Communications Manager (maternity cover)

Figurative is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to impact, investment and innovation in the cultural and creative sector. We're seeking an experienced Communications Manager to join us in a maternity cover role.

Key details

Job title: Communications Manager (maternity cover)

Term: April 2025 – April 2026.

Hours: Part time, 3 days per week

Location: Hybrid working, with at least one day a week in Somerset House, London

Salary: circa £46,000 pro rata (depending on experience)

Application deadline: 09:00 Monday 9 December.

About Figurative

Figurative is an independent not-for-profit organisation dedicated to impact, investment and innovation in the cultural and creative sector. Launched in August 2024, we incorporate Arts & Culture Finance (formerly part of Nesta) and New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture – two teams with extensive experience of developing new funding mechanisms, innovation programmes and impact-focused support for UK arts organisations. Our long-term mission is to offer a full spectrum of support enabling the sector to innovate to achieve its goals.

Examples of our work to date include:

• Our flagship £18m Arts & Culture Impact Fund, which provides loan finance to UK-based arts, culture and heritage organisations delivering social impact;
• The Arts for Impact match funding campaign, in partnership with the Big Give, which supports arts and culture charities working to achieve societal impact across the UK.
• The report Impact Investing in the Cultural and Creative Sectors: Insights from an emerging field, commissioned by the UK’s Creative Industries Policy & Evidence Centre, which explores how impact investment can be a transformative tool for the CCS;
• The Creativity, Culture & Capital essay collection, a collaboration between Arts & Culture Finance, Upstart Co-Lab (USA) and Fundación Compromiso (Argentina) that provides case studies of how impact capital is supporting innovation in the creative economy.

We’ve supported organisations from Birmingham Royal Ballet to Birkenhead’s Future Yard, and we’re looking to expand our impact and reach within the UK and globally.

About the Role

We are seeking a proactive and experienced Communications Manager to join our small team. The successful candidate will play a crucial role in implementing our communications strategy and building Figurative’s profile and visibility within the cultural and creative sector.

Key responsibilities

New organisation communications

• Lead the implementation of Figurative’s new communications strategy.
• Support the leadership team in cementing Figurative’s new identity, brand and core messaging, both internally and externally.
• Lead on the integration of Figurative’s communications channels – in particular the phased integration of New Philanthropy for Arts & Culture’s legacy channels.

Marketing

• Promote Figurative’s open funds and programmes to appropriate organisations, ensuring a healthy pipeline of credible enquiries and applications is maintained.
• Promote Figurative’s work and mission to appropriate umbrella organisations, trade bodies and funding partners.
• Proactively seek new advertising and media partnership opportunities with sector press, conferences and appropriate media organisations.

Partnerships and profile-building

• Manage communications relationships with funders and key contacts in finance, charity sector, arts and culture, government and public bodies.
• Support the delivery and promotion of quarterly ‘Open House’ events offering advice about social impact investment and organisational development to arts, culture and heritage organisations.
• Work to raise the profile of the organisation through conference presentations, keynote speeches, awards, events, thought leadership opportunities and articles.

Digital

• Maintain and develop content on the Figurative website, newsletter and social media channels, including writing and editing copy.
• Promote existing digital resources (e.g. webinars, reports) to appropriate audiences in arts, culture, heritage, public sector, government and policy.
• Contribute to a content-led approach to marketing and communications, suggesting new ideas for content to meet demand.

PR

• Manage Figurative’s media presence; writing, pitching and placing compelling, relevant copy for local, national and international media.
• Monitor the media, online and offline, maximising opportunities for positive PR.

Who we’re looking for

Skills

• Strong, versatile copywriting skills and attention to detail.
• Good organisational, planning, and coordination skills.
• Ability to multi-task and re-prioritize as needed.
• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Confidence to work independently, taking full ownership of projects.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build collaborative relationships.
• Good verbal presentation, group dynamic, and facilitation skills.
• Proactive approach in resolving problems and issues.
• Desirable: visual content creation (e.g. use of publication design suites, infographics, video editing).

Experience

• Proven experience of developing and delivering relevant communications or marketing projects in the cultural and creative sector.
• Track record of successfully pitching and placing stories in trade media, in addition to national media.
• Proven experience of managing and developing an organisation’s digital presence via websites, newsletters and social media.
• Desirable: experience working in a start-up or similar early-stage organisation/venture.

How to Apply

You can apply via our website here: https://figurative.org.uk/career/communications-manager-maternity-cover/

Your application should include your CV and a covering letter. In your covering letter, please tell us (briefly) about:

• A time when you introduced a complex topic to a general audience.
• A time when you worked with multiple stakeholders to develop a single clear story or message.
• Some thoughts on how impact investment could benefit the cultural and creative sector.

If you have any questions or requirements, please contact Seva Phillips, Figurative’s Chief Innovation Officer ([email removed - click apply for more details]).