The Great Barrier Reef Foundation

The Great Barrier Reef is a unique icon and an irreplaceable ecosystem. It’s the largest living thing on earth and home to thousands of species of marine life, including six of the world’s seven species of marine turtle.

The Great Barrier Reef Foundation is the lead charity for the Reef, driving the immediate change needed for the Reef to survive for future generations. Right now, we have over 60 Reef-saving projects with over 65 project delivery partners. We are the action station for the Reef, bringing together people and science to deliver the world’s largest coral reefs program.

The role

As the Science Communicator for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and communications lead for the worlds largest coral reef’s program, the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP), this position is responsible for creating compelling content and stories about our projects that make science accessible for target audiences. This position is a key contributor to the organisations’ Marketing and Communications strategy to raise awareness of the outcomes and impact of our conservation programs, enhance brand reputation and drive audience engagement.

Key accountabilities include:

• Support the communication requirements of the RRAP program including reporting, responding to partner organisation requests and leading specific communication events such as working group meetings and workshops
• Proactively research, identify and develop inspiring science communications for the projects that sit within RRAP and Great Barrier Reef Foundation more broadly, to reach local and global audiences
• Coordinate the development of science communications content across channels including blogs, video, infographics, explainer content, podcasts, PR and media
• Work closely with RRAP stakeholders and partners to ensure support, collaboration and positive engagement in the RRAP communications strategy and communications protocol
• Regularly assess performance of content to target audiences using data analytics, provide recommendations to optimise future content in collaboration with Marketing and Communications Director
• Develop and maintain a content calendar and project plan of proactive stories that align to the overarching Marketing and Communications strategy
• Manage the use of the RRAP project brand and similar assets, both by external parties and the Foundation itself, to ensure consistency and accuracy.
• Meet with the Executive Director of RRAP regularly on RRAP communications activities
• Contribute to the development and optimisation of other content and campaigns as required.
• Develop strategies as needed to help improve the outputs and productivity of the team.

About you

You are passionate about the environment and the Great Barrier Reef and are eager to play a key role in shaping the future of Reef conservation. You have a strong understanding of the environment sector and experience as a senior communicator within a science context.

You have strong interpersonal and negotiation skills and thrive when working collaboratively with complex stakeholders to develop and maintain positive relationships.

Most of all, you are an exceptional communicator. You distil complex concepts and make them accessible to everyday audiences. You understand how to deliver results from the content you produce and can actively demonstrate this.

You are outcomes focused and your experience of planning and managing resources and timeframes together with your knowledge of communication issues, the media landscape and practices ensures the successful communication of project activities and impacts.

Additionally, you will have a demonstrated ability to think long term, scope out future requirements and develop forward plans.

Experience in fundraising communications, while not essential, will be viewed favourably.

Essential Selection Criteria

1. Tertiary qualifications in Marketing, Communications or a relevant field together with a demonstrated strong understanding of the environment and/or science sector and a minimum 5 years senior communications experience, ideally within a science communication context.
2. Demonstrated ability to write effective science communication across channels, that deliver measurable results
3. Extensive editorial experience including researching, writing, producing and editing stories
4. Demonstrated experience managing end to end integrated marketing and communication campaigns, with a particular focus on engaging audiences across digital platforms

The rewards

This is a chance for an experienced Science Communicator to step into an energetic, high performing and innovative team at a point where the scale of opportunity is extraordinary.

Following the world's most rigorous and comprehensive investigation into medium and large reef intervention, which was completed in 2019, RRAP is now embarking on a long-term research and development (R&D) program to develop, test and risk-assess novel interventions to help keep the Reef resilient and sustain critical functions and values.

The position is a maximum term contract to 30 June 2024.

This full-time, Brisbane based role is offered with flexible working arrangements.