Communications Officer

About GDI Hub

The Global Disability Innovation Hub (GDI Hub) is a research and practice centre driving disability innovation for a fairer world.

Our vision is of a world without barriers to participation and equitable opportunity for all. We believe disability innovation is part of a bigger movement for disability inclusion and social justice. More than a product, a service or policy, disability innovation is a way of thinking to address disability challenges by co-designing solutions and sharing knowledge. We are solutions-focused experts in, Assistive & Accessible Technology, Inclusive Design, Inclusive Education Technology, Climate & Crisis Resilience and Cultural Participation. We stimulate entrepreneurship by developing bold approaches, partnerships and ecosystems to accelerate change.

We work across 5 domains, disrupting current ideas and practice by bring together new partnerships to overcome the barriers that exclusion and poverty creates in relation to disability.

• Research: creating new knowledge, solutions and products
• Innovation: growing inclusive innovation ecosystems
• Programmes: testing what works
• Teaching: learning and sharing knowledge
• Advocacy: evidence-based outreach

Based in East London and a legacy of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, we deliver world-class research, ideas and inventions, creating new knowledge, solutions and products, and shaping policy through co-creation, participation and collaboration. GDI Hub is composed of an Academic Research Centre (ARC) led by University College London (UCL) and a Community Interest Company (CIC) and is guided by an Advisory Board of disabled people. We currently have a diverse portfolio of work with a value of around £50million, are operational in 35 countries having reached 21 million people since launching in 2016.

GDI Hub values inclusion as a core business success factor. We actively seek to attract employees from diverse backgrounds and particularly welcome applications for this role from disabled people and people from all cultural and faith backgrounds. The role is offered on flexible terms, including location and hours of work (though right to work in the UK is required), and the accommodation of reasonable adjustments is business as usual for us.

Role Purpose

This role will sit within the Advocacy and Engagement Team, which is dedicated to increasing GDI Hub’s influence and impact around the world and the realisation of rights for disabled people. This role is critical in helping the lessons and evidence we collect reach the hearts and minds of people able to make change, from policymakers, Disabled People’s organisations and institutions, to the general public.

The Communications Officer will focus on five key areas:

• Communications, Engagement, Events and Campaigns (approx. 60 %)
• Stakeholder Engagement (approx. 10%)
• Media and Press (approx. 10%)
• Marketing and Branding (approx. 10%)
• Reporting, newsletters, and Internal Communications (approx. 10%)

More information on these focus areas is detailed in the section below.

Responsibilities

Communications, Engagement, Events and Campaigns

• Preparation of communications materials (proposals, brochures, infographics, factsheets, presentations, website content and corporate publications such as the Annual Review and newsletters).
• Creation of engaging copy, campaigns, and other assets ready for sign-off, which enable GDI Hub to achieve its ambitious targets
• Ad hoc research to support the advocacy and engagement teams activities
• Provide design support for GDI Hub project activities, generating engaging content
• Aid in the maintenance of the family of GDI Hub websites.
• Support in increasing social media footprint and influence, which includes content scheduling, idea creation, engagement with followers, influencers, partners and other organisations
• · Support events with communication, marketing, and PR related activities
• Actively contribute to idea creation sessions for online campaigns and other engagement activities, bringing insight, creativity and innovative solutions
• Communicating complex information simply and clearly to produce insightful content for a variety of channels and audiences.
• Work with colleagues and partner to collect case studies and photographs from projects and stores and catalogue these.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Support events by proactively engaging with stakeholders from a variety of background on complex topics
• Engage with potential partners, potentially over the phone, to schedule meetings, provide follow-ups, aiding in relationship building for engagement purposes

Media and Press

• Support the team in collating press contacts, proactively engage journalists and enable long-term relationships
• Monitor media mentions
• Spot opportunities for press releases and draft copy

Marketing and Branding

• Support project, academic and consultancy teams remain in-line with branding guidelines, with specific attention given to GDI Hub’s donor funded programmes

Reporting, newsletters, and Internal Communications

• Collate data from websites, social media platforms and other engagement activities in order to report impact
• Contribute to newsletters, which collate successes and areas of interest to go to stakeholders within the UK and internationally
• Support internal members of the team to use our agreed messages and positions

Experience and Qualifications

• 2 – 4 + years of communications, content development and/or stakeholder engagement experience, preferably within the disability or international development sector
• The ability to create engaging copy that can influence, as well as strong editing and proofing skills
• Confident telephone manner, able to create relationships and advocate for a position
• Experience of working with journalists, media outlets and external communications department
• Experience of briefing and managing relationships with external agencies and freelancers, in particular briefing editors, designers and printers
• Excellent knowledge of social media, digital platforms, digital campaigns, and web content best practice
• Strong database skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to liaise and communicate with colleagues at different levels of seniority, from different cultures and teams, with successful outcomes
• Experience of politics, campaigns, media relations, external relations and international development would be an advantage
• Strong IT and design skills, with excellent knowledge and experience of Microsoft Office applications (MS Word and PowerPoint in particular) and DTP (Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator).
• Strong organisational skills and the ability to manage and prioritise tight and often conflicting production schedules.

Role Competencies

Skills and abilities

• Proactive, self-motivated, committed and enthusiastic
• Able to communicate complex ideas and sell them to others
• Excellent communication skills including and publicly facing outputs
• Excellent ICT skills (Office365, incl. Excel, SharePoint, Teams, etc.)
• High degree of integrity and ability to operate in a politically sensitive environment
• Awareness or experience of disability and related sectors
• Project Management abilities
• Results and achievement focused
• Awareness of accessibility
• Foreign languages are an asset
• Political awareness in UK and globally is advantageous

Personal style and behaviour

• Pro-active problem solver
• Practical and pragmatic
• Likes working as part of a small, energetic team
• Creative and organisational leadership
• Integrity and inclusive behaviours
• Able to work independently, prioritise and work to tight deadlines
• High degree of professionalism
• Excellent presentation and communication skills
• Approachable and amiable