Recruitment Call: Communications Coordinator

Dublin City Council Culture Company is seeking a Communications Coordinator to help achieve our ambitious aims to connect the citizens of Dublin through culture and conversation, ensuring the clear communication of our company’s activities, mission, vision and values across all channels.

Working as part of a team, and working closely with and reporting to the Head of Communications, Marketing and Audience Development, you will play a key role in telling people about what we do. You will also be involved in the coordination and production of promotional material for our activities, supporting the Company’s audience development plans, and working with photographers, videographers and artists. You will gain valuable experience in communicating about culture and the ways it can positively impact people’s lives. You will learn about strategic communications, accessibility and advocacy. You will work across print projects and online projects. You will also see the results of your work and how your work positively contributes to the work of the entire company. You will be encouraged to be creative, to give ideas and to experiment.

Function and role specification

The role of Communications Coordinator helps us reach existing and new audiences. This is a key role in the department supporting communications, advocacy and audience development activities across the organisation’s buildings and programmes.

Day to day, you’ll help us to reach out to existing and new audiences. You will tell them about the cultural programmes we offer and how to participate in cultural activities in our buildings and across the City, with your focus on Richmond Barracks, Dublin 8, and across our Creative Engagement programmes, with your focus on Culture Connects and our Creative Residencies programme.

This will include sharing stories about how people enjoy the cultural experiences they have with us. It will include writing content for our websites, newsletters and for media, creating informative updates across platforms including Instagram and WhatsApp and coordinating distribution of printed material. We work to ensure universal access across all aspects of the Company. The Communications department plays a key role to ensure our accessibility policy. You will coordinate projects collaboratively, working with colleagues, partners and suppliers.

Your main tasks will include:

Online, digital and social content:

• Website content creation and updating, including improving website quality and accessibility.
• Writing and sending the monthly Richmond Barracks email newsletter and submitting updates for the monthly Culture Company newsletter.
• Social media posting on the Richmond Barracks and Dublin City Council Culture Company platforms – particularly Instagram and WhatsApp – plus engagement with relevant social media accounts – sharing, tagging, commenting.
• Submitting content for relevant external newsletters, listing websites and media spaces.
• Online support for events and venue hire in Richmond Barracks.
• Provide reporting on progress as required.
• All communications will adhere to our accessibility policy, style guide and company branding.

Printed material and communications assets:

• Supporting the provision and distribution of printed leaflets and programmes, particularly our regular What’s On printed programme.
• Coordinating the distribution of promotional materials locally.
• Engaging designers, printers, photographers or PR services as necessary.
• Helping to coordinate the communications and PR needs of the building.
• Provide reporting on progress as required.

Person specification:

The ideal person for this role will:

• Be interested in helping people find out about creative and fun things they can try, learn or experience in Dublin.
• Be a storyteller at heart with excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to work collaboratively across a multidisciplinary team and with a wide range of suppliers.
• Have worked with both print and online campaigns.
• Have a proven track record in the promotion of culture, activities and things to do, with examples of work across creating and updating websites, newsletters and updating social media channels, as well as experience or expertise in understanding the design and accessibility requirements of a print job.
• Have excellent writing skills with great grammar and a detail-oriented approach to avoid typos or mistakes.
• Be creative, innovative, self-confident and can demonstrate a willingness to learn, to make and rectify mistakes, to solve problems and to create and follow processes to make work straightforward.
• Be highly organised, with the ability to coordinate, prioritise and schedule as required, being accountable and responsible for the quality of the communication.

Essential criteria – you should have:

• Experience of engaging and communicating with a wide range of people including colleagues, project partners and community groups.
• Demonstrated experience in writing for websites and newsletters, supported by examples of your work that showcases print and online projects you have worked on.
• A proficiency across social media and messaging platforms, particularly Instagram and WhatsApp, including experience in analysing or evaluating the performance of digital and social media content.
• Exceptional administrative and organisational skills. These should include excellent verbal and written skills and proficiency across Google Suite, and an awareness of online ticketing platforms – we use Ticketsolve – and the use of a CRM – we use Insightly.
• An understanding of the work of Dublin City Council Culture Company and its ambitions.
• At least two years’ experience working within community projects or organisations, charities, brands, festivals or cultural organisations, spaces or attractions where communications both external and internal have been a major part of your area of responsibility.

