DWP Private Office: Ministerial Speechwriter

at  Department for Work and Pensions

JOB SUMMARY

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is seeking a high calibre Ministerial Speechwriter to join the Department’s Speechwriting and Editorial Team, based within Private Office.
The successful candidate will use their expertise and passion for storytelling to produce compelling speeches and other communications for DWP’s Ministerial Team, helping them communicate their vision for welfare reform and policy priorities to a range of stakeholders. A natural collaborator, they will work closely with private offices, press office, policy teams, and Special Advisers.
DWP is the UK’s biggest public service department, and administers the state pension, a range of working age, disability, and ill health benefits to around 22 million claimants and customers. What we do matters to millions of people every day.
Private Office is the link between Ministers, the Permanent Secretary, the Departmental Board, the Executive Team, the wider Department and across Government, and plays a key role in the development of policy and the delivery of Ministerial priorities.

JOB DESCRIPTION

As the Ministerial Speechwriter within the Speechwriting and Editorial Team you will:

• Research and write high-quality, high-impact speeches for DWP’s Ministerial Team, tailoring the style and content so it lands well with different audiences and captures the Minister’s voice.
• Work closely with policy, press office, and other teams to produce a range of creative, concise, and well-argued external and internal communication products, including op-eds for national and regional press, ministerial forewords, social media video scripts, and overarching narratives.
• Support the Head of Speechwriting and Editorial with the day-to-day running of the team, including building speech writing capability across the Department and contributing to Secretary of State speeches, as required.

We will offer the successful candidate:

• The opportunity to work closely with Ministers, Special Advisers, and senior officials.
• An exciting, fast paced, and challenging work environment that involves dealing with complex issues.
• The chance to be part of a supportive team with plenty of opportunities to learn and develop new skills.
• The opportunity to broaden understanding of DWP policy, Parliamentary business, and cross government functions.

SECURITY REQUIREMENTS

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
You must meet the security requirements before you can be appointed. The level of security needed is Security Check.
For meaningful checks to be carried out individuals you will need to have lived in the UK for a sufficient period of time, to enable appropriate checks to be carried out and produce a result which provides the required level of assurance. Whilst a lack of UK residency in itself is not necessarily a bar to a security clearance, and expectation of UK residency may range from 3 to 5 years.
Failure to meet the residency requirements needed for the role may result in the withdrawal of provisional jobs offers.
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

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)

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