Senior Press Officer Maternity Cover - The Guardian : Job Details

Wakehurst is looking for an experienced Senior Press Officer to join their dynamic Marketing & Strategic Communications team. The Senior Press Officer is responsible for delivering creative and impactful PR campaigns that will drive engagement, visits and brand awareness. The postholder will lead primarily on communications for Wakehurst’s vibrant events programme, and contribute to a wider brand campaign to establish Wakehurst’s reputation as Kew’s living laboratory and a garden with purpose. You will also support the efficient running of the Wakehurst press office. 

We are looking for a confident and enthusiastic individual who has proven experience of delivering national PR campaigns and securing high impact coverage across broadcast, print and digital platforms, ideally for a cultural organisation or visitor attraction. You will bring experience of working in a busy press office and have outstanding copywriting and verbal communication skills. You must have a keen eye for strong stories, have a provable track record of successful pitching to regional and national outlets and be comfortable working with the central Kew Communications team.   

This role is a fixed term maternity cover role based at Wakehurst with hybrid working.  A minimum of two days per week in the office at Wakehurst is required with occasional short-notice presence on site for reactive media. Occasional working days at Kew Gardens may also be required.  

This role will involve a modest amount (approx 30-50h per annum) of evening and weekend work, including for press events, film/photography shoots, on-call media duties during peak times and communications during adverse weather.  

Interviews will take place early September 2025. 

About Us

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew) is a leading plant science institute, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and major visitor attraction. Our mission is to understand and protect plants and fungi for the well-being of people and the future of all life on Earth.

We are working to end the unprecedented extinction crisis and to help create a world where nature is protected, valued by all and managed sustainably. We will achieve these goals by drawing on our leading scientific research, unrivalled collections of plants and fungi, global network of partners, inspirational gardens at Kew and Wakehurst, and our 260 years of history.

Join us on our journey as protectors of the world’s plants and fungi. 

Our fantastic benefits package includes opportunities for continuous learning, a generous annual leave entitlement, flexible working to help you maintain a healthy work-life balance, an Employee Assistance Programme and other wellbeing support such as cycle to work scheme and discounted gym membership. We also offer a competitive pension, an employee discount scheme and free entry into a wide range of national museums and galleries, as well access to our own beautiful gardens at Kew and Wakehurst.

We are dedicated to equality of opportunity and welcome applications from all sections of the community. We are committed to interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria for the post.

No agencies please.