Communications Professional Standards and Oversight Team Leader

at  Department for Work and Pensions

JOB SUMMARY

The DWP Communications Directorate (CD) supports Ministers and officials by providing professional communications advice and delivery to help meet DWP’s business priorities and those of the Government of the day.
Members of the CD Support Team provide help and support to allow management to make key strategic decisions on marketing activity and the running of the Communications Directorate in line with both DWP and Government Communications Service governance.
Staff within the CD strive to develop and improve their professional capability and to embody a culture of continuous improvement with the aim of ensuring the DWP Communications Directorate is recognised as the best across Whitehall.
The Director’s Office and Business Support Team are key to achieving all this.
If this sound like you, we would love to hear from you.

JOB DESCRIPTION

• Lead and coordinate GCS (Government Communications Service) reporting on functional standards, professional assurance, and other requests in line with DWP and GCS policies for the Director of Communications for all communications activities in DWP and within ALBs.
• Management, coordination, and oversight of all the high value communication commercial contracts. Act as the liaison between Communications and Commercial. Ensure communication team activities are value for money and the quality of service/products. Work with Marketing colleagues to actively manage contracts to ensure VFM. This includes coordination of KPI reporting on silver contracts in line with government/ Cabinet Office guidance and ensure Departmental commercial polices, procedure and governance processes are followed.
• Manage the Marketing and Advertising Exemptions process and the external venue hire internal approvals processes on behalf of the Director of Communications. Provide advice to DWP colleagues and the Director on the process for external events and business cases. Manage requests, providing the wider business with advice on value for money. Provide the Permanent Secretary with assurances on external venue hire. Working with suppliers and DWP Finance to ensure policy and guidance is updated.
• Manage relations with the Heads of Communication in DWP Arm’s Length Bodies on behalf of the Director of Communications to ensure the Head of Profession roles and responsibilities are discharged.
• Work alongside the Director of Communications Private Office to ensure the DoC is fully appraised on matters relating to professional and functional standards, insight and the Marketing and Advertising Spend process. Ensure campaigns are delivered in accordance with Cabinet Office conditions.
• Build and maintain excellent working relationships across the Communications Directorate and more widely with ALBs, GCS, Cabinet Office, Commercial and Policy colleagues, and act as a trusted partner to understand communications and how it supports Directorate priorities and objectives
• Seek out opportunities to improve ways of working and standards across the team and the Directorate

ESSENTIAL CRITERIA

We are looking for someone who has:

• Recent experience and knowledge of a government communications working environment and GCS working practices
• Recent experience of working through the commercial governance processes to set up high value contracts.
• Recent experience of managing professional assurance and governance
• Experience of working with Communications teams within Arm’s Length Bodies to support the communications profession.
• Experience of managing a busy, high performing team.
• A proven track record of working with complex problems and conflicting information, and resolve them effectively, acting decisively, and provide clear direction
• A proven track record of being a trusted advisor, working with and briefing senior leaders on complex problems
• A proven track record of working in a fast paced and demanding environment with unpredictable priorities and changing deadlines.
• A proven track record of strong influencing all grades and negotiating skills, in a clear and considered manner.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

We’ll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

• Insight
• Ideas
• Implementation
• Impact

Benefits

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
• 185 hours ( 25 days) annual leave allowance in year one. This may vary for existing civil servants based on their number of years’ service

NATIONALITY REQUIREMENTS

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Please refer the Job description for details