BirdWatch Ireland, Ireland’s largest wildlife conservation NGO, is seeking to recruit a Communications Officer, a position that will be partially funded through the Heritage Council’s 2023 Heritage Capacity Fund as part of BirdWatch Ireland’s Communicating the Wonders of Irish Wildlife 2023 project.

The key purpose of this role is to build support for BirdWatch Ireland and to inspire a world richer in nature through delivery of effective communications to identified audiences.

The successful candidate will have experience of developing and implementing successful communication strategies. They will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills and be comfortable engaging with a range of external audiences, including the public, elected representatives, media, etc. They will be comfortable working both with partners and independently, delivering on the agreed objectives and strategy.

Key responsibilities include:

• Developing outreach activities, including public relations, media and communications.
• Growing, planning and monitoring BirdWatch Ireland’s presence on social media.
• Growing and enhancing BirdWatch Ireland’s national and local media profile.
• Writing press releases, website news stories and other media communications.
• Assisting in the production of membership publications, including Wings and Bird Detectives
• Assisting in the preparation of online newsletters and promotional emails.
• Organising and running membership recruitment and outreach events.
• Assisting with administrative work around membership recruitment and retention, donations, bequests and corporate support.
• Handling queries from BirdWatch Ireland members and the general public.
• Promoting BirdWatch Ireland membership, fundraising activities and retail operations.
• Assisting with maintaining and updating the BirdWatch Ireland website.
• Measuring performance of communications and marketing efforts using Google Analytics.
• Preparing regular reports on BirdWatch Ireland’s media appearances.
• Delivering communications training to staff and volunteers.
• Liaising with BirdWatch Ireland’s volunteer branch network.