure continued growth in media presence.
Ensuring consistency in key messages, audiences, visual identity, house style, tone, and appropriate language.
Advising and supporting Youth Music colleagues, funded partners and young creatives on communications strategy.
Ensuring that Youth Music meets and reports on all communications targets (including requirements from major funders National Lottery via Arts Council England, People’s Postcode Lottery and partners).

Insights and advocacy

Embedding insights and evidence into our communications outputs to create compelling campaigns, support fundraising, and demonstrate our impact.
Leveraging Youth Music’s evidence of ‘what works’ to influence policy and create thought-leadership opportunities.
Leveraging our advocates and ambassadors to amplify our insights, impact and storytelling.

Copywriting and Editing

Editing, copywriting and sign-off (as required) of key documents and text.

Media and PR

Leading on the relationship with external PR agency, ensuring they’re delivering on proposed plans and KPIs.
Co-ordinating with colleagues to source appropriate projects, case studies and spokespeople for media opportunities.
Identifying potential PR risks and supporting Senior Leadership Team/Executive Group on crisis management.
Acting as a public advocate and spokesperson as required.

Management and Communication

Managing the communications team.
Overseeing relationships with external communications suppliers, supporting managers with day-to-day responsibility for agency management.
Ensuring internal colleagues are aware of external trends and issues affecting Youth Music’s work.
Co-ordinating communications needs from across the organisation.
Leading the communications team in monitoring, evaluating and improving performance of all communications activities, and sharing successes/learnings internally.
Ensuring compliance with relevant Youth Music policies, including data protection, safeguarding, and equality, diversity and inclusion.
Keeping up-to-date with best practice in communications and digital innovation.

Essential

Knowledge, skills and experience

Minimum 2 years management experience leading a communications team.
Informing strategic decision making at Trustee and Executive level.
Managing colleagues at management level.
Building and strengthening the brand and reputation of a leading organisation.
Experience across content, marketing, digital, campaigns, PR.
Effective agency management.
Applying strong interpersonal and communication skills to manage relationships with senior colleagues, agencies, direct reports and colleagues across the organisation.
Excellent project management to deliver and implement strategies, campaigns and initiatives.
Strong attention to detail, including ability to adapt copy for different audiences and ensure adherence to brand guidelines.

Desirable

Experience in a charity, agency, youth or music organisation.
Crisis management.
Knowledge of best practice in communications and digital innovation.
External environment and current affairs knowledge and networks.
Understanding of the music education and/or music industries landscape.
Passion for music and interest in its benefits for individuals and society.
Working with insights data.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please state in your application that you found this role through Creative Access.

#J-18808-Ljbffr

Youth Music jobs

Head of communications & marketing – maternity cover