The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is an international non-profit research  and policy organisation that tackles environment and development challenges and conducts policy-relevant environmental and sustainable development research around the world. We carry out action-oriented research to inform sustainable development policy and practice at local, national, regional and international levels. SEI has consistently been ranked as one of the top global environmental think tanks. Building on a reputation for excellence established over its 30 year history, SEI remains at the forefront of international sustainable development research.

SEI York is one of eight SEI centres around the world and is situated in the dynamic and highly regarded Department of Environment and Geography at the University of York. SEI York has expertise in air pollution and climate change; sustainable consumption and production; critical environmental governance; citizen science; and environments, human health and wellbeing. We are a group of 45 staff and 22 PhD students and continue to grow. Partnerships are key to our research and we collaborate with a large number, in many different regions of the world.

We aim to ensure that there is a supportive culture at all levels and across all staff groups and offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies and flexible working arrangements such as working from home up to 4 days a week.

The Communications team is looking for two experienced and highly organised Communications Specialists to lead and deliver the communication components of a portfolio of complex research projects as well as contribute to ad hoc requests led by the Communication Manager.

As a Communications Specialist, a significant aspect of your role will involve developing project communication plans and activities, and delivering high quality outputs within complex research projects, to a budget and under minimal supervision. You will develop strong working relationships with the Principal Investigators of research projects and project researchers, to ensure the timely delivery of information for these communications outputs and to maximise communication coordination and opportunities. You will work creatively to ensure that communication policies, procedures and platforms of both the University of York and the Stockholm Environment Institute are maximised, as well as attend key institutional meetings and contribute to Centre level reporting mechanisms as required by the Communications Manager.

• A science or communications undergraduate degree or equivalent professional experience
• A good understanding of the science underpinning environment and development issues and a good knowledge of the science-policy interface
• Experience in writing and editing high-quality scientific content for a range of audiences
• Experience of leading, developing and implementing project communications plans, with strong management skills
• The ability to communicate complex scientific concepts through a range of formats and channels
• Excellent planning and organisational skills
• Strong attention to detail and ability to follow visual and editorial guidelines
• Ability to build constructive and collaborative relationships

The primary role of the SEI York Centre Communications Specialist is to lead and deliver the communication components of complex research projects. You could have around four key projects to deliver on at any one time, along with contributing to ad hoc requests as and when required by the Communications Manager.

A significant part of the role will involve project communication planning and delivering outputs, for which you will need excellent skills in project management, writing and editing scientific content, and relationship building. With the support of the Communications Manager, you will need to be comfortable with managing ambiguity, changing priorities and competing deadlines to deliver high-quality, timely outputs. You will develop strong working relationships with the Principal Investigators (PIs) of the research projects to manage expectations and ensure deliverables are met. You will also develop good working relationships with project researchers to ensure the timely provision of information for communications outputs e.g. press releases, social media.

You will work creatively to ensure our unique position within the University of York and the Stockholm Environment Institute is maximised, by taking the communication policies, procedures and platforms of both organisations into account, as well as engaging with centrally led activities (UoY or SEI) as and when required.

Communications Specialists are expected to attend and contribute to key institutional meetings on a regular basis such as staff meetings, editorial meetings and research meetings, when appropriate.

The above list of duties is not exhaustive and is subject to change. The post holder may be required to undertake others duties within the scope and grading of the post. Please refer to the application page for a more detailed list of responsibilities.