Press Officer

About Us

MSI Reproductive Choices is one of the world’s leading providers of sexual and reproductive healthcare. We believe that everyone should have the right to choose. From contraception to safe abortion and life-saving post-abortion care, we are committed to delivering compassionate, affordable, high-quality services for all.

Today, our organisation has over 9,000 team members working in 37 countries across the world. Our success lies in the fact that MSI teams are locally led, entrepreneurial and results-driven, and are passionate about delivering high quality, client-centered care in their own communities. As a social business, we focus on sustainable delivery, efficiency, and funding models that are built to last, so that the women and girls we serve today will have a choice in the future too.

We know that access to reproductive choice is life changing. For some, it can mean the ability to complete an education or start a career. For others, it means being able to look after the family they already have. For everyone, it means the freedom to decide their own future, creating a fairer, more equal world.

About the Role

The Press Officer is a key role within MSI’s Global Communications team, with responsibility for promoting the organisation’s work and impact both globally and in the UK across a range of external channels, principally through earned media placements. They will proactively create and deliver high impact communications campaigns and opportunities that enhance the standing and influence of MSI among key audiences, including donors. They will also play a central role in managing MSI’s news desk, acting as an effective point of contact between journalists and the organisation. The Press Officer will also be required to produce high quality copy and content for other channels, including social media, the global website, and internal communications, as required.

About You

We recruit talented, dynamic people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, all united by a belief in our mission and a focus on delivering measurable results. We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to creating a fully inclusive workplace, where everyone feels able to participate and contribute meaningfully. You must be open-minded, curious, resilient, and solutions-oriented, and committed to promoting equality, and safeguarding the welfare of team members and clients alike.

To succeed in this role, it is essential that you have the following skills:

• Ability to work in a diverse and inclusive environment, respecting and collaborating with all individuals equally, and with a commitment to overcome bias and prejudice
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills
• Ability to promote MSI and influence a variety of stakeholders, including the media, donors and partner organisations
• A solid understanding of current affairs, reproductive rights, international development and UK healthcare
• Excellent news sense and the skills to identify proactive opportunities for external communications that support the organisation’s objectives
• Strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to work authoritatively, knowledgeably, and confidently with journalists and colleagues at every level of the organisation
• Outstanding organisational skills, including the ability to use initiative, prioritise workload and work under pressure to meet tight deadlines
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Enjoy working as part of a busy and fast-paced team
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).

To succeed in this role, we are looking for a person with the following experience:

• Strong experience of working in a busy PR agency, press office or communications team, with extensive working knowledge of national and international broadcast, print and online media
• Proven experience of building and maintaining lasting relationships with national and international media contacts, with a focus on health, consumer and/or development journalists
• Solid experience of working with the media, running proactive PR campaigns, and proactively identifying opportunities
• Proven experience handling sensitive media issues, providing counsel to senior stakeholders
• Substantial results in securing national and international media coverage
• Experience of using digital and social media channels to engage audiences
• Demonstrable track record in writing compelling material for a wide range of stakeholders – press releases, articles, newsletters, and case study stories.

Personal Attributes:

We recruit talented, dynamic people with diverse backgrounds and experiences, all united by a belief in our mission and a focus on delivering measurable results. We’re proud to be an equal opportunities employer and are committed to creating a fully inclusive workplace, where everyone feels able to participate and contribute meaningfully. You must be open-minded, curious, resilient, and solutions-oriented, and be committed to promoting equality, and safeguarding the welfare of team members and clients alike.

For this role, we’re looking for an individual who is:

• Committed to the protection of team members and clients, with a focus on vulnerable groups
• Able to role-model inclusive and culturally sensitive attitudes and behaviours
• Pro-choice with a genuine commitment to the values and ethos of MSI Reproductive Choices
• Flexible and open to reasonable requests to work out of general office hours (including business travel and cover of the 24-hour press phone in rotation with other colleagues).

For more information about the role, please view the job framework on our website.

Location: London Support Office (hybrid working) or work from any country where MSI operates

Full-time: 35 hours a week, Monday to Friday (UK contracted hours)

Contract type: Permanent

Salary: £30,500 – £35,000 for UK based candidates. For all other locations, the role will be banded within national context. Discretionary bonus + benefits

Closing date: 29th September 2022 (midnight GMT+1). Interviews may take place before this date for exceptional candidates.