APPLICATION PACK
Communications Lead
Date as postmark
Dear applicant
Thank you for contacting us for information about the Communications Lead vacancy. You will find the following documents included in this pack:
- Background information about Nova Wakefield District Limited
- About our application process
- A job profile and person specification for the post
- An application form
- An equal opportunities monitoring form
If you require an alternative format please contact Nova via the details below.
The closing date for applications is 12pm on 11 December 2015. Application forms and the equal opportunities monitoring form should be emailed to
or posted to:
Vacancies
Nova Wakefield District Limited
11 Upper York Street
Wakefield
WF1 3LQ
As we are a charity with limited resources, we are sorry that we will not be able to respond to applicants who are not shortlisted for interview. If you have not heard from us within a week of the shortlisting date please assume that you have not been shortlisted. Interviews are currently planned for 16 December 2015.
If you have any questions about the process, please contact me on the number and email below. If you would like to have an informal discussion about the post, please contact Angela Davies, Nova Adviser using the contact details in this letter.
Yours sincerely
Karen Nicklin
Administrator
About us
Nova Wakefield District Limited is the voluntary and community sector support agency for Wakefield District, formed by the merger of Wakefield District Wellbeing Consortium and Voluntary Action Wakefield District in 2013. At the time of writing, we have 187 members.
Nova offers three areas of support to its members:
- Structured organisational and business development, enabling Nova members to assess their organisation strengths and weaknesses supported by a programme of training, consultancy and peer learning to address identified development needs.
- Providing an influencing platform for the local voluntary sector, enabling identification and aggregation of issues and opportunities for the sector (and its beneficiaries) and ensuring these are shared with policy and decision-makers.
- Acting as a special purpose vehicle and accountable body for contracts and grants, which are delivered by Nova members. Current and recent major contracts include DWP/ESF Support for Families, Youth Contract and Healthwatch Wakefield.
Our work is therefore different to many other voluntary and community groups in that we do not provide services directly to the public, but to other voluntary sector organisations (often called infrastructure support). In addition, we are a key player in the district in terms of strategic and partnership work to ensure that the role of the voluntary and community sector is maximised.
Nova receives 'core' funding from Wakefield Council and NHS Wakefield CCG. We also generate income from various other sources, including contract management fees and paid-for services.
Working at Nova
Nova is a small, focussed organisation with a flat structure working in an ever-changing environment. This means that staff members have to respond to both internal and external opportunities, sometimes in a short timescale and on their own initiative (although always with the support of colleagues). As a result, the pace of work can be very fast and we expect staff members to take responsibility and be accountable for their specific role at Nova. We have an informal working environment and the organisation is very friendly. Staff members working at Nova have many opportunities to develop their skills and experience and to prioritise and manage their own workload on a day to day basis. We are therefore looking for people who enjoy a 'can-do' approach and are able to find ways and means to undertake work when solutions may not always be initially obvious, and people who relish a busy working atmosphere. We have a very committed and supportive board of 14 trustees/directors, drawn from our membership, who provide strategic direction and oversight to the organisation.
Terms and conditions
An Employee Handbook exists which covers our written terms and conditions. For information they include:
- 25 days a year holiday plus bank holidays plus three days between Christmas and New Year (pro rata for part time staff)
- 5% of salary contribution to a pension scheme
- Flexi-time
Job share applications
- All full time posts are available for job share.
- If two people wish to apply as one candidate both should complete the first five pages of the application form and you can then decide whether to respond to the specific questions on one form or on two separate forms. Please provide a covering letter explaining how you have completed your application.
Organisational Tree – October 2015
About our recruitment process
The person specification
Our application process is based entirely on the person specification which is contained in the information about the particular post you are interested in. It is therefore very important that you read this document to see how you feel you meet the requirements we feel are needed to enable someone to meet the job profile.
The application form
The form has been designed to be as easy to complete as possible. Therefore please ensure you read all the instructions and provide all the information requested. If you are hand writing the form, please do so in black ink and write as clearly as possible.
Do not include a CV as these will not be considered as part of the process.
Shortlisting
When shortlisting, we will go through the specification and look at all the criteria listed as being identified in the application form to see whether you can show you meet them. It is therefore useful to give as much information as you can within the space allocated. For example, if the spec says 'Experience of preparing accounts' please do not just say something like 'I can prepare accounts' but rather 'I have experience of preparing accounts having been responsible for preparing the books for ABC Community Association for 3 years. This work included preparing the budgets, undertaking all the bookkeeping, producing regular reports of our income and expenses against the budget for the management committee, liaison with the Auditor and presenting the audited accounts to the committee'.
In your supporting statement you should provide information about how you meet each criteria listed in the person specification. It is easiest to use the criteria as headings and provide a short paragraph about each one.
Interview
The interview is geared to find out how each candidate meets the person specification. For some posts we may ask candidates to give a presentation or to undertake an active task at the interview, or there may be a short test or some pre-interview work. If this is the case we will tell you about this when we invite you to interview.
References
We reserve the right to take up references. Any offer of employment is subject to our receiving satisfactory references.
Unpaid work
Please remember that unpaid work experience can be as important as paid work experience. For that reason we include a specific page for this.
Eligibility to work in the UK
English law requires that all employers check that everyone they employ is legally eligible to work in the UK. As an equal opportunities employer, Nova will therefore require all successful candidates to provide this proof prior to starting work. The Home Office has provided a detailed list of what documents provide the proof. If you would like to discuss this further please do contact us.
