Department/Team: Marketing and Commercial

Responsible to: Senior Comms and Content Manager

Contract: Permanent

Location: Mix of home working and from The Old Vic, 103 The Cut, London, SE1 8NB (min 3 office days)

Hours: Full-Time - 40 hours per week, Monday-Friday

The Old Vic offers the ability to work these flexibly under the guidelines in our Hybrid Working policy. Additional hours may be necessary in order to fulfil the requirements of the post

Salary: £28,808 per annum

Benefits:

• Hybrid working for eligible teams and a company culture that promotes good work/life balance
• Enhanced annual leave, starting at 25 days per year, increasing by one day per year up to 30 days (plus bank holidays). Opportunity to switch statutory bank holidays to mark a religious event or festival
• Complimentary tickets for you and a guest to Old Vic preview productions
• Discretionary invite to Press Night performances and parties
• Free therapy from our therapy partner SelfSpace
• Mental health support via our in-house Mental Health Champions
• Salary sacrifice scheme with The People’s Pension and enhanced employer pension contributions
• Festive day – one discretionary additional paid day off around the festive period for a collective pause
• Time to volunteer – one day per year to support a charity or project of your choosing
• Commitment to learning, education and development
• Enhanced sick pay
• Access to interest free travel schemes including Cycle 2 work and Season Ticket loans after your probation period
• Family friendly policies and enhanced maternity/paternity/adoption/shared parental pay
• All staff social events
• Staff discount in Penny and The Old Vic bars as well as discounts in local bars and restaurants
• Opportunities to get involved with staff clubs and working groups such as the Inclusion Working Group
• Buddy schemes including New Starter and Parental buddies to support your induction and return to work after parental leave
• Death in Service Benefit

Role Summary

The Communications & Content Assistant will report to the Senior Communications and Content Manager whilst the Deputy Head of Communications is on maternity leave. Upon their return, this role will return to reporting to the Deputy Head of Communications and work closely with the Marketing & Commercial team to maximise the reach of, and engagement, with The Old Vic’s social channels (primarily Instagram, Facebook and TikTok). They will support the Communications team in maximising press opportunities and coverage in relation to productions, audience development initiatives, brand awareness, corporate affairs and fundraising campaigns.

Purpose of Role

• To support the Deputy Head of Communications and Communications Officer in ensuring that The Old Vic has a vibrant, creative and engaging PR presence that acts as a gateway to the theatre and clearly communicates all aspects of the theatre’s work
• To support the Communications & Content Managers in leading the organisation’s social and communications strategy
• To protect The Old Vic brand at all times.

Areas of responsibility

The Comms and Content Assistant will be responsible for:

Communications:

• Supporting the Communications Officer in managing the press, social and ED&I calendars, ensuring these are regularly updated and communicated with the Marketing & Commercial team to inform campaign planning
• Supporting the Deputy Head of Communications and Communications Officer in working with the Marketing & Commercial team to devise, schedule and implement creative PR campaigns to complement marketing campaigns
• Supporting the Deputy Head of Communications and Communications Officer in the monitoring of press cuttings and issue regular updates to the Marketing & Commercial team and other stakeholders
• Managing and issuing a regular industry press update to the Marketing & Commercial team and other stakeholders
• Supporting with the logistics of media interviews and briefings and content creation ensuring that all parties have comprehensive and timely itineraries
• Chaperoning members of the cast and creative teams during content and media opportunities with discretion and respect
• Supporting the organisation and management of press nights
• Supporting in the quick and efficient responding to enquiries from the media.

Content:

• Supported by the Communications & Content Manager and Senior Communications & Content Manager, bring energy and enthusiasm to the development of The Old Vic’s social media channels and branded content
• Supporting the Communications & Content Manager and Senior Communications & Content Manager in social scheduling in line with the press, social and ED&I calendars
• Leading the community engagement function on social media, responding to social queries in tandem with the Box Office team
• Supporting the Communications & Content Manager and Senior Communications & Content Manager in the creation of content, with a particular focus on TikTok
• Supporting the Communications & Content Manager and Senior Communications & Content Manager in the realisation of the e-comms strategy, supporting in the creation of emails, link tracking and reporting.

General:

• Proofreading all press releases and e-comms and support the internal, and external where necessary, sign-off process
• Taking notes for the weekly Marketing and Production meeting to ensure an accurate record of updates and future actions, circulating these with the team
• Supporting the Marketing & Commercial team in facilitating new and ongoing relationships with key influencers, supporting on the planning and administration of influencer events.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and the Theatre's management may, at any time, allocate other tasks which are of a similar nature or level.

Person Specification

Essential

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with exceptional attention to detail and proof-reading skills
• The ability to manage a busy workload
• Excellent copywriting and copyediting skills
• The ability to deal confidently, positively and discreetly with all levels of staff and external contacts in person, via email and over the phone.
• Ability to multi-task and work to tight deadlines and prioritise work in an environment with competing demands.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills
• Self-motivated
• A good team player
• A good problem solver
• Excellent understanding of social media platforms, especially TikTok, Instagram and Facebook
• An understanding of video editing
• Experience making short form content for social media formats such as TikTok and Reels
• An interest in the Arts.

How to Apply

We understand that everyone is different and we want you to apply in whichever way you feel best shows your skills and experience. There are a range of ways that you can apply with us:

• 1. Sending a short video file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you (have a look at the person specification in the job description).
• 2. Sending a short audio file of yourself (no longer than two minutes in length), detailing your experience, why you are applying for the role and what about working at The Old Vic interests you.
• 3. Completing our application form.
• 4. Uploading your CV and covering letter, explaining why you are interested in the role and working at the Old Vic.

As a Disability Confident employer, The Old Vic has made a commitment that all applicants with disabilities who meet the essential criteria for this job will be invited to interview. However in the event that we have a high volume of applications all of whom meet the criteria and identify as disabled, meaning it is not practicable to interview everyone, we may apply a weighting to the shortlisting criteria, or add an additional shortlisting stage before any interviews take place. In all cases we will take care to ensure that any criteria or weightings do not disadvantage disabled applicants.

All appointments are made subject to satisfactory references and proof of eligibility to work in the UK. 

The Process

The recruitment process for this role will be two stages:

• 1st stage virtual/n conversation
• 2nd stage in person conversation
• You may be asked to complete a work based skills assessment or challenge.

The closing date for this role is 15 September 2025. First Conversations are likely to take place w/c 15 September 2025.

Equal Opportunities

We actively support and encourage people from a variety of backgrounds, experiences and skill sets to join us and help shape what we do. We are particularly keen to receive applications from people of the global majority, LGBTQ+, neurodiverse and disabled candidates.

We may take positive action, in cases where candidates are equally qualified, to increase the employment of under-represented groups at The Old Vic.

In the event that we ask you to attend the theatre for a conversation and you are struggling financially, we may be able to reimburse you for any reasonable travel costs.

We partner with a range of inclusive organisations, to find out more please read our FAQs. 

FAQs

Read our recruitment and selection and equal opportunities FAQs here.