Marketing Communications Officer
Contract:Â 12-month FTC
Working Hours: 37 per week
Salary: £32,909 – £33,820 (currently under evaluation) per annum plus out-of-hours payment for press cover
Location: Service Headquarters – Kelvedon Park
*We are open to discuss working arrangements including flexibility over hours and location
This role is a fixed-term opportunity. If the role is extended or made permanent, the extension or permanent position may be offered to the successful applicant ahead of any further recruitment process / If the role is made permanent, a further recruitment process will be required.
The Role
We’re looking for a Marketing Communications Officer to join Essex County Fire and Rescue Service on a 12-month fixed term contract (with the possibility to extend).
Our mission is to make Essex a safe place to live, work and travel, and when they’re done right the safety campaigns we run help to change people’s behaviour and make a real difference to our communities.
We need a brilliant communicator who can produce engaging communications across a wide-range of print and digital media for all our audiences.
Our team is always open to trying new channels and marketing ideas, so this is an exciting opportunity for a communications professional with a broad skillset and lots of ideas. If you’re news savvy, social media confident, a storyteller and good at targeting your messages to different audiences, this could be the perfect role.
What You Will Be Working On
You’ll be a brand ambassador and a communications advisor to the rest of our Service. If you’ve got experience in campaign planning and evaluating that’s even better. You’ll be creating engaging content across our digital platforms, working with the press and media, and using your creativity to develop and deliver campaigns that help to make our communities safer. You’ll also play a key role with attracting diversity to our service through positive action recruitment initiatives.
As part of our 24/7 media service, you’ll also help report Service incidents to the press and the public via our website and social media.
Our people are our Service, and we all play a role in making Essex a safe place to live, work and travel. We know that for many of our support colleagues, there are various ways and places to work that can then lead to better delivery outcomes. That’s because, for some, work is something you do, not somewhere you go. So, we trust them to decide how, where and when they work, combining remote and collaborative working with a flexible approach.
If you have any questions about the role or the process please contact Marketing and Communication Manager, Verne Lewis – verne.lewis@essex-fire.gov.uk
What Are We Looking For?
No two days are the same; we need a fast-paced thinker and confident individual who works to high standards and challenging deadlines. Flexibility, a can-do attitude, and the ability to develop excellent collaborative relationship with partners will all be second nature.
The role is varied and interesting, with the opportunity to make a positive and meaningful contribution to the work of one of the UKs leading Fire and Rescue Services.
Eligibility
• Educated to degree level in a relevant discipline
• Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) or Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Diploma or Certificate and / or degree or professional qualification in public relations or equivalent is desirable
The Application Process
As excellent communicators, we would expect you to be able to articulate how you meet the essential requirements of the person specification as part of your application.
Application – Initially you will apply via our website by attaching supporting statement. Your supporting statement should be a maximum of 750 words showing us how you meet the essential criteria of the person specification for the role. We love it when our applications write thorough supporting statements so don’t be afraid to go into detail! This will give us a great understanding of your skills and experience and how well you fit the role.
If successfully shortlisted, you will be invited to take part in the following:
Presentation – we will ask you to prepare a presentation and present to the interview panel. The question for this will be set at least a week before the interview date.
Interview – The process will also include a panel interview
We are an equal opportunities, Disability Confident, employer who welcomes applications from everyone and values diversity in our workplace. A commitment to promoting diversity and developing a work environment where all staff are treated with dignity and respect is central to our recruitment process and all applications will be considered solely on merit.
As part of our offer to support all our candidates to perform to the best of their abilities during our recruitment and selection processes and we would like to let you know about a couple of support options you can access, should you wish to, including our employee forums, who are keen and willing to support all of our potential colleagues.
Our employee forums and partners include:
Asian Fire Services Association (AFSA), BEING (our LGBTQ+ employee support network), Christian Fellowship, Ethnic Minority Forum, Men’s Forum, and our Women’s Forum. In addition, we also have a female firefighters operational group.
Further to the above, the Service has a Digital Accessibility Inclusion Group (DAIG) that supports all colleagues to improve their digital skills and provides additional support and guidance to colleagues with neurodivergent strengths and struggles as a result of dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, dyspraxia etc. We want everyone to thrive at work, and so we encourage and enable people to access digital tools to help them perform at your best. The DAIG is a group of colleagues from across the Service that unite to support others as a result of their lived experience and desire to make a difference. They support people with a range of visible and invisible disabilities to identify and access digital workplace adjustments and solutions and may be able to assist with your application too.
Should you wish to discuss support, or access further information, from one of these groups, please contact equalitydiversity@essex-fire.gov.uk
You are also able to raise any queries or requests for support, including any adjustments you may require, at any stage of the process by email to recruitment@essex-fire.gov.uk
You can find out more about Essex County Fire & Rescue Service via www.essex-fire.gov.uk and about our vacancies, application processes and benefits via https://join.essex-fire.gov.uk
Our Culture and Benefits
Here at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service we are committed to prioritising and promoting the wellbeing of our employees. Some of our benefits include:
• Flexible working hours
• Remote working opportunities
• Wellbeing and counselling services
• Physiotherapy services
• Affiliation with the Blue Light Card scheme
• Generous annual leave
• Competitive pension scheme
• Career development opportunities
Closing Date – Tuesday, 7th February 2023 @ 5pm
Interview Date – TBC
About Us
Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
It is our policy to require all applicants for employment to disclose if you are currently being investigated by any regulatory body or have any decisions or sanctions pending or in progress in respect of your suitability to work for the Service.
You agree to inform the Service within 24 hours if you are subsequently investigated by any agency or organisation in relation to concerns about your behaviour towards children, young people or vulnerable adults.
The information you provide will be treated as strictly confidential and will be considered only in relation to the appointment for which you are applying.
We are an equal opportunities employer who welcomes applications from everyone and values diversity in our workplace. A commitment to promoting diversity and developing a workplace environment where all staff are treated with dignity and respect is central to our recruitment process. All applications will be considered solely on merit.
This role maybe subject to a standard/enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
