Recycling Communications Lead

Recycling Communications Lead - 2 year fixed term contract

Do you want to help make Gateshead a place where everyone thrives? If that sounds like you, keep reading - we might just be the perfect match.

We’re delighted that you’re interested in working with us. You’d be joining us at a very exciting time.

We pride ourselves on our ambitious and forward-thinking approach to taking care of Gateshead and its people, and we passionately believe that our employees reflect that spirit in truly enabling Gateshead to thrive.

At Gateshead Council you’d be a highly valued member of a team that recognises and respects the skills that you bring to your role, encourages creativity and passionately advocates a great work / life balance. Our actions speak louder than words, and with flexi-time and hybrid working available across many of our roles, as well as a full suite of outstanding employee benefits, we’re confident that it isn’t just the salary that attracts our staff.

The South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership is responsible for coordinating strategic waste and recycling activity across three local authorities.

National reforms, including Simpler Recycling and Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging (pEPR), are creating new opportunities to improve recycling performance, introduce new services and deliver better outcomes for residents. The Partnership is also preparing for wider policy changes, including the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) and evolving environmental requirements affecting local authority waste services.

Are you passionate about delivering communications that make a real difference to communities? We're looking for an experienced and creative communications professional to lead engagement and behaviour-change activity across the South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership, covering Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape how residents understand and respond to significant changes in waste and recycling services, including the implementation of Simpler Recycling. Sitting within Gateshead Council’s dedicated Communications team and working with colleagues across three local authorities, you will develop and deliver impactful communications campaigns that inform, engage and inspire residents to adopt positive recycling behaviours. From translating complex service changes into clear and accessible messages to designing evidence-based campaigns that drive measurable outcomes, you'll play a key role in helping create cleaner, greener communities across the region.

• Develop and deliver a Partnership-wide communications and engagement strategy to support Simpler Recycling implementation and other service changes.
• Design and deliver targeted behaviour-change communications campaigns to improve participation, reduce contamination and support effective service use.
• Work collaboratively with communications teams at all three local authority partners to ensure consistent and locally appropriate messaging.
• Translate operational service changes into clear, accessible resident-facing communications across a range of channels.
• Coordinate the development of communication materials and guidance for frontline and customer-facing teams.
• Develop and support communications approaches to explain wider waste policy changes to residents and stakeholders.
• Monitor engagement, feedback and emerging issues and support issue management during periods of service change.
• Evaluate communications activity and provide reports and recommendations for continuous improvement.

• Educated to degree level, or able to demonstrate equivalent relevant experience in communications, engagement, marketing, public relations or a related discipline.
• Experience of delivering impactful communications or engagement campaigns that achieve measurable results.
• A strong track record of working collaboratively across organisations and with a range of stakeholders.
• The ability to turn complex information into clear,…