Senior Communications Manager

Location: London or Oxford, UK, or Brussels, Belgium preferred, with flexibility for remote work. Full or half time.

Who we are

Carbon Gap is a climate not-for-profit focused on eliminating the carbon dioxide that’s already heating up the planet. We exist to drive essential climate action by making Europe a leader in carbon removal, working with governments, scientists, NGOs, and businesses to unlock policy support for the full spectrum of carbon removal techniques, storing carbon safely in trees, soils, oceans, rocks, and the built environment.

 

Joining our team means being at the forefront of a new field of climate action in a new kind of organisation. We’re a young team that’s growing quickly; we’re philanthropically funded and don’t answer to any outside interests; we have a start-up mentality that lets us move fast and experiment; and we’re committed to being an honest voice for the planet on climate change and carbon removal.

 

Our mission

Carbon removal, alongside emissions reductions, is absolutely essential to preserving a stable climate. We’re focused on addressing the knowledge, policy, and ambition gaps that are holding us back from a carbon removal ecosystem that delivers real progress on climate change.

 

Leadership from European countries is critical, both for ensuring that carbon removal can reach the scale necessary to achieve global climate goals, and for ensuring that a progressive vision of carbon removal can emerge that is not dominated by fossil or other corporate interests.

 

The role

Carbon Gap is seeking a strategic, multi-disciplinary Communications Manager to establish our organisation as a trailblazing and influential voice at the forefront of carbon dioxide removal and climate action across Europe. You are ideally based in London, Oxford, or Brussels, though there is flexibility for remote work, and are excited about the prospect of building a next-gen climate communications function for an ambitious startup NGO from the ground up.

 

You will be responsible for the strategy and execution of all of Carbon Gap’s communications, and will manage both a communications budget and junior communications team members as they are brought on.

 

As the first permanent communications hire, you will be responsible for developing Carbon Gap’s full-fledged communications function. You’ll set our tone and a very high bar for quality across all materials, while ensuring that quality content is delivered that advances our mission. The role will evolve over time, and while you will start out ensuring that our key functions such as branding, social media, and newsletters are in order, you will be able to bring on additional staff to manage functions day-to-day while you focus on delivering impactful campaigns and media relations. We are working with The Climate Agency for our strategic communications support.

 

While you do not need to have worked on climate previously, climate experience is valuable and it would be useful to have experience working around scientific topics. You will work with our expert team to establish a solid personal understanding of key scientific and policy concepts relating to carbon removal. You will ensure the organisation becomes a recognised "voice of authority" for Carbon Gap’s audience of expert and non-expert stakeholders.

This is a multi-faceted role, requiring strategic prioritisation, management of internal staff and external contractors, and creative out-of-the box thinking. Often, you will be managing multiple demands simultaneously, pulling in contractors for projects while working with internal staff to complete tasks. You will have the support you need to deliver those tasks, but need to be comfortable asking for that support.

 

This is intended as either a full time role, or a half-time role for highly experienced candidates.

 

Responsibilities

Strategy

• In close collaboration with the Carbon Gap team and external support, develop a communications strategy for Carbon Gap, including branding and brand guidelines, social media, content, website, and media and public relations.

 

Communications channels

• Develop and manage Carbon Gap’s main communications channels, including a high-quality newsletter, website, events, and social media accounts.

 

Content

• Manage the creation and distribution of content across a variety of platforms, including social media, weekly newsletters, blog posts, presentations, reports, graphics, and potentially other formats such as video.
• Author, co-author, draft, and/or edit articles and posts for Carbon Gap and in collaboration with Carbon Gap staff.
• Lead the creation of useful, clear, and visually appealing graphics, and/or video content, to communicate various concepts and issues.

 

Media

• Build Carbon Gap’s media presence in relevant markets, including the production of relevant materials (ie press releases).
• Implement a media monitoring system to identify and document relevant articles and media pieces across Europe, and internationally where relevant.
• Cultivate relationships with journalists, ensuring Carbon Gap’s ability to comment on and proactively propose and shape coverage of carbon removal.

 

Events

• Oversee the delivery of a variety of in-person and online events, such as report launches, in various geographies, especially London and Brussels.

 

General

• Manage and source a variety of external service providers, including a communications strategy consultancy, designers, copywriters, and web developers.
• Hire, manage and nurture more junior communications staff.

 

What we offer

We take our team’s well-being and professional development seriously. We offer:

• A market-leading compensation and benefits package, bridging the pay gap between non-profit and for-profit roles
• A commitment to work/life balance, with generous holidays and the expectation that you fully disconnect while taking them
• Lots of flexibility within a hybrid working arrangement, with team hubs in London, Oxford, and Brussels being set up and regular retreats to come together as a team
• Support for your professional development as part of the Carbon Gap community, with opportunities to lead projects, publish content, learn from leading experts, work directly with policymakers and stakeholders, and take part in conferences and events

 

This role is full-time or half-time. We believe in the importance of teams working together in-person and prefer that candidates be based in or near London, Oxford, or Brussels, but can be flexible for remote work.

 

Who you are

• You’re committed to climate action. You don’t need to be an expert in carbon removal, but the idea that we can take carbon from the atmosphere, stop climate change, and begin repairing the damage we’ve done to the planet excites you.
• Writing is your thing. Blog posts, tweets, reports, newsletters, press releases, presentations - whatever the format, you can take an idea and express it well.
• You like to listen. You’re sensitive to what others are sensitive to, and know how to bring along a sceptical audience.
• You get right to the point. Faced with a lot of information, you’re great at figuring out what’s most important, synthesising it into findings and recommendations, and going from there.
• You’re comfortable with new material. Diving into a new field, learning new acronyms, and reading scientific papers doesn’t scare you. You want to become a master of new ideas and concepts.
• You get things done. You’re self-motivated and are comfortable creating your own to-do list in a start-up environment.
• You’re a relationship-builder at heart. You proactively make and maintain genuine connections, always looking for ways to help, and work well with diverse groups of people.

 

💡 Climate change is a race issue and a gender issue. Carbon Gap is dedicated to broadening opportunities for groups that are underrepresented in the climate and carbon removal spaces, and to building an inclusive team where people of different backgrounds can thrive. We strongly encourage applications from people who do not see themselves represented in the current climate ecosystem, including those returning to the workforce.

 

What we are looking for:

• 7+ years experience (and ideally more) in communications, preferably in policy, science, or climate-related communications at an advocacy-focused organisation.
• Exceptional candidates with less experience but who have managed communications at a fast growing startup will also be considered.
• Experience in climate and sustainability communications is an asset but not required.
• Experience leading communications campaigns and developing collateral from start to finish.
• Experience implementing a structured and agile approach to project management, with good multitasking and organisational skills and the ability to balance competing priorities.
• Demonstrable expertise in working with journalists, launching advocacy campaigns and managing social media.
• Scientific literacy and excitement to develop an understanding of climate science and carbon removal.
• Experience developing content calendars and campaigns from scratch.
• Strong ability to engage with non-communications professionals, including from scientific, academic, business, and policy backgrounds.
• Experience overseeing and producing briefs for contractors across a variety of areas, including web development, graphic design, video content, articles, event production, and more.
• Fluency in English; fluency in other European languages, especially German or French, is highly desirable.

 

You don't need to meet all the requirements in order to be considered and we know you might need to grow into the role. As long as you feel like this is the right role for you, please don’t hesitate to apply.

 

Apply now

Apply ASAP. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning in the first week of September and the process will conclude in late September.