Description of the contract
Wales Environment Link is looking for a freelance communicator to work with WEL members and external campaign partners to develop and coordinate a communications plan and campaign narrative and manage PR for a campaign on the Agriculture (Wales) Bill and Sustainable Farming Scheme (more detail below). Comms will need to be delivered in English and Welsh.ls:
•Timing and days: We are looking for someone for 50 days initially, starting week commencing 24th October and running until 28th February 2023. We need the comms plan and narrative in place by 21st November and need PR support at key campaign moments including ongoing narrative support during scrutiny of the Agriculture Bill.
•Day rate: £200
•Submission requirements: please send your CV and a cover letter with your relevant experience, any existing relationships with journalists/media outlets, your way/style of working and your proposal for how to deliver this work (max one page).
•Submission date: 9am Monday 10th October.
•Send submission to: Karen Whitfield, Joint Director of Wales Environment Link, karen@waleslink.org
Overview
•Wales Environment Link (WEL) is a network of 33 environmental NGOs with environmental, countryside and heritage interests, most of which have an all-Wales focus.
•As an umbrella body WEL represents the shared interests of its member organisations. Its role is to support the many exciting and varied environmental organisations working in Wales to help them achieve their collective aims. WEL does this by facilitating collaborative working amongst its members and with like-minded partner organisations; and by presenting their joint positions on issues to government and key decision makers in Wales. WEL is a respected intermediary body connecting the government and the environmental NGO (eNGO) sector in Wales.
•Details of the current members of WEL can be found on our web site (www.waleslink.org).
•WEL’s Land Use Working Group and Advocacy Working Group are working together to influence the development of a strong Agriculture (Wales) Bill, which facilitates the introduction of an effective Sustainable Farming Scheme, based on the principle of public money for public goods. Our current policy positions can be found on our website.
•WEL would like to work with appropriate external partners on the campaign. These partners are still to be agreed.
Where we’re at now
•Wales Environment Link has established policy and advocacy groups and we are established stakeholders in this area, with routes into the Minister, Senedd Committees, and opposition spokespeople. However, we have limited comms and engagement capacity, and we are currently not making the most of our policy positions or opportunities to increase our voice with politicians and the public. work
Your responsibilities will include:
•Producing a comms plan – aimed at increasing the campaign’s presence in political communications fora, with clear objectives and creative strategies and activities for meeting campaign targets. The comms will be predominantly social and media/PR moments. It needs to have a detailed timeline of activities and coordinating messaging that can be delivered by WEL’s Land Use and Advocacy Working Groups (supported by two Policy and Advocacy Officers), WEL members and partners. Comms plan only needs to be produced in English, but delivery of the plan will be in English and Welsh, so needs time built in for translation if required.
•Coordinating the implementation of the plan – Overseeing the plan’s implementation, doing some of the more skilled implementation work and coordinating a range of WEL member organisations, partners and WEL staff to deliver some of the tasks.
•Developing the campaign’s existing narrative and key messaging based around the Bill, the Sustainable Farming Scheme, and the wider food system – This will be the foundation for Working Groups, WEL members and partners to develop comms from, especially social content. Use existing WEL and partner positions and identify where additional ones are needed on key issues within the media/political discourse platforms. This will support our vision for food and farming in Wales and counter some of the messages given on the subject by other stakeholders. This needs to be bilingual.
•Managing PR at key campaign moments – in line with the comms plan the successful person will lead on media and PR for the campaign at key moments. This includes working with the Land Use and Advocacy Working Group and WEL members to write blogs, press releases (these will need WEL member and partner sign-off but if they build from the narrative and existing policy positions this should be straight-forward) and sell in. Press releases and blogs will need to be bilingual, and we’d be targeting Welsh and English language media. Encouragement of guest blogs at appropriate times would also be welcome. WEL members and partners should be able to support with Welsh-speaking spokespeople if needed.
You’ll need to have:
• Experience writing comms plans and strategies
• Experience of writing press releases and blogs
• Experience of working with Welsh media
• Experience of using multiple social media platforms
• An understanding of the subject matter
• Excellent organisation and able to work at pace
• Ability to work individually and as part of a team.
And it’d be great if you also have:
• Ability to speak and write in Welsh
• Experience working with environment journalists in Wales
• Experience delivering comms for charities
• Graphic and media creation skills
• Familiarity with Zoom, Basecamp, Teams, WordPress.
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