Head of Communications
Salary: Banding Level 5 £45,000 - £50,000
Contract type: Permanent / Working hours: Full time
Location: Taunton, Somerset. Opportunity for hybrid working
The Head of Communications is a fundamental role within this wildlife charity.
The role is responsible for leading the development and coordinated delivery of the organisation's communications in line with the Wilder Somerset 2030 strategy. This includes identifying key audiences, crafting core messages, and selecting effective communication channels to raise awareness and understanding of the charity's work. The postholder will support staff across the organisation in achieving the strategy’s aims while managing a team of specialists and responding to emerging issues professionally and astutely.
Working across teams, the Head of Communications will develop and deliver an annual communications plan that meets the organisation's priorities.
Key Responsibilities and Tasks
Responsibility 1: Leadership & Cross Team Working
* Strategic Planning: Lead the development of the communications delivery plan and annual calendar, involving all areas of the charity, defining key audiences, messages and channels with the aim of increasing awareness and understanding of the organisation. Provide effective leadership and build strong working relationships with departments across the charity to ensure integrated communications plans and campaigns are developed and implemented to achieve the maximum impact with external audiences.
* Communications Delivery Plan: Effective coordination of both messages and activity – both reactive and proactive throughout the year. Including improvements with revised website navigation and architecture, SEO improvements and content targeted at priority groups, including use of video, and influencers.
* Senior Leadership Team: Be an active member of the Senior Leadership Team taking collective responsibility for decision making, risk and budget management across the organisation. Work with the Senior Leadership Team to ensure all communications effectively contribute to and support all strategic goals of the charity.
* Brand Marketing: Work with teams to improve our products and services and how these meet the needs of the charity's audiences, including working with focus groups (with co-creation when relevant).
* Building Capability: Coordinate providing support and training for all staff to achieve effective communications, which supports the organisation's overall brand and positioning, including mentoring the communications team.
* Systems & Processes: Maintain and develop systems for gathering information and communications planning within the Trust and from project partners.
Responsibility 2: Communications Delivery
* Line Management: Manage, support and develop a team of staff and volunteers to deliver the communications work programme, providing effective line management. Including the provision of specialist support and advice for the development of specific communication campaigns or tools across the organisation.
* Budgets: Ensure communication activity elsewhere in the organisation is produced within allocated budgets and timeframes.
* Performance: Set and manage KPIs and budget for communications programmes, monitoring and reporting performance and reforecasting in line with organisational requirements. Continuous improvement.
* Brand: Develop the charity's brand, ensuring a clear and distinctive brand proposition and engaging brand identity. Ensure the brand’s consistent use and monitor the link with the charity's strategy and values.
* Public Affairs: Oversee the PR and media relations (press office function), and act as a key charity spokesperson when required. Horizon scanning and being aware of emerging issues to develop opportunistic messages to optimise nature recovery actions.
* Crisis Management: Protect the organisation's reputation by ensuring the effectiveness of robust crisis management plans and the definition of clear policies and position statements.
* Design, Content & Print: Coordinate the Annual Report with teams and Trustees. Editor for the members’ magazine and print products to support membership retention and enable action for nature.
Responsibility 3: Campaigns for Change
* Strategic Campaign Planning: Work with policy, advocacy and engagement specialists to design campaigns that move people through the engagement funnel, change behaviour, influence policy, and improve supporter retention. Work with the Exec Team to set campaign objectives tied to clear outcomes: acquisition, activation, retention, behaviour change, policy influence, or income generation.
* Supporter Journeys & Segmentation: Map and optimise journeys across channels (email, web, social media, print, events) with named next steps that move people toward deeper engagement and action.
* Marketing Campaign Leadership: Own the strategic design of multi-channel marketing campaigns and provide clear briefs and creative direction to the delivery team. Ensure channel integration so website journeys, email, print content and social media activity are coordinated and measurable. Keep storytelling compelling while optimising for acquisition and action.
* Advocacy & Policy Campaigns: Work across teams to design campaigns to influence systems change by leveraging our data and evidence, combining public voice, stakeholder engagement and targeted advocacy tactics.
* Behaviour Change Campaigns: Work with engagement specialists to apply social marketing techniques and behavioural frameworks to shift norms and the adoption of actions for nature. Translate data and evidence into interventions that use communication tactics such as prompts, social proof, incentives and nudges to create measurable behaviour change.
The organisation offers some fantastic benefits including:
* 7% employer pension contribution
* Life assurance
* Flexible and agile working
* Wellbeing support – EAP, wellbeing champions
* Diversity networks
* Paid volunteer days
* Continuous Professional Development opportunities
* 33 days of holiday (25 + bank holidays) + Christmas shutdown
* Staff social calendar and events
* The opportunity to make a real and positive difference to nature, communities and the climate
Closing date: Monday 5th January 2026
Please note: The employer reserves the right to close the position early if application volumes are particularly high. They encourage you to get your application in sooner rather than later.
Interested?
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The organisation has an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Plan and are committed to continuing to improve the equality, diversity and inclusion of every aspect of their work; they know they need to engage with everyone to live their values and achieve their goals. They welcome applications from everyone and are happy to discuss any accommodations or arrangements that would make the recruitment process better for you, and the working environment should you be employed.
No agencies please.