Work with us! ORFC Communications Coordinator

We are recruiting for an exciting creative role within (ORFC) team.

Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) Communications Coordinator

Part time (0.6 FTE, 7.5 hrs/day, 22.5 hrs/wk), remote, UK-based
Candidates must have the right to work in the UK.

About the Real Farming Trust

The Real Farming Trust (RFT) runs a number of programmes which bring people of all food and farming backgrounds and experiences together to build the case for agroecology.  One of these programmes is the Oxford Real Farming Conference.  We are a small charity and value honesty, empathy, care and compassion in our interactions with each other in the organisation and with the partners we work with. 

About the Oxford Real Farming Conference

The Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC) is a much loved and highly valued movement-led conference and a space for networking, knowledge sharing and direction setting for all those involved in agroecology and food justice in the UK and beyond. The annual conference has grown from a gathering of 50 delegates in 2010 to a two-day meeting of 1,800 in 2024, plus a further 3,000 online. The programme is the result of a Call for Proposals, which are selected by a team of partners and experts in the food and farming world. 

In addition to the annual conference in January, ORFC has grown to include in-the-field events. Held in partnership with a farm, ORFC in the Field brings together 60-70 participants for two days of in-depth, hands-on workshops, plus a day of farm visits. ORFC in the Field is held in different parts of the UK, with the next event taking place in Scotland this October.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity to join the core team organising the annual Oxford Real Farming Conference (ORFC). Your role will be to support communications for the in-person and online conference, which will next take place 8th – 10th January 2025.

ORFC is a cornerstone of the food and farming calendar, and this role is ideal for someone passionate about agroecology and food systems change, with a demonstrable track record in previous communications roles. You will need to be able to make complex messages accessible and have excellent writing, analytical and interpersonal skills. You’ll also need to have a strong understanding of intersectionality and how the food and farming movement intersects with social, racial, environmental and economic justice issues. If you’re an experienced advocate, an engaging storyteller, and an organised, motivated self-starter, we’d love to hear from you.

You will work closely with the Real Farming Trust (RFT) Communications Manager and will help to develop and deliver a communications strategy for ORFC 2025 that effectively engages our community.

 This will include (but is not limited to):

• Monitoring ORFC’s audience and peers and maintaining ORFC’s unique identity within the larger agroecological movement
• Researching ways of reaching a wider audience of farmers, land workers and growers and increasing knowledge of and engagement with ORFC among this group
• Reaching out to new audiences that understand the potential for agroecology as a social movement and a solution to our current ecological crises
• Designing and creating promotional materials and assets in Canva
• Building the ORFC newsletter in Mailchimp
• Managing ORFC social media accounts; creating and scheduling content, maintaining engagement, and crafting collaborations
• Liaising with ORFC partner organisations on comms campaigns
• Recruiting comms volunteers for ORFC 2025

We’re looking for a creative, motivated and organised coordinator who can pay close attention to detail while maintaining a clear view of the big picture ahead of ORFC 2025.

You will thrive in this role if:

• You are creative, people-focussed and enjoy building connections and networks and developing audiences
• You are organised, deadline-driven and enjoy seeing a campaign come to life
• You have excellent written and verbal communication skills
• You are confident working with communications tools including Google Suite, WordPress, Mailchimp, Canva, Social Media and Content Management Systems
• You have experience with large events and understand how to tailor your comms aims to the varied stages of the production
• You are happy remote working and enjoy working and collaborating with a small team
• You remain calm under stress and time-pressure
• You can prioritise tasks to meet deadlines under pressure
• You are interested in developing messaging that fosters inclusive, radical gatherings
• You are passionate about the food and farming movement.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Communication: 

• Work with the Communications Manager to deliver the ORFC 2025 communications strategy
• Identifying, setting up and managing media partnerships for ORFC 2025

Website management:

• Update the ORFC site in WordPress as necessary
• Refine and enhance user journey and optimise landing pages
• Gather materials for blogs and features and publish these at regular intervals
• Monitor and evaluate web analytics and SEO and liaise with the web developer when needed

Digital Campaigns:

• Collect content for and create, schedule and deliver regular campaigns in Mailchimp
• Undertake Mailchimp audience analysis to optimise campaigns

Social Media: 

