The Behavioural Insights Team is a global social impact consultancy that has spearheaded the application of behavioural insights to social challenges. Nesta is the UK’s innovation agency for social good, working to design, test and scale solutions to the challenges of climate change, obesity, and school readiness.
For over a decade, the Behavioural Insights Team and Nesta have worked at the frontier of social change and in December 2021, BIT was acquired by Nesta. This role is part of a group communications team employed by Nesta that supports both organisations, but which is solely focused on BIT.
About the role
As the Senior Manager for Strategic Communications at BIT, you will use marketing and communications to plan and deliver activities that are directly in support of BIT’s social impact and business goals. Please note that this role will be formally employed by Nesta and subject to Nesta terms and conditions.
You will provide professional guidance to BIT on all marketing and communications issues, and act as a trusted partner to senior staff across the organisation. This might, for example, mean working strategically with our business areas to establish how marketing and communications can support their growth and development priorities, then managing the delivery of communications activities that support their goals. Or it might mean advising our global leadership team on how best to build BIT’s brand through a programme of thought leadership activity and coordinating the rollout of thought leadership campaigns.
This is a demanding role, using communications to deliver on a range of objectives, from generating leads for new business in target sectors to targeting policymakers with insights and recommendations from BIT’s research. It combines overseeing the tactical delivery of communications activities with the strategic planning and development needed for impactful communications.
Key to success is the ability to form strong and productive working relationships with people across BIT, Nesta and beyond; an approach that combines strategic thinking with the creativity and flexibility to move fast and jump on opportunities for communications as and when they present themselves; the organisational skills needed to stay abreast of all the work happening across BIT globally and project manage communications campaigns effectively; the insight to recognise what is newsworthy and help the organisation leverage its content to best effect; and the gravitas required to land expert strategic communications advice among senior leaders.
Responsibilities:
- Develop and coordinate the delivery of best-in-class integrated marketing and communications plans and campaigns for BIT’s business areas aimed at (1) raising the brand profile and reputation of BIT among target audiences; (2) communicating the results of BIT’s research to diverse stakeholders to maximise the reach and impact of our work; and (3) supporting business development priorities
- Lead the design and delivery of thought leadership strategies and tactical plans, encompassing BIT’s policy priorities and ensuring they align with the business’s overall strategy and vision
- Work with internal teams such as media and events to build and execute plans, ensuring activities are delivered to agreed process, with appropriate coordination, on time, on budget and meet high standards for quality and impact
- Act as expert advisor to the global leadership team on all matters relating to communications
- Work collaboratively with BIT’s Global Leadership Team, the Group Executive Director for Communications and the Group Head of Media and Marketing on all aspects of reputation management
- Work collaboratively with a variety of internal stakeholders across BIT and the central communications team to ensure visibility and buy-in to communications and marketing plans and resource and support required to deliver
- Have an overview of all of BIT’s external communications activity, taking responsibility for the smooth planning and delivery of all work, ensuring the highest standards of accuracy and effectiveness of all outputs and activities, and that BIT’s owned channels are of the highest standards of quality and effectiveness
Skills and experience
- A strong track record of developing, delivering and leading the delivery of strategic multichannel marketing strategies and plans, using marketing as part of business development and lead generation
- Demonstrable understanding of social, political and economic trends and market conditions to provide strategic communications advice to senior staff
- Deep knowledge and proven understanding of communications functions (media, marketing, events, campaigns, editorial, content development, digital platforms) and how they be applied as part of a integrated marketing or communications approach in the pursuit of a communications objective
- An exceptional and experienced strategic thinker, with proven ability to think quickly, digest large amounts of information and consult and advise quickly on communications options and tactics across the communications mix
- Strong interpersonal and collaboration skills, with the ability to work with and support multiple teams efficiency and effectively
- A flair for communicating clearly, concisely and persuasively, verbally and in writing, with proven ability to translate complex policy conclusions into clear, accessible and effective communications products
- A highly effective project manager, who can plan and deliver against multiple projects and priorities at the same time, keeping work on track and ensuring clear communication across internal teams so all parties know what they are required to do and when they need to do it
What Nesta offer
Salary: £60.5k-£73k plus array of benefits, including private medical insurance, dental insurance, the ability to buy and sell annual leave, eyecare vouchers and more
Location: This role is based in Blackfriars, London, hybrid working arrangement with a minimum of two days in the office
Term: Permanent
Hours: This is a full-time role but we offer a range of flexible working arrangements and encourage our people to take advantage of them. Many do.
Reports to: Group Executive Director for Communications
Line management: None (Dotted line responsibility for the Communications Executive, BIT)
Making an application
To apply for this role, please submit your application before 8:00am on the 13th of November 2023.
Interviews will take place w/c the 20th of November 2023.
At Nesta, we believe that a diverse workforce leads to an organisation that is more innovative, more creative and gets better results.
We want our workforce to represent the diversity of the people and communities we serve. We also want our workplace to be one where different experiences, expertise and perspectives are valued, and where everyone is encouraged to grow and develop.
This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful.
We recognise the importance of a good balance between work and home life, so we do everything we can to accommodate flexible working, including working from home, compressed or part-time hours, job shares and other arrangements.
Please just let us know in your application or at any stage throughout the process (and beyond) if these are options you’d like to explore.
