Job Profile: Marketing and Communications Executive
Name: Lauren Collins
Employer: Hawk Conservancy Trust - Bird of Prey Conservation Charity and Visitor Attraction Centre
Location: Hawk Conservancy Trust, Hampshire
Job Responsibilities:
As Marketing and Communications Executive at the Hawk Conservancy Trust, my job largely revolves around bringing visitors through the Trust doors to spend a day out with our birds, as well as communicating and engaging our audiences with the conservation, education and research work we do as a charity. A lot of my work centres on our online presence. This includes creating, planning and scheduling content across our social media channels, managing and keeping our website up to date, creating monthly email newsletters and tri-annual members magazines, advertising the Trust online and handling press enquiries…just to name a few!
Some days however, I can be away from my desk doing something completely different! Whether that’s supporting a film crew coming in to take shots of our birds for a documentary, putting up signage for events, filming content with the Bird Team, giving journalists a tour of the Trust, or representing the Trust at an exhibition or conference.
Planning and creating engaging content for our online channels to raise awareness of our brand, both to drive footfall through day visits, events and memberships, but also highlight and advocate for our work to conserve birds of prey and their habitats
I do spend more time inside than outside – most of the time I am at my desk. However, a key part of my role is to know what’s going on at the Trust for day visitors to experience - if I don’t know what birds are flying in our displays how am I meant to tell people about it? This means I can often be found outside on our 22 acres of woodland and wildflower meadow grounds, working alongside our amazing Bird Team to film content to advertise with. Sometimes I’m even given the opportunity to fly some of our birds in training!
There isn’t really any seasonal variation. We often say that the marketing wheel never stops spinning – it’s a very busy job that always keeps me on my toes! As a visitor attraction, the summer holidays and half terms are our busiest season for most teams. For us, we generally are busier in the lead up to the actual holiday periods where we are working to advertise our days out.
Qualifications needed:
Although a degree in the field of Marketing, Communications or Public Relations can be helpful, you definitely do not need a degree to be working in this field. Relevant experience is also extremely beneficial. This is the route I chose to take, favouring an internship over a degree to earn real, industry experience. Marketing is always changing and adjusting based on our audience’s needs, so a passion to keep learning is key!
Additional training: There are literally thousands of online courses that can help you up-skill in marketing – so many it’s a bit overwhelming! But if there are key aspects of the job that you would like to learn more about, for example advertising using google, copywriting or social media planning, finding a course that focuses on that area can be a good place to start.
Skills needed: A good understanding of marketing tools and tactics is key, as well as being adaptable to change – you never know when a social media platform might introduce a new feature that changes the way you create your content! Strong communication and collaboration skills are essential – you’ll be pulling information from many different departments and collating information into a streamlined message. Marketing is a fast-paced role - so good organisational skills and time-management are key. A creative flair is not essential but helps if you are seeking a role more focused on the content creation, so any skills in photography, videography, copywriting and editing are good. Attention to detail and able to withstand pressure are good too – sometimes you’re sending out emails to tens of thousands of people – you want to avoid any spelling mistakes if possible!
Advice to anyone looking at similar roles:
Having a portfolio of experience and work can prove your skills - even if you haven’t worked for a company in a Marketing and Communications role yet! Using free online tools such as Canva to create mock-campaigns shows initiative, demonstrates your creative skillset, and can help you stand out. And don’t be afraid to have fun with it!
If you have any queries about this role or would like to ask a question of the job holder please contact CJS by email.