Communications Lead (Part-time)

Food Ethics Council

Hours
26.25 hours per week

Length of contract
2 year

About the Organisation

Food Ethics Council is a registered charity and an independent think-and-do tank, whose purpose is to bring ethics to the centre of food systems. Food should nourish communities and ecosystems, but current models normalise exploitation, accelerate climate breakdown, and leave one in five people in the UK food insecure. Our mission is to put people, animals, and the planet at the heart of every food decision.

We ask the hard questions on contentious food issues that others won’t or can’t. For 28 years, we have brought our independent voice and expertise from our Council and networks across civil society, business, and government. Our contribution to making food systems in the UK fair for all is through:

• Asking deeper questions about power, risk, and impact
• Creating trusted spaces for difficult conversations that build capacity for more ethical change
• Connecting diverse changemakers to build collective capabilities (power) and develop in the round’ solutions
• Shifting narratives from symptoms and quick fixes to root causes

Our work includes bringing food and farming changemakers together through ‘Roots and Routes’ workshops, building the case for ethical food systems, joint advocacy work promoting inclusivity and fairness on food and farming policy, and making the right to food a key lever for change in the UK.

This is an exciting opportunity to join a small, dynamic team in an organisation that has been at the forefront of thinking on ethical concerns in food and farming since 1998. Our staff team works closely with our Council members, who are amongst the leaders in their fields and who are actively involved in our work. We are proud to be a Real Living Wage employer.

About the role

We are recruiting for a part-time Communications Lead with a strong interest in food systems. Our influence depends on good communication. That doesn’t mean telling people what to do. We see ethics as a sharp ear and a helping hand, not a wagging finger. We need a dynamic Communications Lead to help us engage the people we work with, raise our profile and inspire others to adopt more ethical approaches. You will work with the team to engage key audiences and help deliver our strategic outcomes. You will build our brand and help raise our profile.

You will manage our website, our social media channels (currently primarily LinkedIn and Instagram), coordinate our media relations, help promote events and work with colleagues to put good communication at the heart of all our work. You will write copy and use existing narratives to inform copy. You will represent us, as well as coordinate and advise your colleagues and Council members.

You will have an eye for the story in research work and be good at distilling complex issues to their key points. You will take a strategic view of communication and be practised at weighing the pros and cons of different media. You will be able to communicate with different audiences about complex, controversial and sensitive issues and recognise that integrity is paramount.

The organisation has an open and supportive culture. You must be able to work independently and be willing to contribute ideas, and to challenge and be challenged. Whilst your primary responsibility is communications, as part of a small team, this role needs someone who is prepared to get involved in different aspects of the organisation as needed.

The Communications Lead will take the lead on designing and delivering communications that support us to engage with our key audiences and tell strong, authentic stories about the work we do in the food system

Responsibilities

Strategic Communications:

• Support the Exec Director in developing and delivering the communications strategy, including comms elements of our key programmes (Right to Food, Roots & Routes roundtables, Business Forum)
• Provide strategic input on framing and language of our work, ensuring it is inclusive and accessible

Website, Social Media & Newsletters:

• Regularly write fresh, accessible & relevant copy for website and coordinate and commission a series of regular blogs (other input) from key stakeholders, including Council members
• Use social media where appropriate to develop communities of interest
• Responsible for website content and image management
• Produce regular newsletters and emails to stakeholders
• Use Canva to design social media assets

Marketing, Media & Partnerships:

• Devise, write and coordinate design for marketing materials
• Develop our media relations and activities in accordance with our communications strategy, embed good media relations in our work and be a liaison point with the media
• Liaise with communications teams in organisations we partner with to align messages and amplify work

Content Creation:

• Support project activity when required, specifically providing communications support such as articles, blog posts, LinkedIn posts, and press releases. Also, to help with report writing and event organising as and when required.
• Work with the Exec Director and the Deputy Director to develop the annual reflections/ impact report

Internal Communications and Support:

• Support and develop internal communications
• Support the team in researching, developing and writing funding bids as and when required

Skills, Competencies, Experience & Attributes

Experience:

• Strategic planning of communication
• Experience of synthesising discussions, reports and events into key messages for our target audiences
• Media relations and communication, including writing copy and issuing news releases
• Demonstrable experience building and retaining audiences on the web and on social media

Skills:

• Excellent oral communication, advocacy and interpersonal skills
• Excellent writing, proofreading and editing skills
• Excellent IT skills, including good inclusive web skills, good social media skills (including LinkedIn), good design skills using Canva and knowledge of Microsoft Office 365, WordPress and Mailchimp

Knowledge:

• Practical knowledge of communication strategies and methods
• Good knowledge of food and farming issues
• Good understanding of the value of independent challenge and advice to policy, business and public decision-making

Personal & Attributes:

• Positive, solutions-focused and self-aware.
• Is rigorous in planning and delivery, and able to prioritise.

Compensation & Benefits

• Pension contribution of 4% basic per month pay
• Employee contributions to pensions
• 25 days of annual leave + public holidays

Conditions of employment

• You must have the right to work in the UK

Working locations

• Home-based

How to apply

• When applying, please send an email with "Food Ethics Council application" in the title of the email to [email protected]. Please include:
  • Your CV (no more than 2 pages). Note: Please remove any identifying information, including your name, from your CV to ensure assessment without bias.
  • A covering letter (maximum 2 pages), which explains, including examples, how you meet the person specification. Also, please specify if you want to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme, noting that an interview is guaranteed only if you are from a minoritised/ marginalised ethnic group and if you meet the essential criteria for the role, as outlined below.

Interviews

• Note: Candidates short-listed for an interview will be notified directly
• First round interviews will be held virtually (via Zoom or Teams) on 18th & 19th March 2026 or on the nearest suitable date.
• Shortlisted candidates will be invited to a second round interview, including a written task.

Policies

Equal opportunities: The Food Ethics Council is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to the principle of equal opportunities, and we welcome applications from individuals, irrespective of their age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic background, religion and/or belief. We are happy to discuss and consider flexible working at the point of hire. We are also proud to be a Real Living Wage Employer.

We want to work together to combat structural causes of injustice in food and farming. We warmly and actively encourage applications from people from diverse backgrounds. We recognise that candidates from Black, Asian and Minoritised-Ethnic backgrounds are underrepresented in our organisation and that there are often additional barriers present for people from these groups when applying for roles in the charity sector and beyond. We are committed to taking positive action to expand the diversity of our staff team, and if you meet the essential criteria for a role and are from a minority ethnic group, you'll be guaranteed a first-stage interview.

It is important to note that this scheme guarantees an interview for candidates who meet the minimum criteria and tell us that they'd like to be considered under the scheme. The selection decision at the interview will be based on the most suitable candidate, regardless of any protected characteristic.

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