Health Media Officer

HEALTH MEDIA OFFICER

Salary: £29,750 - £31,000 per annum

Reports to: Health Media Press Officer

Department: Policy, Information and Communications

Location: Stratford, London with high-flexibility (1-2 days per week in the office)

Employment type: Permanent

Working hours: Full time 35 hours per week (Compressed Hours available)

Closing date: 07 March 2023, 23:55

At Cancer Research UK, we exist to beat cancer.

We are professionals with purpose, beating cancer every day. But we need to go much further and much faster. That’s why we we’re looking for someone talented, someone who shares our vision, someone like you.

Are you looking for that next step in your career? We are looking for someone to project manage their own national media campaigns and support our work influencing the Government on cancer policies so that cancer patients can live longer lives and benefit from new research breakthroughs and innovation.

As a Health Media Press Officer you’ll be joining our busy press office and a talented and supportive team who are passionate about what they do. Plus you’ll collaborate with colleagues in policy, public affairs, health information, evidence and stats who will help you to make national headlines throughout the year.

In your role, you will find creative ways to support our policy calls and communicate about the next big health breakthroughs, while supporting the charity’s cancer prevention, health awareness and public health policy activities. You’ll also handle reactive media enquiries which help position the charity as the prominent voice on cancer.

You’ll ideally have some experience working in a busy press office, or as a journalist, with the ability to identify good news hooks.

What will I be doing?

• Drafting comms plans, press releases, statements, pitches and assisting with press conferences to publicise CRUK initiatives and campaigns

• Helping to maintain media briefs and key messages on health issues

• Managing journalist relationships, specifically with health reporters at national papers

• Receiving and responding to media enquiries in a timely manner, and properly briefing media spokespeople before interviews

• Being a part of a weekly news desk rota system, dealing with reactive media enquiries

• Monitoring performance of coverage and media campaigns and developing evaluations to update internal stakeholders as appropriate

• Working with the media volunteer liaison and other relevant CRUK teams to source case studies (people affected by cancer, researchers etc) and/or influencers to bring to life the human stories behind Cancer Research UK

• Monitoring the media in general, spotting trends in changing media consumption, and reflecting those changes in our work

• Liaising with comms colleagues on the development and roll-out of health stories/campaigns (consumer, science, social, digital news, regional, internal comms) to ensure the right channels are used and the right audiences are reached

• Keeping the central planning team informed of upcoming activity and any changing dates to confirm no clashes with other CRUK or external activity

• Writing news posts and other digital content for the Cancer Research UK website.

What skills are you looking for?

• Some experience in a fast-paced press office, or as a journalist is desirable.

• A good knowledge of the media.

• Proactive and able to identify and solve problems with some guidance.

• Ability to understand scientific papers and health information and translate it into simple copy.

• Used to working well under pressure with multiple deadlines.

• Excellent communication skills with proven ability to build effective relationships internally and externally.

• Can prioritise day-to-day tasks and make decisions within established guidelines and policies.

Please click here for a full candidate pack.

What will I gain?

Each and every one of our employees contributes to our progress and is supporting our work to beat cancer. We think that’s impressive.

In return, we make sure you are supported by a generous benefits package, a wide range of career and personal development opportunities and high-quality tools, policies and processes to enable you to do your job well.

Our benefits package includes a substantial retirement plan, a generous and flexible leave allowance, discounts on anything from travel to technology, gym membership, and much more.

We review pay annually and aim to recognise individual performance and achievements.

We don’t forget people have lives outside of work too and so we actively encourage a flexible working culture.

Our work – from funding cutting-edge research to developing public policy – will change the world. It’s exciting to be part of our team.

How do I apply?

We operate an anonymised shortlisting process in our commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. CVs are required for all applications; but we won’t be able to view them until we invite you for an interview. Instead, we ask you to complete the work history section of the online application form for us to be able to assess you quickly, fairly and objectively.

For more information on this career opportunity please visit our website or contact us at [email protected].

For more updates on our work and careers, follow us on: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

There’s a place for everyone at Cancer Research UK. Our vision is to create a charity where everyone feels like they belong, benefits from and participates in, the work we do. We're committed to creating an inclusive culture where everyone can be themselves and reach their full potential.

We actively encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and cultures, in particular those from ethnic minority backgrounds who are currently under-represented, and believe that a diverse workforce will help us to beat cancer sooner.

If you’re interested in applying and excited about working with us but are unsure if you have the right skills and experience we’d still love to hear from you. We don’t expect everyone to meet all of the criteria listed.

We want to see every candidate performing at their best throughout the job application process, interview process and whilst at work. We therefore ask you to inform us of any concerns you have or any adjustments you might need to enable this to happen by emailing us at [email protected].

Unfortunately, we are unable to recruit anyone below the age of 18, so that we can protect young people from health & safety and safeguarding risks.