Communications Lead
Job Description
Responsible to: Nova Adviser
Responsible for: n/a
Salary: £20,000 per annum (pro rata if appropriate)
Hours: 37.5 or 30 per week (negotiable)
Holidays: 25 days + bank holidays + three days between Christmas and New Year per annum
Employing Body: Nova Wakefield District Limited
Place of Work: Central Wakefield
Type of Contract: Permanent
Job Purpose
· To maintain a high quality profile for Nova, to reinforce our unique role in Wakefield District.
· To provide information to voluntary and community organisations and networks in Wakefield District so they have the knowledge, skills, resources and information to thrive.
· To lead on marketing Nova services and products, including our Thrive consultancy offer.
Main Duties and Responsibilities
· With the CEO and Nova Advisers, produce a succinct annual marketing and communications plan.
· Working with Nova Advisers, publicise Nova's business services, internally and externally, using a variety of sources to raise awareness and increase income generation.
· Proactively source and produce stories from Nova and Nova members and publish them on a variety of relevant media including the e-bulletin, blogs, social media, and the Nova website.
· Work closely with the local press to convert these stories into press releases and photo opportunities.
· Scan national voluntary sector media for stories relevant to Nova members and stakeholders.
· Write and commission articles for the Nova blog and moderate comments.
· Responsibility for the Nova website. This involves carrying out further development, adding information, checking and proof-reading pages and providing training to other Nova staff.
· Work closely with external contractors to develop the website and occasionally commission graphic design services.
· Lead on social media for Nova and support other staff around the use of social media.
· Design and production of the Nova Annual Review.
· Lead the planning of the Nova Annual Event.
· Undertake an annual survey to research the views, needs and feedback of members, clients and potential clients and feed these into planning and service delivery.
· Ensure accessibility best practice in communications.
· Maintaining house style and design for printed and electronic material.
· Measure and report on impact of communication channels, including Google Analytics and a social media measurement service.
· Publicise and market Nova's business services, internally and externally, using a variety of sources to raise awareness and increase income generation.
· Providing training and advice to colleagues and Nova members on the use of social media and digital marketing.
· Contribute to the monitoring and reviewing of the Nova internal database.
· Organise and attend Nova Assembly core meetings.
Other
· Stay informed about policy and practice which may impact on voluntary organisations or provide opportunities for development.
· Deputise for other Nova staff as and when appropriate.
· Undertake any further tasks required to further the aims and objectives of Nova.
· Work in a way that supports both the Nova values and the spirit and content of the Nova strategic plan including all supporting documents/policies.
· Implement and adhere to Nova's quality management processes.
Expectations
A) To attend and contribute to Nova management and staff meetings, annual strategic review meetings and other Nova meetings as required.
B) To attend and contribute to supervision, appraisal process and Nova staff training and any other training identified as appropriate for the role.
C) To ensure that all responsibilities and activities within this post are consistent with the terms and spirit of Nova's Equal Opportunities policy.
D) To adhere to the principles of the Data Protection Act and ensure there is an appropriate level of confidentiality and security of Nova's work.
E) To travel to meetings throughout Wakefield District and beyond, this may require the need for an overnight stay.
F) To occasionally work unsociable hours, e.g. attending evening or weekend meetings.
G) The nature of the post will require flexibility in undertaking the role and will require the post holder to undertake other duties that are compatible with the nature and grade of this post.
H) To contribute towards maintaining Nova's commitment to environmental sustainability.
This is not a final and complete statement of the duties attached to this post
which may need to be amended from time to time in accordance with
the changing needs of Nova.
Communications Lead
Person Specification
Qualifications
· Relevant degree/professional qualification or equivalent work experience.
Essential Criteria
Experience
· Experience of developing and implementing marketing or communications plans and activities.
· Experience of collating, writing and editing online/website content.
· Experience of using social media in the workplace.
· Working across boundaries, in a partnership environment.
· Skills in managing good customer relations.
· Experience of using a website content management system.
Skills and Abilities
· Excellent digital skills and ability to use online marketing and communications tools (including Twitter and website content management system).
· Good IT skills and ability to learn new skills quickly.
· Ability to extract data from CRM system for targeted marketing.
· Ability to use ICT effectively for communications and information management.
· A good eye for newsworthy content – the ability to identify, write and illustrate engaging content for our members and the wider voluntary sector in all forms of media.
· Great written English and an ability to write compelling content in the form of articles and blog posts for a variety of audiences.
· Great editorial skills – attention to detail and the ability to know when articles need to be tweaked or rewritten.
· A reasonable understanding of Search Engine Optimisation.
· An understanding of how databases work and willingness to support the administration of the Nova database.
· Ability to deliver training on communications related material in conjunction with another Nova Adviser.
· Excellent organisational skills.
Other
· A willingness to undertake further training as appropriate and to adopt new procedures as and when required.
· Willingness to learn and keep up with communications and media trends.
Desirable
· Experience of managing an organisation's online profile.
· Experience of working with CRM databases and using Excel.
· Experience of working with Mailchimp.
· Project management, ideally in website, software implementations.
· Experience of working in an infrastructure organisation in the third sector.
· Knowledge and understanding of the political, economic and social context in Wakefield District.