Senior Press Officer

Senior Press Officer

Job Type Permanent

Location Central London (Bloomsbury)

Salary £38 - £40k with excellent benefits including 25 days holiday, private healthcare, leisure travel insurance, gym subsidy, interest-free season ticket loan and cycle-to-work scheme

Hours 35 hours per week; hybrid working option

Do you want to work on some of the biggest issues affecting in the UK, representing many of the nation’s largest and best-known brands? We’re looking for an ambitious and proactive Senior Press Officer to join the Food and Drink Federation team. From health, innovation and sustainability, through to food security, trade, and economic growth, we’re looking for someone to help us with our work raising the profile and maintaining the positive reputation of the UK’s largest manufacturing industry.

Key responsibilities

• Working with the Head of Media Relations, play a central role in the FDF Press Office, ensuring our positions on key issues are well represented in the media
• Proactively develop news stories that cut through – with a focus on supporting our key policy aims and highlighting the importance of the food and drink manufacturing industry to the UK
• Build strong relationships with trade, national, broadcast and specialist journalists, including briefing them on proactive and reactive issues
• Write press releases, reactive statements, feature articles, and messaging documents
• Support colleagues ahead of media appearances, podcasts, briefings and roundtables
• Provide advice and counsel for colleagues, FDF members, and committees on media issues
• Ensure the smooth running of the press office by owning our key processes, including keeping databases, licenses, contacts lists, and monitoring processes up to date
• Help to share our success by creating reports for internal colleagues and FDF members to showcase the Press Office’s work
• Build relationships with members and external stakeholders
• Keep abreast of the news agenda by monitoring the media, including social media and develop a strong understanding of key topics affecting FDF
• Deputise for the Head of Media Relations in their absence, including chairing meetings with relevant teams
• Take part in the out-of-hours on call rota for the FDF Press Office

Requirements

You will have:

• Significant experience working in a frontline media role, either in-house or in an agency
• A passion for all things media, with a natural love for following the news agenda
• A strong sense of what makes a good story, with examples of proactively generating news coverage
• Hands on experience with national, trade, and broadcast journalists
• Solid writing skills, able to write for different styles an audiences, from proactive press releases to reactive lines
• A curious mindset, with the ability to quickly get to grips with complex topics and contentious issues, acting as an advocate for our industry
• The ability to work at pace in a busy press office, managing your workload depending on changing priorities – staying calm under pressure
• Strong communications skills, being comfortable briefing, advising, and influencing colleagues and external stakeholders at all levels
• Lots of ideas and fresh thinking, proactively suggesting PR tactics that will support our business strategy
• A keen eye for detail
• A collaborative mindset, happy working with and pitching in to support other teams and supporting the development of junior colleagues

Our Workplace

We’re based in the heart of central London in a modern, bright open-plan office. We have a friendly work culture with great break-out spaces, quiet booths and opportunities for flexible-working. Our ‘Feel Good for Life’ team regularly organises events and activities to promote positive health and wellbeing.

Closing date: 31st October 2024, 5:30pm

To apply, please send us your CV and salary expectations, with a covering note illustrating why you’d be a great candidate to recruitment@fdf.org.uk

Due to the high number of applications, we are unable to get back to everyone. Only successful applicants will be contacted.

FDF operates as an equal opportunities employer and we welcome all applications regardless of gender, marital status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, race, colour, ethnic origin, nationality, religion/beliefs, disability and age.