• Develop a social media strategy, plan and calendar, scheduling organic and paid content and campaigns, including creating graphics and working with freelancers to create video content
• Run ORFC social media channels (Instagram, X, Facebook, LinkedIn), engaging with other accounts within the movement and linking the conference to larger current events and global issues where appropriate
• Lead on coordinating social media team at ORFC 2025 
• Monitor, evaluate and report on social media analytics

General:

• Work with additional third parties/freelancers/interns/volunteers as the need arises
• Format, proofread and edit event programmes and planning documents
• Keep documents, spreadsheets, and creative assets up to date and filed in order for ease of reference and collaboration with the remote team
• Maintaining GDPR-compliance across all areas of work

This role requires the following skills

Essential

• Demonstrable experience of working in communications either in a not-for-profit or corporate environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to distil complex issues into simple and impactful messages.
• Ability to tailor messaging to different and diverse audiences
• Comfortable and confident with social media, website management and CMS
• Skilled relationship builder who enjoys building, maintaining and sustaining contacts
• Extremely well-organised and self-motivated
• Proven understanding and experience of the project management involved in producing comms materials from initial planning to meeting delivery deadlines
• Demonstrated experience of creating high-quality digital content and running effective social media campaigns
• Knowledge or experience of food and farming particularly in agroecological practices/localised community-based food systems

Desirable

• Knowledge of Adobe Premiere Suite or similar software
• Knowledge of ticketing platform (we use Ticket Tailor)
• Demonstrated experience of supporting large-scale events communications

What else you need to know:

• We do not have an office. We all work remotely from home and meet twice a year in-person for a couple of days each time. All staff are expected to attend.
• You will need to provide your own laptop.
• We all work flexibly, but you will be expected to do the majority of your work weekdays between 8am and 6pm. Some additional work may be required in the run-up to the conference from mid-October.
• You will need to be available during the full week of the conference, with long days (12+ hours) during the conference.
• The conference takes place shortly after the winter holidays, so some work between Christmas and New Years Eve is expected. 
• This role is a fixed term contract through to the end of January 2025, with the possibility of extension, subject to funding. 

The benefits you will get:

• Salary: £28,802 (pro rata at 0.6 FTE)
• 20 days annual leave, plus bank holidays (28 days total, pro rata), increasing by 2 days for every year of completed service, up to a maximum of 25 days (33 days including bank holidays, pro rata)
• Flexible working to suit your other commitments during the week
• Employer matched pension of 4%

How to apply

Please submit your CV, two referees (including at least one work reference), a writing sample and a covering letter detailing why you think you are suitable for the role and why you would like to join our team via this form by 12pm BST (midday) on Friday, 5th July 2024. If you have questions about the role, email Lucy Harding at lucy@orfc.org.uk.

What will happen after you have sent in your application

• We will let all applicants know if they have been shortlisted for an interview by Wednesday, 10th July 2024
• Interviews will take place online on Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th July 2024. If these dates or timings are difficult for you, please tell us in your application.
• We will let you know in advance who will be on the interview panel and their role within the RFT.

Equity and Anti-Oppression

We are committed to becoming a more inclusive workplace with a diverse staff body. We believe this is essential to our effectiveness as an organisation and our ability to fulfil our mission of “good food for everyone, forever”. We need to address both inequity and oppression within our work if we are to meet our aim. There will be tensions that this work creates and difficult questions that we need to address both internally and externally.

We know that people with certain backgrounds and characteristics are underrepresented in our team and in the alternative food and farming movement, and we want to address this. We are committed to working proactively to dismantle these systems of oppression and ensure equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of their background.

We have started to do this work internally, but we know there is much more to do. Every member of RFT staff is involved and part of this work. We have an internal Equity and Anti-Oppression Group that leads and monitors this work and reports to the Board.

Equality and Diversity Monitoring Form

The Real Farming Trust is committed to promoting equality and diversity in line with the Equality Act 2010, providing an inclusive and co-operative environment in which all individuals feel respected. Filling in this equality and diversity monitoring form is voluntary. The information you provide will be kept confidential and will only be used for monitoring purposes. Please don’t enter any information that would identify you. This form is kept separately from your application and will not be seen by interviewers.

Please note that due to the volume of applications we usually receive, we regret that we are unable to offer feedback to individual applicants.

Thank you for your interest in the Real Farming Trust.