Communications Specialist

About us

Catholic schools have been delivering excellence in education to Sydney school students for 200 years. Sydney Catholic Schools (SCS) continues to be a thriving and growing contemporary educational community with over 150 schools, more than 71,000 students, 10,000 staff and a large alumni community.

About the role

Reporting to the Manager: Communications, the Communications Specialist is responsible for enhancing SCS’ brand and reputation among key stakeholders and school communities by researching and writing stories across multiple mediums to generate a positive awareness of SCS. They are also responsible for building relationships with the media to coordinate publicity that will enhance SCS’ reputation as an education provider of choice in Sydney.

Major Accountabilities

The Communications Specialist is required to perform tasks that include, but are not limited to:

• developing and delivering professional, informative, engaging and innovative internal communications to support SCS School-wide strategy and messaging
• Generating, researching, writing, editing, and proof of brand-positioning news stories and other content for SCS public websites and social media channels
• building and maintaining SCS’ digital presence through the development and management of content for digital channels, including the SCS Facebook page and public website, while demonstrating a solid understanding of and commitment to the needs of the audience/s
• Creating high-quality written material promptly to ensure deadlines are met
• promoting Sydney Catholic schools through external media opportunities/channels
• planning photo and editorial opportunities for use in the media, including executing media events, such as press conferences, interviews, tours, and promotions
• creating clear, concise and engaging pitch editorial ideas to fit a publication or broadcast medium’s special promotions
• managing and acting as an escalation point for information requests and media enquiries
• providing support and guidance to SCS staff on the appropriate use of the brand and key messages to ensure consistent communication across internal and external channels
• coordinating with other team members, including marketing, photography, videography, social media and design, to ensure timely and relevant content
• monitoring education and church-related external media to produce a daily update for executive staff and flag reporting/topics that can positively or negatively impact the organisation’s reputation and communications output
• supporting the dissemination of internal communications through EDM and other platforms such as Mailchimp
• supporting, developing and editing communications to school communities in times of crisis/incident on an as-needed basis
• position Sydney Catholic Schools’ key staff as informed opinion leaders in their field
• by the nature of the position, be required to be contactable and available to perform work outside regular working hours
• promoting Sydney Catholic schools as schools of choice to parents and broader communities through exciting content that supports the organisation’s values and key messages
• promoting and implementing Sydney Catholic Schools’ mission To know and love Christ through learning and vision of Thriving Catholic communities through excellent teaching and learning
• promoting and abiding by Sydney Catholic Schools’ values of empathy, curiosity, excellence, collaboration and truth
• any other duties as directed from time to time.

The Person

To be successful in this position, you must possess:

• undergraduate degree in Media and Communications or other related fields
• a minimum five years experience in a relevant role (media, communications, journalism, PR, digital marketing)
• a strong background in online journalism and experienced working in a busy, live breaking news environment
• demonstrated ability to write quickly and accurately with clarity and creativity for multiple audiences, across a range of media and for various formats, from speeches, media releases and ad copy, to social posts, video scripts, and long-form content to meet frequent rolling deadlines
• proven hands-on experience with web content management tools, like WordPress
• proven solid understanding of SEO
• experienced using Google Analytics or other analytics software
• demonstrated high-level interpersonal skills to build relationships and engage with a range of internal and external stakeholders, including internal staff, principals, students, parents, Catholic Church and parish representatives, and community partners
• demonstrated ability to work autonomously and collaboratively as part of a busy, high-performance team
• demonstrated strong attention to detail and ability to synthesise information from multiple sources
• highly motivated with a passion for writing and developing stories/content
• demonstrated understanding of the contemporary media landscape and an ability to operate effectively in that space
• awareness of current media outlets and key journalists/content producers in the education field
• proven capability of maintaining an ethical and objective standard in reporting
• demonstrated ability to work autonomously, with forethought to ongoing workload requirements, that translates to task prioritisation that meets deadlines
• proven high-level observation and judgement skills
• demonstrated high-level communication and networking skills, along with an aptitude to effectively extract information
• a current driver’s licence
• a comprehensively insured vehicle
• willingness to respect, support and uphold the mission, ethos and teachings of the Catholic Church and the values of Sydney Catholic Schools.

The Process

To apply for this position please click “apply now” and follow the prompts.

To support your application, you will be required to provide:

• your current resume
• cover letter addressing the criteria above.

Closing Date: Sunday, 18 December 2022 at 11.59 pm

If you encounter technical issues or for any general enquiries please contact the People & Culture Services team on (02) 9568 8297 (8am-5pm Mon-Fri).

Working With Children Check (WWCC)
This role is classified as child-related work and therefore requires a WWCC clearance prior to commencement of employment.

OUR MISSION
To know and love Christ through learning.

OUR VISION
Thriving Catholic communities through excellent teaching and learning.

OUR VALUES
Truth, empathy, excellence, curiosity and collaboration