Science Communication Officer
Post: Earth Science Communicator
Wage: Up to £25,000 per annum including London Weighting
Location: Mayfair, Central London
The Geological Society of London wishes to recruit a science communication specialist to develop the Society’s media profile through the promotion of its published research and cutting-edge conferences, and to assist in communications activities aimed at parliamentarians and departments of state.
The successful applicant will be responsible to the Society’s External Relations Committee, and will be expected to develop under the guidance of author and science journalist Ted Nield (Editor, Geoscientist) with a view to becoming the Society’s principal media contact in April 2009, subject to satisfactory performance.
The duties of the post holder will include reactive and proactive media relations; drafting responses to Government and other consultations; managing certain of the Society’s international relations (principally with the International Geoscience Programme (IGCP) and the Association of European Geological Societies); drafting speeches for the President and providing administrative assistance to the External Relations Committee. These responsibilities will require some foreign travel, mainly in Europe.
The successful applicant will be a fluent and talented writer, able to assist fellow members of staff as required in the creation of leaflets, brochures and other documents aimed at a general audience - including buying in design and print services, and bringing these documents to publication.
Preferably with a background in the Earth sciences and a postgraduate qualification in science communication or journalism (or equivalent experience), you will be able to demonstrate a strong commitment to the popularisation of science in general and Earth sciences in particular.
Further Information
Application will be by CV and written exercise, with a covering letter explaining why you think you would be ideally suited to this position. If you have a portfolio of published science writing, please include this also.
- Closing date for applications: Monday 30 June
- Interviews will be held on: Thursday 10 July
Person specification
- This new post would ideally suit an Earth science graduate with a postgraduate qualification in Science Communication; or equally, a graduate of a combined BSc in Earth science and communication.
- You will be familiar with science news releases and be interested in developing your skill in promoting interesting science stories from the papers published in our journals and Special Publications, as well as presented at our conferences. You will be excited by the prospect of assisting science journalists from newspapers, magazines, websites and broadcast media in their daily work and helping them broaden and deepen their coverage of geosciences and related issues. You will also be interested in using your writing skills to draft comprehensible submissions to Parliamentary committees and other consulting bodies.
- Experience in scientific public relations is not a prerequisite, as training will be given in the writing and promulgation of news releases and inquiry submissions, and in dealing with media inquiries.
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We will expect you to demonstrate:
- facility in writing
- a lively imagination for presenting science accessibly
- evidence of a commitment to the popularisation of science to a wide public
- strong personal initiative, and self-starting qualities
- a naturally positive, “can-do” attitude
- a habit of proactivity
- a track record of communication, especially of your interest in the Earth and its history
- an aptitude for working cooperatively with colleagues.
- You may not as yet have a firm idea of what area of science writing you would like to specialise in, though a presumption in favour of scientific public relations would be an advantage. You will, however, be eager and committed to building a career in science writing, and be excited at the prospect that this post offers of gaining direct access to established members of the science-writing profession, be they journalists, your colleagues in scientific and technical public relations, or in parliamentary liaison.
- Ideally we would wish to be satisfied that you will be more likely than not to remain in post for a number of years, and will look forward to taking over as the Society’s principal media contact in April 2009. For this reason, evidence of your commitment to Earth sciences will be crucial.
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After April 2009, the post-holder's job description would include the following; the first two items in the list being expected to make up 80+% of the post holder's time.
- Media relations (promoting Society publications and conferences, responding to media inquiries on a daily basis); attendance at BA etc.
- Government consultations – liaison with the ERC Chair re. responses, editing and delivery
- Secretarial support, ERC
- Sundry short-order writing and associated design and print buying
- IGCP travel-grant administration
- Corporate Identity management
- Managing the Society's directory entries
- Representing the Society on AEGS Executive Committee (c. one meeting in a European location per year).
- We hope that the successful candidate can be appointed in time for them to attend the British Association Annual Science Festival in Liverpool (from 5-11 September 2008), and be introduced to the assembled UK science media.
Applying
In addition to your full CV and covering letter, we would like you to submit a piece of new written work based upon a scientific paper recently published in Nature Geoscience.
Please read the paper by Schmitz et al., which you can access via the link below, and write a news story of no more than 1000 words, suitable for publication in the Society’s colour news magazine Geoscientist as a section lead within Geonews.
http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v1/n1/full/ngeo.2007.37.html
We do not expect you to conduct interviews with the paper’s authors for the purposes of this exercise; instead you may manufacture quotes to illustrate how you might use real ones in writing this story. Please also suggest how your piece may be illustrated, by proposing two images.
Before writing this piece, please familiarise yourself with the writing level in the magazine by browsing its online version. We recommend that you take as your models (for level and tone) the following examples; but please do read more widely if you have time.
- How to make a volcano by Ted Nield (feature, 2500 words)
- The Wrong Sort of Rain by Mike Price (feature, 2500 words)
- Chicx comes home to roost by Ted Nield (GeoNews page lead, c. 1000 words)
- Final straws by Dwain Eldred (GeoNews page lead, c. 1000 words)
- The longest hangover by Dwain Eldred (GeoNews second story, c, 500 words)