Communications Assistant

Purpose of role: To maintain and grow the charity’s online communications
across digital platforms and support the team with office administration and event organisation
at Whitley Fund for Nature: an impactful fundraising and grant-giving wildlife conservation NGO
focused on supporting grassroots projects across the Global South.

Reports to: The Head of Communications with matrix management to the
Operations Manager

Place of work: Central London, with the option to work remotely up to 2 days
p/w

Contract: Full-time, permanent contract, working 5 days p/w

Salary: £29,900 p.a.

Deadline: 14th June (before end of day). Initial interviews will be targeted
for 24th June. Reasonable interview travel costs are eligible to be reimbursed.

Whitley Fund for Nature

Whitley Fund for Nature (WFN) is a UK-registered charity (www.whitleyaward.org no. 1081455) offering funding (Awards),
training and media profile to inspiring leaders of wildlife conservation projects across the
Global South. We support pragmatic, sustainable, and long-lasting work rooted in science and
community involvement. The charity funds projects directly and we remain in regular contact
with Award winners (grantees). WFN also raises awareness of the serious problems facing
wildlife, landscapes, climate, and people, through promoting the work of winners. We focus
support on nationals (leaders who were either born in the country where they work or have
gained nationality) and aim to help build the capacity of successful local NGOs and grassroots
work. We fund mainly in Africa, Asia, and Latin America where income is often hardest to access
and can have the biggest impact for people and biodiversity. Our funding is raised each year,
mainly from family foundations and trusts, as well as from individuals, corporates, and
international NGOs, with a current annual income of £2.6m/year. WFN is governed by a committed
trustee board. Our team is dynamic, passionate about our mission and ambitious. The charity
benefits from high profile support from Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, and Ambassadors Sir
David Attenborough, Kate Humble, Tom Heap, and Alastair Fothergill. Following the charity’s
30th anniversary in 2023, and in line with our ambition to raise £3m/year by 2025, we are
expanding our team to increase the amount of support we can provide to our growing network of
conservationists around the world and tell their stories.

The opportunity

“Saving our planet is now a communications challenge. We know what to do, we just
need the will” Sir David Attenborough. WFN is a fundraising and grant-giving
nature conservation charity. Established in 1993, we have channelled £23 million to 220
conservation leaders in 80 countries across the Global South, benefitting wildlife, landscapes,
and people. We are now seeking to expand the team in line with our activities by recruiting a
Communications Assistant to maintain and grow the organisation’s online communications across
digital and social media platforms and support the team with office administration and event
organisation. The post-holder should be keen to make a difference by working in a small team
across an impactful organisation. They should have demonstratable skills in online
communications and audience engagement, knowledge of wildlife conservation issues, experience
with event organisation and the ability to support a vibrant team to flourish. The
Communications Assistant will report to The Head of Communications with matrix management to
the Operations Manager, dividing their time by working on communications 3 days p/w and office
administration and charity events 2 days p/w. If you have a flair for communications, want to
help protect our planet and are seeking to gain first-hand experience working for a UK-based
conservation charity, then this could be the perfect role for you.

WFN’s Vision, Mission, and Values

Vision:

We envisage a future where communities and wildlife thrive together on a healthy
planet.

Mission:

To halt and reverse the loss of Earth’s biodiversity and wild places, working
alongside local people to create a future where communities and wildlife thrive together on a
healthy planet.

We achieve our mission by:

• Providing funding, recognition, and training to proven grassroots conservation leaders
  working across the Global South.
• Supporting the long-term growth and scale up of impactful conservation solutions backed by
  science.
• Raising the profile of conservationists’ work and their ability to effect positive
  environmental change.

Values:
Integrity – We act with integrity in all we do, fostering a culture that is
responsible, uplifting, transparent, inclusive, and unified in achieving our mission while
holding ourselves to the highest standards. We are accountable to the conservation leaders we
champion and to the partners who support us.

Science-driven – We support evidence-based conservation work across the Global
South that is informed by the latest science and founded on community involvement. We monitor
and evaluate the impact of our activities, publish our results, and use them to drive our
future actions.

Collaborative – We work collaboratively, actively seeking to partner and
exchange learnings with others who share our vision. We foster collaboration among our
international network of Whitley Award winning conservationists to enable the growth of proven
conservation solutions and nurture their ability to effect positive change.

Ambitious – We are ambitious; a pioneer in the field of funding grassroots
conservationists, we seek to continually move the dial for environmental protection. We
actively listen and respond to the needs of our award winners and think outside the box to
catalyse impact on the ground. We aim high, celebrate conservation success, and remain
optimistic about our future and the difference we can all make.

COMMUNICATIONS ASSISTANT – PERSONAL SPECIFICATION

Essential

• Demonstrable history of producing effective digital communications to engage audiences
  including across website and social media.
• Understanding of and interest in wildlife conservation.
• Experience of assisting with event organisation.
• Ability to support a small team with administrative tasks.
• Excellent writing skills.
• Confident webmaster/editor.
• Competency with basic video editing.
• Strong interpersonal qualities (interface with team members, trustees, media, donors,
  partners, suppliers, international grantees).
• A creative thinker with an eye for design, who can build timely campaigns and keep content
  fresh to increase engagement.
• Organised, with high levels of accuracy and attention to detail.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office – Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.
• Able to manage and prioritise a varied workload within deadline.
• Capable to work as part of team and on own initiative.
• Flexible ‘can do’ approach and will flourish in a small office environment.
• Willing to positively contribute to our team and culture by upholding our Values.

 Desirable

• Competency using a Salesforce database, WordPress & Mail Chimp.
• Experience using Canva and Hootsuite to aid with content creation and scheduling.

Additional details and benefits

• Attractive holiday package totalling 30 days p.a. plus bank holidays.
• Training and professional development opportunities provided.
• Opportunity to work from home 2 days p/w.
• The charity operates a Pension Scheme.

How to apply

• Send your CV and a covering letter explaining why you feel you would be right for this
  position and your motivation to: Kate Stephenson [email protected]
• Please indicate what your notice period, if any, would be in your letter.
• Please also send a signed copy of our Candidate Privacy Notice with your application (attached below).

This role is not eligible for UK Visa Sponsorship. Only applicants who have the right to work
in the UK at the time of application will be considered for this role.

Regrettably, due to limited resources and the high number of applications we receive, we are
only able to contact short-listed candidates. If you do not hear from us within four weeks of
the closing date, please assume that you have not been successful on this occasion.

Diversity and Inclusion
At WFN we are committed to developing an inclusive and diverse
organisation, in which everyone feels supported, valued, and able to
be their full selves. We celebrate and respect diversity in nature and among the
people and partners with whom we work. We need more people and
diversity across the environment sector, and to achieve our
vision. We are therefore particularly keen to receive applications
from Black, Asian or minority ethnic; disabled; LGBTQ+; or from lower socio-economic
backgrounds. As a small organisation we are committed to progress and continued
development across DE&I. Please contact us to discuss any additional
support you may need to complete your application. Applications are considered solely
on your demonstrated suitability for the role.