Please note this is a hybrid role based on the successful candidate working at least two days a week in our London office. Remote contracts would not be considered for this role.

Comic Relief reserves the right to close the role early if a large number of applications are received.

Purpose of Role

You’ll inspire people to take action through the stories and words you use to bring Comic Relief to life. Working as our lead copy writer, you’ll produce written materials for a range of purposes, from fundraising appeals to pitch decks; short form ads and annual reports as well as writing for internal communications assets, for example, campaign song sheets and briefings. You’ll understand the audience for whom you are writing and the purpose of your words, using insight and evidence to inform tone and language and you’ll partner with creative colleagues to deliver highly effective creative communication assets that meet business goals and objectives.

Key responsibilities

In this role you’ll partner with a wide range of stakeholders to develop a wide range of multi-channel content, specifically writing engaging and persuasive copy for:

• Fundraising appeals (email, direct mail, online).

• Social media content (posts, stories, ads).

• Website pages, blogs, and impact stories.

• Newsletters, reports, and printed materials.

• Video scripts and other multimedia formats

• Internal documents and corporate communications

Your work will include:

• Bringing our brand to life – Working with colleagues across Communications and Production, develop and maintain a distinctive and consistent brand tone of voice that can be creatively deployed to meet the goals of the organisation ensuring our messaging is clear, engaging, and effective.

• Crafting powerful storytelling content – Working with colleagues in the Stories team, and brief holders, prepare copy that showcases the need for and impact of our work to inspire support. This might be producing an impact story to share with existing partners or donors or writing an emotive appeal to solicit donations.

• Creating persuasive campaign messaging – Working with colleagues in the Communications Campaigns and Production Teams, prepare campaign concepts, key messages, propositions, messaging hierarchies and internal tool kits that will ultimately drive donations, engagement, and long-term supporter relationships.

• Measuring and improving impact – Working with colleagues review the performance of copy and creative assets, using insights and data to refine messaging and optimise tone and style for future success.

• Adapting content for different audiences – Tailoring messaging across diverse platforms and audiences while staying true to our brand voice.

• Supporting internal teams – Refining existing copy and providing expert copy-writing advice to help colleagues across the organisation promoting a consistent tone of voice and ensuring high-quality messaging.

• Working alongside freelance creatives, including copywriters, offering guidance and support to ensure all written materials are in keeping with brand tone and style and having an oversight of quality

Person Specification

Essential Criteria

• Extensive experience as a creative writer able to write to brief for different audiences and purposes, from corporate communications to fundraising appeals, ads or sales copy and short-form digital assets to heartfelt supporter stories to light-hearted, entertainment focussed social media content.

• Proven ability as a story-teller, able to deliver compelling, emotive, and human-centred content that moves people to take action.

• Knowledge of how to write for different stages of the marketing funnel (awareness, engagement, consideration, and conversion).

• Demonstrably able to collaborate with multidisciplinary teams—marketing, fundraising, digital and other creative colleagues—bringing creative ideas to life in a fast paced environment.

• Capable of structuring messaging for maximum impact across different channels and audiences.

• Evidence of working on brand communication frameworks, able to demonstrate capability in developing tone of voice guidelines and managing their internal deployment to positive effectA keen eye for detail, expert proofreader and editor.

• Organisational and prioritisation skills, able to manage multiple projects while keeping creativity at the heart of everything you do.

Desirable Criteria

• Proven success in developing written fundraising communications for a charity or non-profit organisation

• An interest in or experience with comedy writing

• Experience creating content tailored for a variety of platforms, from social media to print to web, with a clear understanding of what works where.

• Experience using performance data and audience insights to shape and refine messaging that drives results and deepens audience engagement.

• Experience of and a passion for social purpose and across UK and International work

Don’t meet every single requirement? Studies have shown that women and people of colour are less likely to apply to jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Comic Relief we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace, so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Why work at Comic Relief

There are lots of good reasons to join us at Comic Relief. You can read more about our employee benefits, such as our commitment to flexible and hybrid working. We ask staff to come to the office twice a week, normally on agreed team days, so that we can do all those things that are difficult to do online. Our office is based in Whitechapel, London, There are lots of opportunities to develop your skills and experience at Comic Relief, including opportunities to become a Mental Health First Aider or to participate in our Employee Network Groups that focus on making Comic Relief a more inclusive place to work

Disability Confident employer

As part of the Disability Confident scheme, we take positive action by providing first-round interviews to candidates who have a registered disability, provided they meet the minimum criteria for the role, as demonstrated on their CV or application scores. We ask that candidates that wish to be considered for this scheme email Recruitment@comicrelief.com to discuss further. Please do not email CV's/cover letters.