The organisation:  

Ellwood Atfield is delighted to have partnered with The Vegan Society, the oldest vegan organisation in the world, to recruit for a Senior Media and Public Relations Officer on a full-time, permanent basis.

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This role offers a fantastic opportunity for those with passionate about the health, environmental, and ethical benefits of veganism to advocate for this within their communications and fundraising team, also working across the campaigns and policy to trademark and sales teams. The salary for this position is £31,586 to £32,115, with additional compensation as part of the on-call rota.

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The opportunity:

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The Senior Media and Public Relations Officer will act as one of the main spokespeople for The Vegan Society. As part of the Communications & Fundraising team, this key role will be responsible for planning media and PR campaigns and strategies, monitoring, and reacting to public and media opinion of The Vegan Society as well as writing all press releases, media releases and articles commissioned by newspapers and magazines.

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The Senior Media and PR Officer will arrange, manage and attend press launches, broadcast interviews, conferences, exhibitions and photo opportunities as required whilst maintaining and further developing good working relationships with the media to promote a positive image of The Vegan Society.

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The position is mainly remote, with the expectation of travel for meetings, business events,and away days in Birmingham or other locations in the UK as required.

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Main responsibilities

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• With the Head of Communications & the Communications & Supporter Services Manager, lead on developing and implementing The Vegan Society’s media and public relations strategy.
• Lead on generating ideas for press releases, news stories and other articles.
• Research, plan and present the society’s monthly podcast, “The Vegan Pod”.
• Proactively identify issues on which the society can comment, preparing a response in line with their policies.
• Prepare accurate and engaging written content for media releases.
• With the Head of Communications & the Communications & Supporter Services Manager, lead on regularly reviewing and implementing a crisis PR management strategy.
• Manage the administration of, and participate in, the out-of-hours press office rota.
• Proactively identify and develop relationships with relevant journalists, producers and editors.
• Work with Campaigns, Policy and Research and Commercial Services colleagues to identify and create media opportunities to gain coverage for The Vegan Society in print and broadcast media.
• Act as the main contact for all media enquiries, including acting as one of the main spokespeople in broadcast interviews.

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Person specification:

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• Relevant experience in a similar role, with a demonstrable track record as a Media/PR officer, journalist, or PR Advisor, and experience managing media and PR campaigns
• Experience of writing copy
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Strong knowledge of veganism, the vegan movement, and related issues eg. environmental and/or animal issues within the EU
• Willingness to travel as required and undertake on-call rota duties
• Ideally, qualified to degree level (or equivalent) in a relevant subject or working towards a relevant qualification

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Benefits:

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• Salary: £31,586.00 to £32,115.00
• 28 days’ leave + 8 public bank holidays pro-rata (25 days annual leave and 3 closure days)
• Ethical pension scheme (5-7% employer contribution)
• Flexible working hours
• Employee Assistance Programme and health cash-back scheme
• Animal companion compassionate leave
• Death in service benefit

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How to apply:

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To apply, please submit the form below and include a copy of your CV. 

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Closing date: 17^th February 2025

Ellwood Atfield is the leading headhunters for corporate affairs, communications, policy, and advocacy. An employee-owned boutique search firm, we help you hire the most senior leaders and everyone who reports to them. We promise to connect talented people, smoothly and efficiently.

Our purpose is to create important and enduring relationships. We are an equal opportunities employer and promote diversity across our profession to ensure every individual has the opportunity to perform at their best. If you have not done so already, please let us know if you require any support so we can make the right adjustments and considerations should they be required.