PR and Marketing Trustee

Role: PR and Marketing Trustee

Reporting to: Chair of Trustees / CEO

Location: Remote UK

Commitment: 1 x in-person Trustee meeting (London) and 4 x online trustee meetings per year, plus active involvement of approximately 4 hours per month between meetings

Sector: Youth education charity

Remuneration: Voluntary

About One Degree

One Degree is a youth education charity supporting disadvantaged and underperforming GCSE students through personalised mentoring, targeted teaching and flexible online academic support.

As the charity enters its next stage of controlled growth, we want to strengthen how One Degree presents itself externally, communicates impact and builds awareness with schools, funders, corporate partners, mentors and the wider public.

Role purpose

The PR and Marketing Trustee will help One Degree strengthen its brand, external positioning, communications and visibility.

The role will combine normal trustee responsibilities with practical strategic support around:

• brand positioning;
• PR and media;
• digital communications;
• website and messaging;
• impact storytelling;
• corporate and funder communications;
• mentor recruitment;
• and national awareness.

The Trustee will help ensure that One Degree’s public identity keeps pace with the charity’s evolving strategy and increasingly national online model.

Core trustee responsibilities

As a Trustee, the individual will:

• contribute to One Degree’s overall strategy and governance;
• act in the best interests of the charity and its beneficiaries;
• provide appropriate challenge and support to the CEO;
• help oversee organisational risk, sustainability and reputation;
• participate fully in trustee meetings and decisions;
• contribute their professional expertise to the long-term development of the charity.

PR and marketing responsibilities

In addition, the Trustee will:

• lead Board-level thinking on PR, marketing and external positioning;
• help refine One Degree’s core messages and brand proposition;
• support development of a consistent tone of voice across website, social media, fundraising and partner materials;
• help reposition One Degree from a primarily London-based perception towards a nationally accessible online mentoring charity;
• advise on how the charity communicates its impact to:
  • students;
  • schools;
  • mentors;
  • corporate partners;
  • funders;
  • media;
  • and the wider public;
• help turn programme data and annual reporting into compelling, concise impact stories;
• advise on PR opportunities, media angles and thought leadership;
• support relationships with journalists, influencers, partners and communications agencies where appropriate;
• help strengthen corporate-facing materials used alongside the Business Development Trustee and Business Development Lead;
• advise on marketing campaigns for mentor recruitment and school engagement;
• help ensure website statistics, strategy messaging and public communications remain consistent;
• review major external communications and campaigns where Board-level input is appropriate;
• support reputational risk management and crisis communications if needed;
• help assess where paid PR, marketing or digital support would add value in future.

Strategic priorities

The Trustee should help One Degree strengthen:

1. Brand positioning

• Clarify what makes One Degree distinctive.
• Ensure the organisation is clearly understood as:
  • youth-focused;
  • education-led;
  • mentoring-based;
  • technology-enabled;
  • and nationally accessible.
• Keep messaging aligned with the revised Mission and Vision.

2. Impact storytelling

• Translate detailed programme evidence into clear stories and headline messages.
• Balance statistics with student, mentor and school stories.
• Improve how outcomes in:
  • GCSE attainment;
  • confidence;
  • engagement;
  • mentoring;
  • and future opportunities
    are communicated externally.

3. Corporate and funder communications

• Work alongside the Business Development Trustee and Business Development Lead.
• Strengthen:
  • sponsorship decks;
  • partnership propositions;
  • impact reports;
  • case studies;
  • and corporate campaign materials.
• Help create communications that resonate particularly with banking and financial-services partners.

4. Mentor recruitment and engagement

• Improve how the mentor proposition is presented.
• Support campaigns aimed at:
  • professionals;
  • employee volunteering programmes;
  • financial-services firms;
  • and wider corporate networks.
• Help ensure recruitment messaging reflects the flexibility of the online model.

5. Media and visibility

• Identify credible opportunities for:
  • education media;
  • local and national press;
  • sector commentary;
  • corporate partner stories;
  • student-success stories;
  • and thought leadership.
• Build awareness without pursuing publicity purely for its own sake.

What we are looking for

The ideal Trustee will bring:

• senior experience in PR, communications, marketing, brand or media;
• strong strategic understanding of reputation and positioning;
• experience developing clear messages for multiple audiences;
• confidence advising senior leaders and Boards;
• ability to turn complex information into simple, compelling narratives;
• understanding of digital communications and modern audience engagement;
• strong professional networks in PR, media, marketing, corporate communications or brand;
• an interest in education, social mobility and opportunities for disadvantaged young people;
• willingness to provide practical support and introductions where appropriate.

Experience in financial services, corporate communications or agency environments would be particularly useful, but is not essential.

Success in the role

The role should help One Degree achieve:

• clearer and more consistent public positioning;
• stronger alignment between strategy, website and external communications;
• better use of programme evidence in fundraising and partnership materials;
• increased visibility with funders, schools, mentors and corporate partners;
• stronger mentor-recruitment communications;
• improved corporate-facing materials;
• greater national awareness;
• and stronger protection of One Degree’s reputation as the organisation grows.