Vacancy Information
Division / Department - Media and Communications
Grade - Grade 11
Status - Full Time or Happy to Talk Flexible Working
Contract Type - Permanent
Salary Grade Range - £35,223 - £38,856
Working Hours - 37.0 Hours per Week
Shift Allowance -
Politically Restricted -
The starting salary for this role will usually be at the bottom of the salary range and will be pro-rata if the working hours are less than full time.
The Role
No two days are the same when working in our fast-paced, media and communications department. As part of a small team, you'll develop our social media activity to help us build our online presence and reputation; empowering colleagues to strengthen public engagement through digital storytelling.
As social media manager, you will help us take advantage of new opportunities within the social media landscape, identifying and exploiting trend within social and other digital channels to support our priorities - protecting communities, catching criminals, delivering an outstanding service - and increase trust and confidence in what we do.
In return you will join an award-winning team and start a career which can make a real difference to the people of Sussex. As well as a competitive salary, annual leave and pension, you will have access to a wide range of benefits including training and mentoring, discounts from some of the high streets biggest brands and various wellbeing services including discounted gym membership for our on-site gyms. While the role is based in Lewes, we have adopted hybrid working and you will therefore be able to spend time working from the office, working from your local police sites and also from home.
Key Responsibilities
- Support the development and implementation of a social media strategy, policy and guidance for Sussex Police, to include its optimum, ethical and legal use across the full range of Force communication channels, ensuring appropriate governance processes are in place, followed and monitored.
- Provide strategic and tactical content and story-telling direction to maintain and increase engagement with the force’s digital channels.
- Coach, encourage, measure and instil confidence and ability in our social media cohort to write communications that keep the public informed of our 24-7 policing response and realise the best possible policing outcomes.
- Review and evaluate analytics that measure critical success factors in social engagement across all communications activity, including the increase of public confidence and legitimacy in policing activities; contributing to the effectiveness of departmental and community engagement strategies, present and contextualise findings when required.
- Support the Head of Social Media in compliant operation of the force’s social media estate and data management in line with College of Policing Authorised Professional Practice (APP) guidance, NPCC guidance, force policy and direction and the terms and conditions of social media platforms.
- Directly and indirectly, via collaboration with other social content creators, write, plan and execute content strategy across social, including paid, ensuring high performing content tailored to platforms.
- Support the development of digital engagement skills across the business, including upskilling Media and Communications colleagues, through developing and providing training and coaching in social media best practice in person or online.
- Identify trends in digital and social communications innovation and best practice and using this to inform Force strategy and tactics.
- Be familiar with the major incident communications structure and be available to pivot into temporary roles as required.
- Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade and character of work as may be reasonably required, including specific duties of a similar or lesser graded post.
Skills & Experience
ESSENTIAL:
- Batchelor’s degree in a digital, media or communications discipline or relevant recent experience in a hands-on social media role.
- Recent and demonstrable experience in managing and producing high-end creative content for multiple social media channels in a business environment eg. Instagram, Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp, Twitter, Snapshat, LinkedIn, YouTube.
- Experience of managing paid advertising on social channels, including Facebook.
- Demonstrable skills in interpreting data analytics for multiple social media platforms, including Google Analytics Knowledge and application of the legal and regulatory environment across public information and social channels.
- Strong project management skills, an ability to work independently and prioritise a complex workload.
- Excellent online story-telling skills to adapt topics into engaging and high performing social and digital content, including as part of multi-channel communications strategies.
- Strong influencing and negotiating skills, with experience of advising colleagues and stakeholders working at all levels.
- Experience of using one or more social media management tools such as Orlo, Hootsuite or Tweetdeck.
- Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Officer, particularly Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
DESIRABLE:
- Digital marketing qualification e.g. CIM
- Good working knowledge of Adobe Photoshop Video / production experience – ability to film and edit multi-media content
- Experience of working in a policing or public sector environment
- Previous experience of client management systems and website editing
- Supervisory or team leadership experience
Further Information
We recognise that our people are balancing demanding careers with commitments and interests outside of work. We welcome applications and discussion with candidates who want to work full-time or part-time/flexible hours.
This role requires travel to meetings and locations across Surrey and Sussex. The post-holder must therefore have the ability to travel to these locations when required to do so. Where transport involves the use of police vehicles, you must have a full driving licence and the ability to attain a Force Police Driving Permit.
The postholder will be required to pass and maintain Sussex Police Vetting at the appropriate level, this may include enhanced vetting
For further information or an informal discussion please contact Clare Baldock (Head of Social Media - clare.baldock@sussex.police.uk)
Additional Information
Following submission of your application you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your application attached. Occasionally emails from this address can fall into spam/junk folders so please ensure this is checked regularly. You may wish to consider adding noreply@surreysussexpolice.as.recruitmail.com to your address/contact list to ensure you receive all communications.
This post is being advertised in parallel with Force redeployment processes. Any redeployees who are identified will be given preference. This may result in the post being withdrawn at any point during the recruitment process.
Please note that not all jobs are available for internal candidates across both Forces, the current agreed recruitment principles are;
- vacancies in collaborated units are available to all officers and staff across both Forces
- vacancies in non-collaborated units are only available to officers and staff within the Force with the vacancy unless it is advertised externally.
If the vacancy is advertised externally and an officer or member of staff from the other Force is success it will result in a transfer of employment
Surrey Police and Sussex Police Special Constables, Volunteers and Agency Staff (excluding self-employed workers) covered under the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) are eligible to apply for internal advertised posts.
Diversity Statement
We are only as good as our people. It's really important that our officers and staff can be themselves in the workplace and we know that as an organisation we'll grow from the variety of thinking, approach and skills that diversity brings; all of which help us deliver a better policing service. We strive to ensure how we deliver our services, provide information and how we recruit is open and accessible to all.
We have multiple staff support groups who help to improve our understanding of minority issues and ensure they are reflected in our work. We are proud members of the Stonewall Workplace Equality Index and Disability Confident, a signatory of the Race at Work Charter and aligned with the Armed Forces Covenant and the HeForShe movement.
We value the differences that people bring from all backgrounds and communities. Regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, disability, social status or religious beliefs, we would love to hear from you.