Great communicator? Want a job?

UPDATE: This job is now closed. Meet Hera!

Would you like to work in a small and fast-growing startup environment that thrives on busting siloed data for public benefit? Do you enjoy communicating through all the channels the internet has to offer? Do you enjoy helping users as well as pitching to journalists and companies?  If so, OpenCorporates’ new Communications Manager role could be for you.

Our ambition is to import a million new data points into our system over the next year. We can’t do this without the help of the wider community: activists from the Open Data movement; NGOs with an interest in transparency, and companies ad academics who work with corporate data.

You will be our main contact point with these groups. You’ll promote our work, find new partners, develop existing relationships, and help contributors to remain motivated.  Activities will include:

• Social marketing of our pipeline API system to tech/activist communities and academics
• Blogging and tweeting news
• Attending and/or organising conferences and other events
• Identifying and engaging with potential partners
• Making connections with the academic community to generate new research projects
• Working with other OpenCorporates staff to discover interesting data stories
• Developing and promoting potential stories for the media

Desirable skills and experience:

• 2+ years of relevant experience (e.g. PR, Marketing, Community or Events Management)
• Thorough understanding of social media
• Experience of working in a research-focused environment
• Excellent writing skills
• Enjoy travelling and meeting people
• Experience of working in open source or open data communities

The role would ideally be based at our offices at the Open Data Institute in London. However, what’s most important is talent and a commitment to what OpenCorporates is doing, and remote working may be considered for exceptional candidates. You should be in a position to travel to London regularly, for team meetings, community events and conferences in London and further afield.

Applicants must have a valid UK work permit. Strictly no recruitment agencies. Please apply with CV and cover letter to seb.bacon@opencorporates.com

Salary: £32,000

About OpenCorporates

OpenCorporates is the largest open database of companies in the world, and has a simple (but hugely ambitious) goal: create an entry for every company in the world. Currently we have over 55 million of them.

Corporations are no longer a single legal entity, but a complex and opaque network of legal entities spread across several jurisdictions – with this opacity inhibiting effective oversight, whether from shareholders, regulators, or society at large. From aggressive tax avoidance to lobbying and political donations to actions by executives that puts the company at risk, this is now mainstream news, and examples of why this matters. These structures are now also routinely used in criminal activity, from fraud and corruption to money laundering and organised crime.

We believe corporations can be a force for great good. However, to operate properly, they need effective oversight from society. We are at a critical historical moment. Transparency is urgently needed, and we believe the window of opportunity to introduce it is narrow. We are looking for people who understand why this is so important, why it needs doing now, and why it needs to be Open Data.

Over the last year, we have increased our global corporate database to over 55 million companies, and have started to map out the relationships between them. The main focus of in the coming year will be massively increasing the amount of data we’re ingesting, indexing and presenting.

This is a chance to work in an entrepreneurial startup environment (based at the UK Open Data Institute) with flexible working conditions, on interesting Big Data problems. It is also a chance to make a genuine impact on how the modern world is evolving. The importance of our work is recognised at the highest levels: we are working with governments and intergovernmental bodies such as the World Bank and Financial Stability Board to improve access to and understanding of corporate data. We are on Private Sector advisory group for the LEI system, and Chris Taggart (our CEO) is also on the UK Tax Transparency Board.