- Location: Australia wide
- Term: permanent
- Full-time (0.8 FTE will be considered for the right applicant)
- Remuneration: SCHADS Level 5-6: $88,400 – $102,450 + 10.5% super + 17.5% Annual Leave Loading
- First Nations peoples are particularly encouraged to apply
Job title: Senior Media and Communications Specialist – Fundraising, Marketing and Communications
Reporting to: Head of Marketing and Media
Download the position description:
We are looking for an experienced media and communications professional to take our strategic communications to the next level.
The organisation
Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) is the leading environmental law practice in the Australia Pacific Region delivering legal solutions for peoples, nature and our climate. We have a big vision which is a world where nature thrives. We’ve got big ambition about the role we can play in delivering that vision and we’ve got an incredible team across the country working to achieve it.
We are dedicated to protecting our climate, communities and shared environment by providing access to justice, running ground-breaking litigation and leading law reform advocacy. Over our 30-year combined history we’ve developed a formidable track record of empowering communities and delivering effective protection of the environment through legal services.
As the region’s legal experts in our field, we aim to be a brave, unified, and focused team, committed to inclusion and excellence in all that we do. We strive to be a diverse and inclusive workplace supporting a highly skilled, engaged, and effective team, where everyone can feel that they belong.
The opportunity
We are looking for an experienced media and communications professional to take our strategic communications to the next level. Working within our Fundraising Marketing and Communications team, you will devise and execute multi-faceted strategies to launch key legal cases and law reform initiatives, while proactively seeking opportunities that build brand equity and share of voice for our priority areas of work.
You will work in concert with our marketing and content specialists to develop campaigns that support our brand and fundraising objectives. You will collaborate with a wide range of external stakeholders to plan and roll out high-impact media campaigns. You will utilise PR tools to build comprehensive distribution lists and evaluate our impact. You will advise legal teams on where, when and how to promote their work.
Candidate profile
You are passionate about media. You read the news headlines every morning and keep across developments throughout the day. You understand the media landscape in Australia and have a well-honed instinct for what stories appeal to journalists and what is and isn’t news. You know how to pitch stories for national, international, rural or specialist outlets and can produce high-quality media releases that catch the attention of editors. You have a well-established list of journalist contacts and the ability to nurture new relationships with key reporters.
You have worked in a newsroom or fast-paced NGO environment and can work quickly and effectively to deadlines. You thrive on the speed of the news cycle, while understanding the importance of accuracy and attention-to-detail in everything you produce. You can take detailed, technical case outlines and turn them into gripping headlines. You can spot opportunities to generate stories which build brand equity and the profile of our lawyers and experts. You have strong people skills and the ability to build trusting relationships with clients and stakeholders including First Nations communities. You have a strong commitment to EDO’s mission and values. You are a champion of Justice, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion.
Key selection criteria
Core skills
- A minimum of five years’ experience in a newsroom and/or a busy PR or media relations role.
- Ability to devise and execute impactful media and strategic communications campaigns.
- Demonstrated ability to build brand equity through earned media.
- A well-established media contact list and the ability to build strong relationships with clients and stakeholders.
- Excellent news sense and understanding of the media landscape in Australia.
- Demonstrated ability to work productively, accurately and creatively to deadlines.
- Ability to improve earned media systems and processes.
- Ability to use industry tools to distribute media releases and evaluate campaign performance.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills and the ability to produce compelling communications materials for a range of audiences.
- An understanding of how earned media interacts with owned media and the ability to consider both in your work.
- Strong problem-solving skills and ability to make sound judgements and decisions based on consideration of different views.
- A demonstrated commitment to the values of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Desirable skills
- Experience working collaboratively with First Nations peoples and communities.
- Experience or understanding of the international media landscape.
- Digital marketing, web and/or social media skills.
Personal qualities and cultural competency
- A champion of the EDO values
- Strong initiative and self-motivation
- Commitment to the protection of human rights and the environment
- A strong sense of ethics and understanding of professional obligations
- Demonstrated awareness of and sensitivity to the needs and concerns of First Nations and peoples from diverse cultures, backgrounds and orientations in both the delivery of our work and our internal culture
- Demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative and team-based environment
Our culture and benefits
- We care deeply about creating a workplace where our team members feel valued, respected, and empowered. We are committed to providing equal opportunity regardless of gender identity, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, or life stage.
- The chance to be part of the largest environmental legal practice in the Australia-Pacific
- A very flexible and family-friendly workplace
- Option to work from home and the office
- 8 weeks paid parental leave, regardless of gender or carer status
- 15 days personal/carer’s leave
- 10 days paid family and domestic violence leave
- 3 days paid cultural leave
- Extra leave over the Christmas period
- Access to Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
- Ongoing professional development opportunities
- EDO proudly has a JEDI (Justice, Equality, Diversity, Inclusion) Committee and a Mental Health Ambassador Committee, and has developed a First Nations Indigenous Peoples Program with the aid of indigenous-led consultancies.
Our values
Commitment – We are committed to; a united organisation, to each other, to collaboration, to justice, to our communities and to creating a world where nature thrives.
Diversity – We are respectful of and welcome diversity of staff, volunteers, offices, environmental regions, communities, stakeholders.
Integrity – We work effectively, efficiently, strategically, professionally, and ethically; “justice is in our nature”.
Vision – We lead change and environmental empowerment using innovation, creativity, and courage.
How to apply
All offers of employment may be subject to satisfactory background checks including a National Police Check, disclosure of previous or current disciplinary action, referee checks, proof of eligibility to work in Australia and qualification checks.
EDO particularly encourages applications from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, workers of all ages, people living with disability and people who identify as LGBTQIA+.
Applications must include a CV and a letter that clearly addresses each of the selection criteria. Applications which do not address the key selection criteria will not be considered.
Applications close on Monday 22 August 2022 .
Applications should be emailed to [email protected] with ‘Application for position of Senior Media and Communications Specialist’ in the subject line.
