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A marketer’s advice on upskilling for creative roles in conservation

By Charlotte Evans

Charlotte Evans is a Marketing Executive at Wildcare, a Cotswolds-based ecology supplier, where she shares content with social media audiences, including Ecologists and Conservationists. 

From building a career in the conservation sector, Charlotte shares her experiences on how to upskill for creative marketing & communications opportunities.

When I was young, I always imagined that roles in the conservation sector involved monitoring animal behaviour, protecting wildlife, and squelching through mud, with lots of time spent outdoors. If you’d asked 12-year-old me what she wanted to do when she grew up, she probably would’ve given a similar description, before excitedly exclaiming, “That’s exactly what I want to do!”

Growing up, creative roles in the conservation sector rarely crossed my mind, mainly because they weren’t something I ever heard about during school career talks. Instead, I assumed all roles would involve working outside with animals and away from an office. It wasn’t until I studied Business at Reaseheath College that I began to see a broader range of routes into the conservation sector, helped significantly by a group visit to Chester Zoo. As part of the trip (which was an exciting day out in itself!), my class attended a workshop on how the zoo uses paid and earned media to engage with the public. 

We sat in a classroom surrounded by newspaper clippings featuring Chester Zoo in the press. During this session, I learnt how the charity uses traditional marketing to reach broader audiences, and from that day on, I was hooked on creative communications!

Learning about different sectors

Undoubtedly, I knew that getting into any animal-related sector would come with its challenges and when combined with the competitiveness of the marketing industry, it was clear I hadn’t chosen the easiest path to finding my ‘dream role’. 

When taking my first steps into a creative career, I learned the importance of developing skills through sectors outside of conservation. My first job straight out of university was in market research (yes, a very different sector to where I expected to be!). I supported brands, including leading charities, energy providers, and FMCGs, by running research projects. Having exposure to the clients’ projects and the types of decisions the brands were making allowed me to grow skills, such as project management, data analysis and copywriting, which I knew would be transferable skills for a role in the conservation sector. The role gave me my first step into the ‘real world’ and shaped my learning on different business functions.

Looking back on my time in market research, my first tip for anyone getting started on building the foundations of their career would be to focus on gaining in-demand skills with brands that offer real learning opportunities. It might not be your dream organisation, but it can provide valuable, hands-on experience that is highly sought by conservation-focused brands.

Gaining skills through passion projects

As I learnt more about marketing, I discovered that there are lots of different skills that are desired by prospective employers, particularly when it comes to content creation. As this was an area that I had little experience in, I knew I needed to start a ‘passion project’ outside of my 9-5. To do this, I established a personal brand called Days with Charlotte on social media where I used my platform to demonstrate my content creation and influencer marketing skills. Creating something of my own provided me with a chance to learn more about storytelling, social media algorithms and brand campaigns.

I learnt early on that time spent on passion projects is an interesting way to continuously learn through something you enjoy. The more I learnt, the more I was able to start seeing which personal and creative skills I could develop further for the roles I desired. I would regularly look at job adverts to understand where there were gaps in my knowledge and experience and then find ways to learn more about these areas.

Establishing a marketing portfolio

Over the years, as I’ve built my career and gained experience with more brands, I’ve realised that a CV alone wasn’t enough to showcase the skills I’d developed. To bridge that gap, I created a marketing portfolio featuring examples of campaigns I’ve worked on, key achievements, and QR codes linking to my work. This visual approach has allowed prospective employers to see the types of skills I can offer and how they could benefit their brand.

If you’re still building your marketing experience, a portfolio is a great space to create some mock campaigns for brands or projects you aspire to work for. For example, you could plan a product launch campaign, create a storyboard for content or create some product photos to include. I’ve seen some brilliant examples of marketing portfolios created by others in the industry who have creatively approached how they showcase their skills. When you’re building your career, you can tailor the case studies in your portfolio to fit with the role and brand you’re applying to. If you’re up against 100s of other applicants, a portfolio may just be the one thing that gives you a creative edge during the application stage!

When I’ve spoken to peers in the conservation sector, one thing that has always stood out to me is that there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ solution for securing your desired role. Instead a common theme that I have observed is that you must keep building on your experiences, looking for opportunities to learn and stay determined (even when you have setbacks!). I hope my journey offers some valuable insight into just some of the ways you can take more steps closer to a role in the sector.

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