Are you a great team player with a penchant for penning press releases and a passion for bringing about change for a social cause? Then join Shelter as a Senior Media Officer and you could soon be playing a vital role as part of our fight to end the housing emergency.

About Shelter
A home is a fundamental human need, as essential as education or healthcare. Yet millions of people across Britain struggle on a daily basis with homelessness, bad housing conditions, soaring rents, discrimination and the threat of eviction. So, we are striving for change, with individuals, in communities, across society, and leading the way to a safe home. We need ambitious, best-in-class individuals who are passionate about our cause to join us at this exciting time. This is your chance to play a part in the fundamental change we are striving to achieve.

At Shelter we are united by our purpose to defend the right to a safe home. Our enemy is the social injustice at the core of the escalating housing emergency. We believe that to win that fight, we must be representative of the people we are here to help and those who support our movement for change. In all our people decisions, we take pride in being inclusive, fair, equitable and transparent.

We have committed to combat racism both within and outside Shelter and welcome you on our journey to becoming a truly anti-racist organisation.

About the team
Operating in a fast-paced, high pressure environment, our media team is constantly responding to emerging news stories. We have to react quickly too. Sometimes that means pulling a group of key stakeholders together and getting our message out within the hour. Our work needs to be top-notch as Shelter’s reputation is at stake. But despite profile and speed of our work, we’re a really friendly, open team where your input, ideas and questions will be welcomed. A place where you needn’t be afraid to put your point across or challenge the status quo. We’ve achieved some great results too, with our most recent success being getting the law around evictions changed during the pandemic. In short, no matter what we’re faced with, we get things done.  

About the role
A unique opportunity to join a high performing team with a heritage of ground-breaking campaigns, you’ll play a key role in the day-to-day running of a busy press office, including deputising for the Media Manager when required and line managing a colleague. Developing and implementing a range of proactive media campaigns in support of our organisational strategy will be an important part of the role too. What’s more, there will be an element of community-based work involved, including liaising with, and upskilling, our community fundraisers and organisers who may want to write their own press materials and chat to local reporters. As such, you’ll work closely with Shelter Hubs as part of our ‘Hubs as a base for change’ strategy, which aims to give the hubs more responsibility and autonomy at a local level. And, because this is a new area for us, you’ll need to build relationships and quickly earn trust with a variety of individuals and groups working across the organisation.

We are happy to talk about flexible working, personal growth, and to promote a workplace where you can be yourself and achieve success based only on your merit.

About you
A natural when it comes to storytelling, your experience of working in a busy press office, PR agency or as a journalist has given you a good understanding of the inner workings of the media. Specifically, you have a firm grasp of what journalists and producers are looking for, what makes something newsworthy, and how to land high-impact coverage. As comfortable speaking to a local journalist in Bristol as you are contacting the social affairs editor of Channel 4 News, you’ll know how to tailor your pitch accordingly.

Extensive knowledge of media tactics and techniques (traditional, digital, video, photography, podcasts etc) is essential. Your communication skills will be second to none and you’ll be comfortable with translating complex research and policy into pithy soundbites and key messages. You’re used to thinking on your feet, managing a busy workload and working to tight deadlines. You also know what it takes to support, enable and motivate others, have a keen eye for risks and opportunities, and strong attention to detail. Finally, while prior knowledge of housing and homelessness is not a requirement, you must have a passion for social justice. There is a huge amount we need to achieve together.

Benefits
We offer a wide range of benefits, including 30 days of annual leave, enhanced family friendly policies, pension and interest free travel loans. Our employees also have access to a tenancy deposit loan, payroll giving, cycle to work scheme and an employee assistance programme.

Shelter helps millions of people every year struggling with bad housing or homelessness through our advice, support and legal services. And we campaign to make sure that, one day, no one will have to turn to us for help. We’re here so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.

To find out more about the role and the benefits of working for Shelter please visit our website. Apply to be part of our team and be the change you want to see in society.

Safeguarding is everyone's business. Shelter is committed to protecting the health, wellbeing and human rights of those we support, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. All our staff will be expected to observe professional standards of behaviour and conduct their work in line with our Safeguarding Policies.

Shelter does not accept unsolicited CVs from external recruitment agencies nor accept the fees associated with them.