JOB SUMMARY

This is a high profile and challenging role with oversight of two main deliverables:

• To communicate how our unique organisation is changing, to more than 450,000 civil servants across the UK, and to the UK public
• Promote the purpose and priorities of the Civil Service to its staff in an engaging and innovative way

This is a challenging and demanding but rewarding role. It offers an exciting opportunity to operate at the very heart of government working closely with Ministers and senior officials to develop our approach to strategic communications across the Civil Service.
You will be responsible for delivering a highly effective and resilient communications function, allowing you to gain an unrivalled insight into the work of the department and play a key part in wider government communications as part of the Government Communications Service.

JOB DESCRIPTION

You will lead strategic communications and internal communications campaign activity across the organisation. You will be responsible for developing communications objectives, as well as overseeing day to day communications activity for Senior Civil Servants. You will use your judgement to identify issues that need to be brought to the attention of senior officials, working closely with the senior leadership team. You will be able to demonstrate a depth of understanding of the wider political media context. You will see other people’s views and can appreciate there are many different angles to consider and you enjoy being able to bring a fresh perspective whatever the context or situation.
Ensuring strong internal communications activity and leading and coordinating the communications and wider campaign activity across government will be essential. You will need to be organised, able to coordinate a number of complex issues and priorities simultaneously and to deliver effectively under a variety of pressures. You will also be someone who influences at a senior level and can articulate the rationale to gain their agreement. In order to be successful in this role you will be comfortable with communicating thoughts and ideas, verbally or in writing, having ensured you seek and analyse information to inform decisions based on the best available evidence.
You will also have responsibility for the leadership and development of your team, overseeing their activity and performance management to ensure high standards of service to ministers and senior officials, while ensuring that they are resilient when under pressure. You should be able to delegate effectively, understanding the skills and ambitions of the team. Providing corporate leadership within the department will be an essential part of this role, working closely with fellow senior leadership members.
Additionally, you should be able to proactively create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the organisation. You will be motivated by identifying connections and reaching out to bring people together
The successful candidate will be a team player, able to motivate and instil confidence with clear thinking, strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. You will develop a strong network of contacts across Whitehall and beyond, and draw on that network to secure the necessary advice, buy-in and quick decision-making. We will want you to work well as part of a team, and strive to ensure the team pulls together and is effective.

TECHNICAL SKILLS

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

• Verbal Presentation

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)
• 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

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Effective leadership and development of the Communications Strategy for Civil Service Communication working closely with the Cabinet Secretary, Civil Service Chief Operating Officer and Civil Service senior officials.
• Strategic oversight of the delivery of the highest quality support for the Cabinet Secretary and the Chief Operating Officer for the Civil Service, working collaboratively with the Press Office and ensuring that it links with wider Governmental priorities.
• Leadership and line management responsibility for the Civil Service communications team, ensuring they are led effectively, they work as one team, delivering the high level of communications delivery required to play directly into the department and organisations wider priorities.
• Play an active role in the leadership of the teams and Government Communications Service across Whitehall, building partnerships with key external stakeholders.
• Engagement with critical stakeholders across UKG and Devolved Administrations.
• Demonstrate the ability to represent the views of the Department and Function credibly in high level meetings while building relationships across Whitehall.
• Improving professional practice within the team, aligning closely with GCS and assisting the development of capability across the team.

This is a high profile and challenging role with oversight of two main deliverables:

• To communicate how our unique organisation is changing, to more than 450,000 civil servants across the UK, and to the UK public
• Promote the purpose and priorities of the Civil Service to its staff in an engaging and innovative wa