Affric Highlands Communications Officer

We are looking for a Communications Officer to support our landmark Affric Highlands initiative, a 30-year vision to restore nature on a grand scale across an area that stretches from Loch Ness to Kintail.

If you are a creative communicator with a passion for positive storytelling, then we would love to hear from you. Working alongside a supportive and collaborative marketing team, you’ll develop and deliver a communications strategy for Affric Highlands that shows how rewilding can support nature, people and livelihoods to flourish.

We are particularly interested to hear from people who are from, or have spent time in, the Affric Highlands area, with an awareness of the landscape and its history, and crucially, a passion for its future.

Interviews will be held via Zoom on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th April.

Trees for Life

Our vision is of a revitalised wild forest in the Scottish Highlands, providing space for wildlife to flourish and communities to thrive.

Our mission is to rewild the Scottish Highlands by enabling the restoration of the globally unique Caledonian forest which once covered much of Scotland. Integral to our success is the involvement of people.

Our values

Our values are at the core of our mission to rewild the Scottish Highlands, informing decisions large and small from the day-to-day running of our office to major conservation projects. We have shared these values so that our supporters, volunteers and partners can gain a deeper understanding of what drives Trees for Life.

We are groundbreaking

We are an ambitious charity with a big mission. For over 25 years we have sought to bring innovation to conservation, and we continue to strive for new and ground-breaking ways to rewild the Scottish Highlands.

We are collaborative

We are an open, friendly and cooperative organisation. We welcome and encourage collaborative working with other organisations, landowners and the wider community. We believe we can always achieve more through teamwork.

We are pragmatic

We seek prudent, sustainable solutions in everything we do. We are always mindful of our duty to our supporters, our volunteers, our staff and above all to Scotland’s wild forest. Seeking a pragmatic approach safeguards our organisation and the work we undertake.

Job Description

Overall purpose of the job

The Affric Highlands Communications Officer will lead communications and marketing for Affric Highlands - a collaborative rewilding initiative in the Scottish Highlands, which Trees for Life is leading in partnership with local stakeholders. Rewilding Europe is the initiative’s strategic delivery partner.

This quickly growing initiative now needs a dedicated communications professional to share its diverse ambitions and early achievements with new and existing audiences, including the community who live here. The candidate should be an excellent storyteller and relationship-builder, with a knowledge of the Affric Highlands landscape and history, and crucially, a passion for its future.

Key liaisons

The Affric Highlands Communications Officer will report directly to the Marketing and Media Coordinator, and will also work collaboratively with the Head of Fundraising and Marketing, and the Fundraising and Marketing Officer. They will also work closely with the Trees for Life Affric Highlands team, particularly its Team Leader. Another key liaison is with Rewilding Europe and its central communications team in the Netherlands.

Communications and marketing

• Develop a communications strategy for Affric Highlands, which includes a strategic analysis of key stakeholders and sets out clear goals, objectives and deliverables.
• Help build relationships with the initiative’s local partners and stakeholders, and source inspiring people-led stories.
• Design and develop new marketing collateral for Affric Highlands - including high-quality publications and event materials.
• Deliver the communications strategy by carrying out daily communication activities in coordination with the Trees for Life marketing team and Rewilding Europe communications team.
• Work with communications colleagues at Rewilding Europe and contribute an Affric Highlands perspective to their European communications activity.
• Develop and manage a new Affric Highlands website, and a suite of new social media channels.
• Support colleagues at Trees for Life and Rewilding Europe with writing and planning press releases that help communicate and promote the initiative, as well as preparing responses to media enquiries.
• Help organise and attend stakeholder and community engagement events.
• Provide regular reports on communications performance and use creative thinking skills to anticipate future requirements.
• Contribute to Trees for Life publications and publicity materials including our two primary supporter updates and newsletters, Trees News and Caledonia Wild, and the Trees for Life annual review.
• Build relationships with external photographers, videographers and other content creators to produce high-quality visual communication assets.

General

• Attend internal and external meetings as required, including those at other Rewilding Europe landscapes.
• Attend events to promote and increase support for Trees for Life as required.
• Contribute appropriate information for the Trees for Life website, social media and publications.
• Undertake any other duties commensurate with the accountabilities of the post.
• Develop an understanding of all areas of the organisation’s work and how it achieves its aims, objectives and values.

Person Specification

Overall, the postholder needs to be an organised and efficient professional, with strong communication skills to promote Affric Highlands to a diverse range of audiences.

Knowledge & Experience

• Experience working within a communications and/or marketing role
• A knowledge of rewilding, and its opportunities and challenges
• A knowledge of the Affric Highlands landscape, as well as its history, communities, challenges and opportunities

Skills & Competencies

• Excellent interpersonal skills with the ability to build good relationships and influence people from a wide range of backgrounds.
• Excellent written and copy editing skills.
• Strong visual skills, preferably with design and photography experience.
• Meticulous attention to detail.
• Great planning and organisational skills for a complex and diverse workload.
• Good time management skills.
• Efficient research skills.
• Knowledge of Wordpress, Adobe suite (Photoshop, InDesign, etc), using a CMS and Google Analytics

Personal Attributes

• Must be committed to the ethos and values of Trees for Life
• Genuine enthusiasm and a passion for nature conservation.
• Highly motivated and professional in approach.
• Team player – a readiness to work as part of a team and support colleagues.
• Positive attitude to taking the initiative.

Working conditions/ Special demands

• Willingness to be flexible and work occasionally out of normal hours and to travel.