Communications and Publishing Lead

Sydney, NSW, Australia

Job Title: Communications and Publishing Lead

Location: Sydney, NSW. Can be based at either our Redfern or Parramatta centre, but will require working across both.   

Term: Full-time, 38 hours per week. 

Reports to: Executive Director 

Direct Reports: 1

Salary: $105,000k plus superannuation. Fringe benefit is available, providing an additional $16k per year tax free if eligible. For more information, click here.

About Story Factory:

​​At Story Factory, we believe that stories can change lives. We focus on enriching the lives of young people in under-resourced communities through quality creative writing programs, improving their writing skills, increasing their confidence and expanding their future prospects. 

Story Factory runs a wide variety of fun and engaging creative writing programs at primary and high schools across Sydney and Western Sydney, at our centres in Redfern and Parramatta, and digitally across Australia.  Since opening in 2012, our achievements include:

• 65,000+ student enrolments, with more than 8,000 enrolments in 2024;
• 15% of student are Indigenous and 49% are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds;
• Recognition of our work with multiple awards, including a Secretary’s Award for Excellence in the 2018 Public Education Foundation Awards, and Executive Director and Co-founder Catherine Keenan AM being named the 2016 Australian of the Year Local Hero.

The role:

The Communications and Publishing Lead is responsible for creating and executing Story Factory’s communications strategy across key areas, including promoting the organisation’s work to existing and new audiences. The role also leads our strategic goal of amplifying the voices of young people, along with overseeing the design and creation of all Story Factory publications.

The Communications and Publishing Lead is tasked with building our brand, promoting the work we do to existing audiences, building new audiences, and providing ways for people to engage deeply with what we do.

In line with our strategic goal of amplifying the voices of young people, the Communications and Publishing Lead also works to find ways to grow and engage audiences for our students’ writing. 

The ideal candidate will have a passion for writing, and for improving outcomes for young people in under-resourced communities. They will be an exceptional writer and communicator, with excellent people skills and fine attention to detail. They will have at least five years’ experience in a communications role, and experience overseeing and executing publishing projects or other creative projects.

 As the person leading communications with all external and internal stakeholders, they will be part of the senior management team, playing a key role in senior management discussions and having input into strategic priorities across the organisation. The ability to juggle many competing tasks, and communicate respectfully and appropriately with people from a variety of backgrounds, is essential.

The Communications and Publishing Lead will work across our Redfern and Parramatta centres and can be based at either. They will have one direct report: the Publishing and Production Manager, who directly manages the publication of all Story Factory publications and project manages our Special Projects. 

Story Factory is a Child Safe Organisation. Like all staff at Story Factory, the Communications and Publishing Lead must adhere to our Code of Conduct at all times, and be a role model in all matters of child safety. A current Working with Children Check and Police Check are prerequisites.

Key Position Priorities and Duties:

• Develop and implement Story Factory’s communications strategy, including major events and campaigns.
• Promote Story Factory’s work to existing audiences, build new audiences and grow engagement.
• Provide communications and marketing support to all teams, including volunteer recruitment, school engagement, digital, open and school programs as well as Special Projects.
• Oversee the production of Story Factory publications, including books and publications in any other medium, working with the Publishing and Production Manager, Storytellers and the Engagement & Operations Lead.
• Manage the work of the Publishing and Production Manager, ensuring timely publication of student work with a focus on increasing readership and book sales and the successful and timely delivery of Special Projects.
• Collaborate with the Head of Fundraising on supporter communications, newsletters and fundraising campaigns.
• Ensure all communications are culturally appropriate, particularly those involving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
• Oversee content creation for all media platforms, including the website and social media channels.
• Manage the integration and maintenance of communications systems across the organisation.
• Manage databases in Campaign Monitor and Salesforce, ensuring communications data is up to date.
• Seek publicity opportunities for Story Factory and specific programs, liaising with media outlets.
• Publish student stories digitally, following Story Factory’s publishing policies.
• Develop, implement, manage and review an internal communications plan, to improve information flow between teams. 

SELECTION CRITERIA

Essential: 

1. Excellent writing skills and a strong understanding of marketing principles;
2. At least 5 years’ experience in a busy communications role;
3. A self-starter happy to be in charge of all aspects of our organisation’s communications, from strategy to execution;
4. Excellent attention to detail and accuracy; 
5. Fantastic people and communication skills;
6. Management experience, ideally with direct reports and freelancers;
7. A passion for writing and for improving the lives of young people from under-resourced communities.

Desirable:

1. Familiarity with Campaign Monitor, Salesforce, Wordpress and Google apps;
2. Demonstrated experience creating high quality collateral;
3. Publicity experience;
4. Experience creating and executing an effective and engaging social media strategy;
5. Experience with internal communications.

OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

At Story Factory, we embrace differences in gender, age, ethnicity, race, cultural background, disability, religion and sexual orientation. We know that diversity and inclusion helps us to attract, recruit, engage and retain a team of talented people. 

We encourage people from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and culturally diverse backgrounds to apply. Residents of Greater Western Sydney are particularly encouraged to apply. 

If you require specific support to apply for this position, please advise the recruiting manager whose contact details are listed in the advertisement. We will work with you to identify the best way to assist you.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply for this role, please submit your CV and a cover letter addressing the selection criteria below. 

Applications close at 5pm on April 29th 2025. 

For further information, please visit  https://www.storyfactory.org.au/  or email jobs@storyfactory.org.au. 

To view the Theory of Change, click here.

To view the current strategic plan, click here. 

To view the Story Factory Reconciliation Action Plan, click here. 

To view the latest Annual Report, click here.