Desirable criteria which may be considered:

• An understanding of, and, ideally, experience in, using various tools to help people with accessibility requirements view, read or listen to content, be that alt-text, captions, subtitles or other descriptions.
• A good awareness of the media landscape in Ireland and particularly Dublin, including print publications, local radio and Instagram accounts.

The Communications Coordinator will work primarily at Richmond Barracks, Dublin 8 or at Dublin City Council Culture Company’s head office at 14 Henrietta Street, Dublin 1, but must be flexible to work across the city. Some evening and weekend work will be required on occasion.

Post Title : Communications Coordinator, Dublin City Council Culture Company

Post Status : Fixed Term Contract (full-time), three years, a six month probationary period applies.

Reports to : Head of Communications, Marketing and Audience Development

Key relationships : All colleagues in Richmond Barracks including Visitor Experience, Creative Engagement and Cultural Spaces teams. Colleagues throughout Dublin City Council Culture Company, our partners, suppliers and the local community.

Salary : €34,811 per annum

Annual leave : 23 days per year

Pension : A contribution of 10% of salary will be made to an agreed pension savings scheme subject to the individual contributing a similar percentage.

Reward and recognition: All Dublin City Council Culture Company employees participate in the performance review and appraisal process annually. This process measures performance, considers training and development opportunities and is used to determine any reward (pay or annual leave increases) that may be applicable.

Other benefits: Other Employee benefits include Employee Assistance Programme, Income Protection Insurance, Cycle to Work Scheme, Taxsaver Commuter Ticket Scheme for public transport to and from work, access to certified training and opportunities for professional development in your role. Please see PDF download for more details.

Working from home: The company facilitates some working from home suitable to the requirement of the position. This can be discussed further with the successful candidate after a successful probation period in line with the company’s hybrid working policy.

Applications are now invited from applicants who meet these published requirements. Applications must include the following:

• Your CV, including the names and contact details of two referees. Please note that referees will not be contacted without prior consent.
• A letter, no more than two pages, providing evidence of your specific skills, knowledge and experience relevant to the role specification and in particular the essential criteria as stated.

Closing date for this application is Friday 30 August 2024.

The information supplied in your application will be reviewed against the requirements sent out in this notice by a panel to shortlist applicants and call people for an interview. Interviews will be held during the week beginning 16 September 2024. Dublin City Council Culture Company reserves the right to short-list candidates for interview. Interviews will take place in an accessible location.

Garda vetting may be mandatory for successful applicants. You must be cleared by the National Vetting Bureau before the work can commence. The successful applicant may also be required to complete mandatory training in line with the requirements of their role or broader company requirements. It will not be possible to provide application process feedback to unsuccessful applicants.

Please note that Dublin City Council Culture Company is committed to developing policies and practices ensuring that accessibility, universal design and reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities are taken into account. Dublin City Council Culture Company is an equal opportunity employer. Please see our Equal Opportunities Policy here.

Please note that both the museum at 14 Henrietta Street and Richmond Barracks are Part M access compliant, and the offices of Dublin City Council Culture Company in both have limited physical access. Reasonable accommodation of access requirements will be made for successful applicants. Candidates who are invited for an interview will receive the interview questions and/or tasks in advance to allow everyone to prepare fully for the interview.

We are committed to respecting and protecting your privacy. We keep several kinds of personal data about our prospective employees so we can manage the recruitment process effectively and efficiently and meet our legal obligations. Please see our Privacy Notice for Job Applicants here.

Richmond Barracks is a building of historical importance located in Inchicore. It is home to a library, garden, cafe and Culture Connects, a programme of cultural activities that celebrate the experiences and interests of the local communities and people.

Culture Connects is a year-round programme that invites people in Dublin to try out new things. We offer ways for people to make and create together, to share ideas, and connect through culture and conversation.

Established in March 2018, Dublin City Council Culture Company runs cultural initiatives and buildings across the city for, and with, the people of Dublin.

Collaborating with citizens, communities, cultural organisations, businesses, and Dublin City Council itself, the company’s work is focused on embedding cultural experiences and increasing cultural participation throughout Dublin’s neighbourhoods. We connect people and communities through culture and conversation. When people feel connected to their local area they feel safer and stronger, and are healthier.