Job Description
Communications and Marketing Director, Royal United Services Institute
About the Royal United Services Institute
Are you the right applicant for this opportunity Find out by reading through the role overview below.
The Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is an award-winning think tank working in the field of defence, security and international affairs. We are now seeking to recruit an exceptional Communications and Marketing Director to help us build and increase our important work’s impact. This an exciting opportunity which will allow the successful candidate to take RUSI’s profile and outreach to the next level.
RUSI is a long-established institution whose mission today is to produce evidence-based research, publications and events on defence, security and international affairs to help build a safer UK and a more secure, equitable and stable world. In order to achieve this, we have assembled an outstanding team of researchers, experts and other staff who work together to produce world-leading evidence-based research, publications and events. In 2020 we were awarded “Think tank of the year” in the Prospect awards.
Communications and marketing are an integral part of our work, critical to the success of the Institute in achieving its mission and objectives, and therefore this is a key leadership role.
ResponsibilitiesThe responsibilities of the Communications and Marketing Director fall into four main areas:
Corporate Communications
The Communications and Marketing Director is responsible for all aspects of RUSI’s marketing and communications strategy and for managing the Communications and Marketing team.
The Communications and Marketing Director must ensure RUSI’s corporate communications, both internal and external, are proactive and effective. Crucially, he/she is required to develop RUSI’s growing research profile and exploit all its opportunities, including providing timely and effective support to all of RUSI’s research groups, each of which have their own specific requirements for external outreach.
The contributory functions of the team include our website, media, marketing, public relations, branding, social media and multi-media and currently the team consists of 5 other staff.
Media Relations
On corporate communications, the Communications and Marketing Director is the primary spokesperson of the Institute. The Communications and Marketing Director will maintain an active and sensitive media strategy which is a vital part of the Institute’s corporate communications, ensuring that journalists are aware of, and connected to, RUSI’s researchers and resources, and that an appropriate response is provided for all media requests.
Digital and Social Media Channels
The Communications and Marketing Director is responsible for the Institute’s on-line presence across all channels. RUSI’s social networking is a growing part of its overall communications output and the Communications and Marketing Director will be required to develop this further in innovative ways. Multimedia is also an increasingly important component of our work, and the Communications and Marketing Director will be tasked with enhancing our impact in this area. Another objective is to work closely with the Director of Publications and research groups, who are responsible for our research publications and the RUSI Journal, in order to ensure maximum outreach from these outputs.
Marketing, Branding and Business Development
The Communications and Marketing Director is required to develop and implement a long-term strategy for growth in the Institute’s overall marketing functions, being responsible for branding and corporate identity, detailed competitor analysis and the initiation of major marketing campaigns that integrate all aspects of RUSI’s outputs.
Working with other teams at the Institute, the Communications and Marketing Director will seek to exploit RUSI’s high reputation for research, and play a part in broadening its base of members, supporters, funders and sponsors. The Communications and Marketing Director will make an important contribution to business development across the Institute.
Where the role fits within RUSI
The Communications and Marketing Director works closely with the teams handling Membership, Fundraising, Publications, and Events, as well as RUSI’s eight Research teams, dealing in a wide range of defence and security issues, also RUSI’s two overseas offices and the office of the Director-General. He/she is required to coordinate at a strategic and tactical level with all of these stakeholders.
The Communications and Marketing Director is a member of the Institute’s Management Group and is line-managed by the Chief Operating Officer.
Requirements for the postThe knowledge, skills and abilities of for this role are as follows:
- Successful track record in senior marketing and/or communications roles (Not-for-profit and/or think tank experience is advantageous but not essential
- Substantive successful marketing and/or communication experience or a comparable previous experience showing the use of skills necessary to execute this position successfully
- Strong leadership skills and ability to thrive in a fast-moving environment
- Strong organisational skills and management skills, including line management and budget management
- An affinity for, and knowledge of, current digital technologies
- Strong knowledge and proficiency in data software including Microsoft Office Suite
- Ability to define problems, gather data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
- Ability to track engagement across various platforms and make data-driven decisions. This includes being able to define ways of measuring RUSI’s success in growing impact, setting benchmark/KPIs and monitoring trends.
- Excellent oral and written communication skills (including impeccable copy writing/copy editing skills) plus strategic listening skills. These are necessary to exercise tact and judgement when interacting and/or negotiating with all levels of internal and external stakeholders, and to draft appropriate texts for media campaigns
- Experience with digital and print marketing, content marketing, and social media and multimedia
- Bachelor’s degree or post graduate qualification (Knowledge and interest in current affairs, especially defence, security and international affairs)
Salary and Benefits
The salary will be £80,000 to £85,000 per annum depending on skills and experience.
RUSI offers several additional benefits, including additional days off during Christmas (RUSI’s Christmas closure days), a pension scheme (6% employer contribution), free access to RUSI’s world leading programme of events and conferences, research materials and library, travel season ticket loan (after successful completion of probationary period), and rental deposit scheme (after successful completion of probationary period).
RUSI is based in Whitehall in the heart of London, close to government and the amenities of central London. Charing Cross station (underground and national rail) and other underground stations are a short walk away.
Equal Opportunity and Values
At RUSI you will be appreciated and valued. Our stakeholders, transactions, and projects are international and diverse, so we work hard to create inclusive teams that support our efforts and each other. We are committed in promoting equality and diversity in our workforce and employment practices and take reasonable steps not to unfairly discriminate in any way in our recruitment practices. We therefore encourage you to apply regardless of your socio-economic background, ethnicity, sexual preference, gender or physical disability.
To ensure equality of opportunity in our employment policies and monitoring of our recruitment practices, we ask candidates to complete our equal opportunity monitoring form which can be found here – Equal Opportunity Monitoring Form
We must stress that any information you provide will be strictly confidential and will not form part of the selection process.
Application Process
Use the apply button to submit your CV, and a statement of interest (detailing what you found appealing about the role, your most recent achievements and bow they are relevant to the role, and how you think your skills and experience match the requirement of the JD).
Closing date: 23:59pm, Sunday 28 November 2021. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and the closing date may be brought forward. Early application is encouraged.