Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Officer

Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Officer
East London
Around £25ph LTD
6 months

BBL are currently seeking a Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Officer, based in East London.

Overall Purpose of Job
To work alongside the Project Teams to assist in the management of the communications and consultation of the Stratford Gyratory Highway project and the Crossrail Stations project. This will involve working with both internal and external project team members, as well as managing these elements of the project at the various stages of its delivery.

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Visioning
• Creating draft strategies for each construction phase, including mapping out key messages for each) three months in advance of each stage in order to allow time for sign-off from the Project Board, Project Director and Project Managers.

Consultation
• Organising and managing a full public consultation which will require seeking formal feedback from all stakeholders via brochures, workshops, meetings, and events.
• Working with Project Teams, research team and other resources within the council on the development of all literature, graphics and web based material for public consultation.
• Preparing a report on the findings of the consultation, for presentation to the Project Board.

Core Communications
• Updating the communications strategy on a rolling basis. The communications strategy will pass through the Project Board, and any changes required must be signed by all parties.
• Responding to all enquiries from the public and stakeholders within 24 hours. This may in some instances need to be a holding response, as decisions from directors or members may be needed, and this could take additional time. This may include: emails, letters, social media, phone calls and in-person.
• Work closely with the media team on setting up of e-bulletin and emailing a regular bulletin to stakeholders on a key contacts list. This bulletin will cover key points of the project, updates on construction progress and photos of construction. The frequency of the bulletin will increase to weekly once work has commenced on site.
• Refreshing ‘key messages’ in alignment with construction and project activity, for use in all communication with the public.
• Cultivating story ideas from across the individual project area, including conducting research and interviews.
• Coordinating with the Project Teams and the council’s Communications Team to develop ideas and concepts for print, electronic, film and audio communications.
• Working with the LBN design team to prepare a base set of presentation / publication material, for use by all partners and external stakeholders as appropriate. Updating this material as the projects progress, focussing on process, the final scheme, and ‘wins’ during the project.

Media and Marketing
• Working collaboratively with the Media Team to identify and target industry publications through which to promote the successes of the projects and to draw attention to the final schemes.
• Writing and editing press releases and articles and liaising with the Media Team for their dissemination in print and electronic media.
• Researching, developing and producing statements, photo-ops, profiles, authored articles, briefings and other related tools designed to secure media coverage.
• Proactively pitching creative media ideas to the Communications Team to keep the projects at the forefront of the council’s internal and external communication channels.
• Working with the Media Team to handle media inquiries and requests where appropriate.
• Monitoring the outcome of media activity and measuring it against input in order to help prioritise those media-driven activities which generate the best and most appropriate coverage most efficiently.
• Building a matrix of potential awards, identifying material required and ensuring timely capture of photographs, statements and surveys to contribute to awards entry.

Relationship Management
• Building relationships and working closely with external communications officers at TfL, developers and local businesses.
• Fostering strong relations with the Communications Team and the project teams.
• Building strong relationships with key stakeholders within the town centre (for Stratford), resident groups and cyclists, to allow for smooth ‘roll out’ of key messages.
• Building relationships with the community neighbourhoods managers and working with them and their marketing officer to update members on progress.
• Building relationships with other key members within the council to promote the projects.
• Contributing key points to the weekly internal project briefing compiled by the Project Managers.
• Work closely with the contractor’s point of contact for communications so that local communications are managed.

Brand Management
• Working with the LBN design team to create a ‘look and feel’ brand that fits the councils branding.
• Enforcing consistent brand identity for the projects, during and beyond the construction period.
• Increasing awareness of the projects and all its stages with local stakeholders, including businesses, developers, local residents and workers through the use of branding imagery and key phrases.

Event Management
• Organising and hosting events including a ‘road show’ prior to construction that explains the proposed construction process and allows for members of the public to enquire about the projects. Being the face of the projects for the public to approach.
• Delivering presentations to the Project Teams and key stakeholders.
• Organising creative projects with stakeholders, as appropriate to the generation of key project messages and the creation of strong relationships with stakeholders.
• Working with community neighbourhood managers and the marketing officer for community neighbourhoods, organising community engagement sessions where necessary, using a range of materials including brochures, flyers and feedback surveys.
• Organising engagement session(s) with cyclists during a further trial development stage.
Website & Social Media
• Working with the and the council’s New Media Team to set up a dedicated web portal on the external council’s web page and a dedicated hashtag. Updating this portal as appropriate with current news.
• Restructuring web portal as project demands and phases require.
• Editing images using MS Photoshop to meet web requirements.
• Working with the council’s New Media Team on planning and implementing the project’s social media strategy, including scheduling tweets in advance for twitter, using the council’s corporate channels.
• Working with the council’s social media officer to regularly update and monitor social media including Facebook, twitter and Flickr. Recording all outgoing and incoming communication via these channels and observing corporate guidelines at all times.

Administration
• Updating the communications elements on Project Risk Registers and Project Issues Registers on a regular basis.
• Updating a range of databases containing key stakeholder contact details, methods of communication and levels of interest and influence, including local residents, developers, businesses, Transport for London and local lobby groups.
• Updating the project calendars with recurring meeting dates of different stakeholder groups.
• Updating and monitoring the project calendars with key significant events that the projects may impact upon, need to be sensitive to, or need to respond to. For example, the London Marathon, or sporting events..

Other
• Managing the appointment and performance of external agencies as required.
• Actively exploring alternative funding streams and sponsorship opportunities to supplement Communications activities, particularly in connection with play, arts and events.
• Actively seeking to implement the council’s Occupational Health and Safety Policy in relation to the duties of the post, and at all times giving due regard to the health and safety of both themselves and others when carrying out their duties.
• Actively seeking to implement the council’s Equal Opportunity Policy and the objective to promote equality of opportunity in relation to the duties of the post.
• Undertaking any other duties that may reasonably be requested appropriate to the grade.

If interested in the Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Officer, please apply ASAP.