Communications Officer

Institute of Physics

About the Organisation

Institute of Physics (IOP) is the national society for the discipline of physics in the UK and Ireland. As well as being a learned society, we are also the professional body for members based in the UK, Ireland, and overseas. We are a professional, modern, and ambitious organisation seeking to unlock the potential of physics and physicists nationally and internationally. Our purpose is to promote the advancement and dissemination of knowledge and learning in pure and applied physics for the benefit of all. We do this by building a thriving and diverse physics workforce, raising standards, supporting careers, and addressing barriers.

We demonstrate the importance, relevance, and impact of physics in everyday life and the role it plays in addressing society’s major societal, economic, and environmental challenges. We influence change, actively engage in public and government dialogue, improve the quality of debate, inform policy, and influence funding strategies. Above all, we are pioneering.

We foster a sense of community amongst employees, members, volunteers, and people with an interest in physics, providing a platform and a voice for ideas to be heard and creating an environment that enables game-changing innovation. Our organisational values are at the heart of IOP and provide the foundations to empower us all to lead cultural change, deliver high performance across the organisation, and enable us to promote advancements and learning in pure and applied physics for the benefit of all.

About the role

We are looking for a communications officer who can help us deliver this mission by working with a full range of external channels. You will have a passion for telling powerful, important stories and enjoy pitching to some of the UK’s highest profile journalists, finding news hooks and human interest in the IOP’s cutting-edge research. You will be a quick, accurate, and confident writer and have experience in responding to the news agenda and advising colleagues. You’ll be as comfortable creating video and social media content as you are in traditional media, and familiar with the challenge of generating and commissioning digital communications.

An understanding and passion for science is also an advantage, but far more important is a willingness to learn and engage alongside the ability to communicate, both to scientific and non-scientific audiences, how physics is transforming our world. In the last 12 months alone, the IOP communications team has led the UK in helping celebrate the UNESCO International Year of Quantum, produced agenda-shaping policy work on the need to ensure every young person has a specialist physics teacher, and raised the alarm about the financial challenges facing university physics departments.

We are a busy, ambitious team and can offer a stimulating environment for personal and professional growth to the right person.  Together with our members and leaders from the world of physics and beyond, we have identified three priorities of Skills, Science, and Society, which must shape our work over the next five years if we are to achieve our mission.

Responsibilities

• Deliver effective, high-impact communications activities across media, social media, and digital channels.
• Write and edit high-quality media lines, press releases, social media content, and other communications material.
• Develop and demonstrate policy knowledge and the ability to work closely with policy and public affairs colleagues to advise on, develop, and deliver communications activity.
• Provide communications advice to internal colleagues, ensuring all activity clearly ties into our overarching strategic objectives.
• Understand all key audiences (internal, external, member, and media) and work with colleagues to develop communications solutions tailored to their needs.
• Support the IOP’s social media activity, working alongside the Social Media Officer and Senior Communications Manager.
• Monitor the external environment to identify opportunities to reach and engage target audiences and amplify strategic messages.
• Build and maintain collaborative and trusted relationships with colleagues
• Provide administrative support to the communications team as needed, including monitoring email inboxes, updating our intranet pages, schedules, etc
• Support the media monitoring work of the communications team and contribute towards its out-of-hours rota and coverage.
• Be an expert writer with meticulous attention to detail and the ability to develop effective messages and compelling copy.
• Identify, assess, and manage risks and threats to the IOP, its programmes, and projects within their specialism.
• Encourage best practice in managing, following, and promoting IOP EDI standards through their work, interaction with colleagues, stakeholders, and members.

Skills, Competencies & Experience

Experience:

• Experience developing communications and media campaigns, generating unique and compelling content that engages audiences
• Experience in proactive and reactive media engagement, including press notices, lines to take, and briefing spokespeople.
• Experience working with senior colleagues from a wide range of backgrounds
• Experience engaging with complex topics and able to make them understandable to a general audience.
• Experience in balancing priorities and delivering to tight deadlines.
• Experience in effective news management and crisis media handling.
• Experience in creative communications campaigns that raise awareness of an organisation’s event, service, or product.
• Some experience working with and managing social media channels.
• Track record in the creation and development of relationships with journalists and opinion formers.

Skills & Required:

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to understand and analyse complex issues and communicate them to various audiences in a simple but effective manner.
• Able to develop engaging, targeted content and messages suitable for use across a range of channels and ensure appropriate content, messaging, tone, and consistency in all communication.
• A superb eye for detail and accuracy with strong editing and proofreading skills.
• Ability to work calmly under pressure to tight deadlines.
• Ability to make sound judgments and have a strong news sense.
• Effective time management with the ability to plan, prioritise, and deliver to tight timescales.
• A creative and solutions-focused approach with the ability to identify and exploit opportunities.
• Enthusiastic, proactive, and flexible approach to work.
• Organisational skills, ability to work with minimum supervision, and prioritise own workload
• Computer literate, good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, and of press office and social media tools.
• Team player: the ability to work cooperatively with others to achieve common goals
• Negotiation skills are the capability to explore different positions and alternatives to reach outcomes that gain acceptance from all parties
• Influencing skills, the ability to bring others to your way of thinking diplomatically
• Proactive in thinking ahead and acting to ensure the smooth completion of
• team/individual aims and objectives.
• Interpersonal skills ability to positively communicate with others; the confidence to listen and understand. 

Required Qualifications

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience and qualifications. Qualification in journalism, PR or marketing (or equivalent relevant experience)

Compensation & Benefits

• An excellent pension scheme - (up to 12% company contribution)
• Private medical insurance, life assurance, dental insurance, health care cash plan (via salary sacrifice), eye care vouchers, annual flu vaccinations, long service awards, employee assistance programme
• Floating bank holidays (choose where to take your bank holidays throughout the year)
• Generous annual leave (25 days starting as a standard)
• Flexible working 

Working locations

• Hybrid model, working in the London office and remotely

How to apply

• Alongside your CV, please ensure you include a cover letter stating how you meet the person specification. 
• To apply for this role, please click the link. Best of luck with your applications!

Interviews

• Interviews to be held: Between 10th - 12th December 2025 (Via Teams/In Person - TBC)

Policies

The Institute of Physics is an open and inclusive organisation that welcomes and celebrates diversity.

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