Children’s Books Ireland is seeking an experienced, dynamic Communications Manager to work on a full-time basis as part of our team.

ABOUT CHILDREN’S BOOKS IRELAND:
Children’s Books Ireland’s vision is simple: Every Child a Reader.
Our mission is:
- to inspire a love of reading in children and young people in Ireland,
- to share our expertise and enthusiasm with the adults who guide and influence them, and
- to champion every child’s right to excellent books and live literature events and support the artists who make that goal possible across the island of Ireland.

THE ROLE:
As a registered charity, our Communications Manager is vital in sharing key messaging with our community of artists, schools, families and the public, and highlighting the impact of our work to existing and potential partners and funders. The Communications Manager oversees all marketing and communications activity to promote Children’s Books Ireland’s activities. The Communications Manager is responsible for the development and implementation of Children’s Books Ireland’s communications strategy. This position involves managing a part-time (2 days per week) Social Media Officer and working with the team across Children’s Books Ireland’s various activities, including publications, professional development, book gifting, events, advocacy and fundraising. The successful candidate will liaise with external partners and suppliers including PR agencies, corporate partners and funders, photographers and videographers.

Reporting to the CEO, the Communications Manager will:
• Share the story and work of Children’s Books Ireland and maintain a strong and consistent brand and voice through a wide range of channels.
• Manage and work closely with the Social Media Officer to ensure Children’s Books Ireland’s content is engaging and consistent with brand image and tone of voice.
• Implement Children’s Books Ireland’s communications strategy and develop future iterations.
• Maintain and manage a detailed communications calendar.
• Compile regular and annual communications reports for the board of directors and work closely with the Research & Evaluation Officer to create the annual Impact Report.
• Oversee the organisation’s digital marketing activity and maintenance of the website.
• Write and sign off copy for a wide variety of communications, including website copy, press releases, mailshots, social media platforms etc.
• Oversee the budget for all marketing and communications activity.
• Maintain and develop strong relationships with media across digital, TV, radio and print.
• Keep abreast of ongoing developments and trends in communications, including in the media and on social media.

RESPONSIBILITIES
Management & leadership
• Act as Direct Line Manager for the Social Media Officer, with responsibility for performance management.
• Lead the direction of the organisation’s communications proactively as a senior member of the team.
• Manage the communications budget and work closely with the Financial Controller to plan and monitor spending.
• Implement the communications strategy and develop future iterations of same.
Brand
• Write and sign off copy for a wide variety of communications, ensuring adherence to our brand values and tone of voice.
• Work with all departments (publications, book gifting, fundraising, professional development, advocacy) and with external partners and funders to plan communications from Children’s Books Ireland.
• Identify and engage with opportunities to raise brand awareness of the organisation.
Media
• Work both in-house and with a PR agency to plan and secure media coverage for core projects, build the organisation’s profile and to share book reviews and recommendations from the publications team.
• Manage key media relationships across TV, radio, digital and print, pitching and editing features alongside the co-ordination of regular review segments in the Irish Examiner, RTÉjr, InTouch Magazine and Ireland AM.
• Co-ordinate photography and videography for Children’s Books Ireland campaigns and partnerships.
Social Media
• Implement Children’s Books Ireland’s Social Media Strategy across Instagram, Facebook, X, TikTok and LinkedIn, and create future iterations of the strategy with the Social Media Officer.
• Keep abreast of trends and important developments as new platforms come on stream or existing platforms become less relevant.
• Manage the Social Media Officer, overseeing the social media calendar and ensuring that all projects and campaigns are communicated effectively across relevant platforms.
Digital
• Maintain and update the Children’s Books Ireland website (www.childrensbooksireland.ie).
• Manage our Google for Non-Profits account, creating and monitoring Google Ad campaigns to highlight key projects and resources.
• Write and build our monthly e-newsletters to segmented audiences, alongside regular mailshots, in line with e-marketing and GDPR best practices.
• Plan and carry out paid social media campaigns across Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok to drive traffic to the website.
Reporting & administration
• Compile quarterly reports on all communications activity, to be submitted to the Board of Directors via the CEO.
• Manage the creation of the annual Impact Report, liaising with project leads across all departments and working with the Research & Evaluation Officer.
• Analyse reports, using learnings to continuously improve Children’s Books Ireland’s communications.

REQUIREMENTS
• Be able to confidently carry out the responsibilities outlined above while working independently and as part of a small, creative, fast-paced team.
• Strong writing skills, including the ability to create engaging content and maintain a friendly, professional voice for the organisation across various platforms and audiences.
• Ability and experience developing and implementing successful communications campaigns.
• Strong project management, time management, multitasking and decision-making skills.
• Excellent digital literacy, with experience using Microsoft Office, social media scheduling platforms (Hootsuite or equivalent), asset creation software (Adobe Creative Cloud, Canva or equivalent), e-marketing software (Mailchimp or equivalent) and web CMS (Drupal or equivalent).

The following are desirable, but not essential:
• Proficiency in written and spoken Irish.
• Full, clean driving licence and access to a car; the successful candidate will be required to occasionally travel to schools and events outside of Dublin.
• An understanding of and experience working in the arts or charity sectors.
The ideal candidate will:
• Be an excellent writer with meticulous attention to detail.
• Be a self-starter with strong organisational skills and the capacity to prioritise and balance conflicting demands.
• Be a strategic thinker who can identify new opportunities to reach diverse audiences.
• Exhibit strong collaborative and team-working skills.

Reporting To: CEO

Location: First floor, 17 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1. Office location may change, but will remain in central Dublin. The successful candidate will have the choice of working fully in person or on a hybrid basis, and will be expected to work from the office at least two days a week.

Start date: As soon as possible.

Contract duration: Permanent, with a six month probation period.

Hours of work: 40 hours per week including 1 hour paid daily lunch break. Working hours are flexible between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Occasional evening or weekend work may be required, for which time off in lieu can be taken in accordance with company policy.

Remuneration/benefits: €38,390 per annum. 5% matching pension contribution after initial probation period. 25 days’ annual leave. Ability to work flexibly. Mobile phone allowance of €35 per month and work from home allowance of €3.20 per day provided.

To apply: email cover letter and CV (preferably in one combined document) to [email protected], with COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER in the subject line, before 4pm on Friday 9th February 2024.

Children’s Books Ireland is committed to diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our work and we welcome applications from all qualified candidates. The position will be subject to reference checks.

Interviews will be held in person in a Dublin City Centre location on Thursday 22nd February. All applicants will be notified whether they will progress to interview by Tuesday 13th February.