Are you a quick-thinking storyteller, with a passion for the green energy transition and flair for political thinking? Do you enjoy pitching stories to journalists and crafting engaging content across a variety of channels, and manage and develop a brand through your work? Then you might be STRING’s new PR and Communications Officer.
STRING is looking for an ambitious PR lead and communication talent to join their team in Copenhagen to strengthen the organisation’s political impact and help brand, position, and tell the story of how its members are transforming northern Europe into a green megaregion through cross-border projects and political cooperation at EU level.
STRING is a political member organisation, representing 13 cities, regions and municipalities in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Germany. We cover the area between Hamburg in the South and Oslo in the North, and work to tie these regions together in a megaregion – a large geography cooperating and sharing a joint profile as a Green Hub. To make this happen, we focus on two main political areas: Advocating for sustainable transport infrastructure, and creating a strong green growth agenda in Northern Europe.
Who are we?
STRING works at all levels of governance, both local, regional, national, international and with the EU institutions – and an important part of our remit is to bring together actors from the political, academic and business sphere to facilitate and strengthen cross border cooperation in our four member countries.
You will work in the Secretariat, which is the instance responsible for carrying out STRING’s projects, initiatives, communication, events and political visions. We are five permanent members of staff as well as two student assistants, based in central Copenhagen.
YOUR ROLE
As our new communications officer, you will lead on successfully engaging with stakeholders and building trust in the work we do. You will need to understand how to communicate with and reach specific segments and levels of our audience in all four of our member countries and in Brussels.
You are exceptional at spotting opportunities to showcase and communicate the work we do, both to internal and external stakeholders, and can easily translate our initiatives, projects and decisions to news stories. You will need to keep up to date on all the activities undertaken by your colleagues, in order to effortlessly have a solid overview of what is happening within the organisation at all times.
You will seek to extend and broaden the reach of the organisation’s communication activities through the active use of a wide range of digital techniques and channels – from social media to an improved website and greater use of video. You will take a sole lead on our communications work, and will need to be comfortable with working alone and show drive and enthusiasm. Your focus is on delivery rather than strategy –and you are as happy writing lengthy press releases as you are communicating via Twitter.
YOUR PRIMARY TASKS WILL BE
- Being the driver and copy-writer of all communication from the Secretariat and our members.
- Developing a network of strong relationships with partners and stakeholder groups to support timely information sharing.
- Offer strategic direction for STRING’s communications strategy.
- Identifying external media opportunities to promote STRING and work with your colleagues to secure external coverage of the organisation’s key initiatives through for example press releases, debate articles and opinion pieces.
- Lead on the development of STRINGS website as a communications tool and ensure it has appropriate linkages to a wider digital strategy for the organisation
- Proactively promote and engage with external stakeholders on the role and remit of STRING via digital and social media channels
YOUR PROFILE
STRING has a small Secretariat with a large political mandate. As such, we are looking for a flexible candidate who can easily adjust to the fast-paced and often frequently changing climate of a political Secretariat. We therefore need our next colleague to have the following qualities:
- A clear understanding of communication and digital communications projects through your degree or work experience. New graduates are encouraged to apply.
- You are second to none when it comes to spotting communications opportunities, and can easily translate our work into communicative stories.
- Fast working and efficient.
- You have a certain amount of ‘just do it’ attitude – where you can easily deliver without too much information.
- Experience of drafting clear, consistent, targeted messages for internal and external audiences in an organisation with a complex range of stakeholders
- You are as happy working with the written word as you are with SoMe and video.
- Able to set your own tasks without too much supervision, and easily see the overall news value or angle of our deliveries; both for STRING overall, but also for our individual members.
- You thrive in working in an interchangeable environment, where the days differ a lot from each other (post Corona) and you are able to take things as they come without the need for a rigid schedule.
- The ability to make new connections quickly and to reach out to politicians and civil servants alike.
- You need to have a diplomatic disposition where you are able to understand the many differing wills and perspectives of our members and manage to find solutions and compromises to benefit the larger scope.
- At the same time, you are also not afraid to speak your mind and be a strong advocate for the larger STRING agenda.
- Your grasp of the English language is exceptional, and you communicate fluently in one of the Scandinavian languages. A working level of German is beneficial.
- You have humor and a healthy dose of self-awareness, and do not take yourself too seriously.
A substantial amount of travelling activity is to be expected, particularly within Denmark, and to Sweden, Norway, Germany and Brussels in relation to meetings and events. In return, we can offer you a highly varied, flexible and interesting opportunity, where you will be encouraged to grow and shape your own position, surrounded by competent, supportive and lighthearted colleagues in the heart of Copenhagen.
Does this sound like you? Please follow the link below to submit your application, no later than June 21st 2021.
If you would like to hear more about the job, please contact Managing Director Thomas Becker on thbec@stringnetwork.org or +45 2961 7010.
Apply here: COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER – Region Sjælland (regionsjaelland.dk)
PRACTICAL INFORMTION:
- Start date: As soon as possible, preferably no later than August 1st 2021.
- 37,5 hour a week contract, with your base on Nørregade 7b, Copenhagen
- STRING is technically an administrative part of Region Zealand, which means that you will be employed by Region Zealand in accordance with Danish labour law.
- The Secretariat has employees from all of the STRING member countries, so the working langue around the office is Scandinavian
- Salary to be negotiated according to Danish Region’s guidelines.
FACTS ABOUT STRING
- STRING is a geographical area and a political member organisation in Northern Europe. We connect cities and regions to collaborate effectively, share knowledge and implement integrated policies to deliver on United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities. Representing some of the world’s most innovative cities and regions, STRING has a unique opportunity to lead the way towards a sustainable future.
- Our common vision, as outlined in the 2030 Strategy, is to create a megaregion because there is strength in numbers. Simply put, we are stronger together. To achieve this, we strive to be a globally acknowledged Green Hub and a leading implementer of sustainable infrastructure to combat climate change while improving the lives of our citizens.
- Our members are: the City of Oslo and the County Council of Viken in Norway; the City of Gothenburg, the Region of Västra Götaland, the Region of Halland, the City of Malmö and the Region of Skåne in Sweden; the Capital Region of Denmark, the City of Copenhagen, the Region of Zealand and the Region of South Denmark in Denmark; and the City of Hamburg and the Region of Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.
