Social Media Communications Internship

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Mast Cell Action is looking for a passionate and hardworking individual to join an internship focussing on Social Media and Communications. Mast Cell Action is an entirely volunteer-run small charity. We are a rare diseases charity established at the end of 2015 to respond to Mast Cell Activation Syndrome (MCAS). MCAS is a crippling, unpredictable and frightening condition affecting the immune system. Sufferers from MCAS have "wrongly programmed" immune systems that react to a wide range of triggers including food, drink, stress, temperature and many others. The effects range from unpleasant allergic reactions, through to an overall debilitation resulting in people being unable to leave their houses. It was first recognised internationally in 1990, with a set of diagnostic criteria agreed in 2011, but is little known or understood in the UK, where incidence seems to be increasing. Here patients can wait 3-5 years for a diagnosis, often receive very little knowledge or help from within the medical establishment and can find themselves in a frightening limbo.

Our mission: to provide support for MCAS patients & their families; to bring the MCAS community together and create a cohesive voice; to lobby for awareness, universally available diagnosis and the best possible care for MCAS patients; and to inspire increased research into mast cell activation and related conditions, to improve understanding and treatment.

MCA currently has 4 trustees plus a small support team. We recognise we have a crucial need to recruit talented new supporters to help the organisation evolve into a sustainable, funded and effective charity. If you can help us make the journey from successful start-up to established charity, we would be hugely grateful!

Please visit our website at www.mastcellaction.org

Social Media and Communications Internship role spec: We have an essential communication strategy, know our target audiences and have some basic messaging as well as an established corporate identity. However, we lack a well organised and a practical communications person who can plan, implement and copywrite.  

Key tasks include:  

• Scheduling and placing ongoing social media 
• Creating and supporting one-off campaigns supporting fund raising initiatives or advocacy 
• Generating and issuing regular newsletters 
• Ad hoc comms requirements 

• We require a hands-on 'person, who can turn briefs into actual communications and campaigns, as well as respond to tactical requirements and have social media skills to target both adult and children target audiences.  We are looking for someone who has time to help our organisation over the mid-term and is enthusiastic about engaging with our objectives.  The right person may need to step up to develop last minute solutions for communications at times.
• To build on our YouTube channel, increasing content and subscribers.
• Develop a presence on Linked in.
• Develop a series of podcasts.
• Marketing development plan/strategy for media coverage, including drafting routine press releases for specific events.

• Support in developing Patron/Ambassador links and filling these positions.
• Sourcing good quality content which suits the charity aims to be shared on social media.

Skills Required:

• Ideally some familiarity with Trello, Mailchimp and Hootsuite, as well as our key social media platforms; Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

• Confident using Canva and be able to adhere to our identity guidelines when creating graphics. 
• Copy will generally be provided but an ability to write copy 
• "Can Do" attitude; self-starter; previous social media communications experience; understanding of different media (particularly social), ability to work in teams.

The role is flexible and may be altered to suit both the needs of the organisation and the skills of the candidate. Interns will be responsible for planning of their work and may involve working with a team of volunteers. On the job training and an induction will be provided, with continual guidance from a dedicated member of the trustee board. You will have the opportunity to measure your progress through regular check-ins with both your supervisor and mentor. This is a great opportunity to gain invaluable experience and enhance your CV and we would be happy to provide a reference. Currently, this opportunity is remote/home based.

Applications should consist of a CV and a one-page covering letter explaining why you would like to be an intern with Mast Cell Action, which aspects of our work particularly appeal to you, and what you would bring to the role. Interviews will be conducted via Zoom/Teams video conferencing on a rolling basis, so apply as early as you can.

All applicants will be considered for this opportunity without regard to race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, parental status or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, parental status.

Eligibility for internship:

Undergraduate in their penultimate year (completed Year 1 & 2)

Graduate

MSC student

MA student

Length of internship:

6-month internship: January-July