Senior Digital Communications Specialist (Maternity Cover)

Hours: Full time, part time will be considered (minimum 60% FTE)

Reporting to: Lead Communications Specialist

Start date: Commencing in the new year

 

About us:

We are Reading Room, an award-winning digital consultancy. For over 20 years, we’ve provided insight, strategy, digital solutions and communications that help businesses to deliver better digital experiences. 

Our impressive portfolio spans public sector brands such as NHS Health Education England and MHRA, to membership organisations like British Society of Haematology, Unite the Union, UK Coaching and FIGO, to charities such as Mates in Mind and Teenage Cancer Trust, to travel companies such as Aspire Executive Lounges and Riviera Travel, and commercial enterprises such as Royal Mail Marketreach and Circle Health – to name just a few. 

We’re proud to be part of a wider digital group, Rippleffect, which includes global market research business - RONIN International.  

 

The Opportunity

Reporting directly to our Lead Communications Specialist, you will sit alongside our Digital Communications Executive as part of the Reading Room digital marketing and communications team. This role sits between day-to-day content generation, and supporting the Lead Communications Specialist in the creation of proposals for new client work or strategic data analyses.

You will have the opportunity to work with consumer, non-profit and public sector brands, helping them understand the communications needs of their audiences and designing evidence-based digital communications strategies.

You will also get stuck into day-to-day delivery work, such as content writing, managing social profiles, and running email marketing campaigns.

This role will suit someone who is a confident and experienced communications specialist or content strategist, looking for an opportunity to quickly progress into a more senior position. This position is a great medium between supporting the Lead Communications Specialist in strategy and client growth opportunities, and overseeing the day-to-day content outputs of the Communications Executive on client retainer work.

 

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

• Conducting content and social media audits, workshops, audience research, and trends analyses.  
• Conducting analyses from communication data, extracting actionable insights in order to develop communication strategies & recommendations to clients.
• Planning and executing digital campaigns involving content marketing, social media, and email marketing, as well as supporting the agency’s own marketing activity.
• Writing editorial content such as articles, guides, features, and social media posts.
• Developing creative briefs, working with our project managers and the Design team.
• Producing monthly reports and representing the Comms team on status calls.
• Coordinating effectively with other members of the team and with the client, ensuring work is quality checked and delivered on time.
• Providing consultation and strategic advice to clients.
• Mentoring team members and helping them to upskill.
• Providing input on proposals and attending pitches, when required.
• Supporting the back-end delivery of our internal email marketing white-listed platform.

 

About you

The ideal candidate will have solid experience working in a marketing, content or communications strategy & management, ideally within agency. With key skills such as an eye for detail, data-interpretation and an awareness of trends in the digital communications sector. You will be well-versed in balancing creative and strategic thinking.

You will have extensive, adaptive writing ability (particularly with B2B and consumer topics) and a proven track record in delivering multi-channel digital communications that produce measurable results.

Required:

• Hands-on experience in planning and delivering multi-faceted digital communications such as website content, social media, content marketing, and email marketing.
• Excellent data handling and interpretation skills, with the ability quickly adapt to reporting processes and platforms, and the ability to extract actionable insights from large communication data sets (particularly on social media platforms).
• Able to evaluate client situation then provide recommendations on communications strategy and tactics (based on sound rationale) that will achieve objectives set.
• Excellent written and verbal communicator with strong attention to detail, and experience adapting communication style to tone of voice or a variety of audiences.
• Able to develop knowledge of specialist subjects quickly and adapt creative thinking to suit a variety of topics, interests, and sectors.
• Understand how digital communications integrates with and supports a marketing strategy.
• A confident communicator, able to convey ideas and plans to clients, internal teams, and senior-level staff effectively.
• Able to work collaboratively with other teams and individuals to develop effective solutions.
• Exceptional organisational skills and experience in managing and prioritising personal workflow.
• Comfortable in developing and maintaining relationships with clients and attend meetings with them.
• Able to produce clear and concise planning and report documents.
• Knowledge of digital measurement, metrics and reporting best practice.
• Proficient in use of MS Office software and web applications, particularly MS Excel for data handling and MS Powerpoint for reports and presentations.
• Experience keeping up to date with current trends and best practices in digital marketing with a strong focus on social media (LinkedIn, TikTok, X, Facebook and YouTube).

Nice-to-have:

• Experience using Google Analytics. 
• Experience using social listening tools.
• Experience using Looker Studio and Google Sheets.
• Experience using social media dashboards, management and analytics tools.
• Worked within an agency environment.
• Experience guiding and supporting more junior team members of a communications team.

 

What we offer...

• 25 days holiday (plus bank holidays) 
• Flexible working  
• Workplace nursery benefits scheme 
• A healthcare cash plan via Medicash 
• A Contributory Company Pension Scheme 
• Annual flu jabs and free eye tests 
• A range of social events throughout the year 
• Access to Sage Employee Benefits (inclusive of health and wellbeing benefits including video GP appointments, 1-2-1 counselling sessions, discounted groceries / gym membership and Cycle to work scheme 
• Unlimited access to coffee (or other drinks) in the office 

 

How to apply...

Interested? We’d love to hear from you!

Please send [email protected] your CV, and a few paragraphs, outlining why think you’d be a great fit for the role, by the closing date. 

We reserve the right to close this application before any closing date. 

Please be aware that we receive a wealth of applications for our vacancies and if you have not heard from us with two weeks of the closing date then your application has been unsuccessful. If you have any queries, then please contact us on [email protected].  

What to expect from the interview process: a first stage interview is for us to find out a bit more about each other and consider if it could be the right opportunity for you and your skills. The second stage is a short-written task that can be performed from home. There may be a final stage to meet with the Operations Director and/or another team member. 

We are not working with agencies at this stage.

Reading Room & Rippleffect Group is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce and everyone we work with, and eliminating unlawful discrimination. We base all our employment decisions on merit, job requirements and business needs. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative of all sections of society and our customers, and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best.