JOB SUMMARY

We are looking for an ambitious and talented individual to lead the development of Policy Lab’s visual aesthetics and communications whilst also leading delivery of appropriate projects from our portfolio of innovative and participatory policy work. The post holder will work closely in particular with our Design Practice Lead and our co-Heads of Creative Innovation Practice.

JOB DESCRIPTION

The Aesthetics and Communications Lead is an exceptional role in a high-impact unit within the Civil Service. Policy Lab has a decade of experience working openly and collaboratively to address some of the UK’s toughest policy challenges. Our team of around 30 people comprises experts in policy, lived experience research, experimentation, art, systems thinking, futures, technology and design (including co-design, graphic design and strategic design). Recent projects include work in multiple disadvantage, the government’s new Opportunity Mission and protecting environmental sites. We operate on a cost recovery basis and are accountable to our varied commissioners. We are looking for an outstanding candidate to fill a role at the centre of Policy Lab’s visual identity, outreach and project delivery. As the Aesthetics and Communications Lead, you will be responsible for some or all of the following at different times:

• Develop and sustain outstanding visual language across the Policy Lab team, working with the Heads of Policy Lab to identify appropriate aesthetics and intended impact. This will include standardising our brand, establishing processes to maintain high quality photography and graphic design, and implementation of the visual identity including supporting projects teams to make use of high-quality templates and tools.
• Lead Policy Lab’s communications strategy and delivery working with others across the team to implement. This will entail creation of a comms strategy and oversight of channels such as our website, blog and social media. You will also build comms capacity in the team.
• Lead and support a substantive and varied set of policy innovation projects within the Policy Lab’s ambitious portfolio of work. You will be responsible for leading projects, overseeing colleagues within your project teams to deliver, as well as running high profile design initiatives and workshops.
• Overseeing more junior colleagues, placements and external suppliers in Policy Lab’s project teams.
• Develop relationships with commissioners and potential commissioners across government to drive Policy Lab’s business development. You will have considerable opportunities to demonstrate the value of policy innovation, and multidisciplinary working, to policy teams across government and play a key part in shaping proposals and engagements with our project commissioners.
• Have corporate responsibilities in the Policy Lab team and Department for Education, to support our unique studio culture at the heart of government, including line management and supporting the team’s collaborative culture.

Please note that we may recruit more than one individual. Applicants who are successful at the interview but not appointed to the role will be placed on a reserve list. They may be considered for future opportunities at Senior Executive Officer or Grade 7 roles.

ESSENTIAL EXPERIENCE:

• Developing impactful, aesthetically striking and audience-relevant visual materials (digital and non-digital) to achieve real world outcomes. This could include outcomes in policy, society, business and technology. Your visual design workflow could include drawing, illustration, photography, artistic approaches, AI/technology and so on.
• Collaborating with and/or leading other creative and non-creative practitioners to develop portfolios and other assets of aesthetically consistent, cohesive and high-quality work.
• Creating, adapting and delivering communication plans. Experience of reaching new and existing audiences through offline and online channels, communicating an organisation’s purpose, materials and impact to achieve key objectives.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and stakeholders.
• Leadership and delivery of innovation projects for policy/real world contexts.
• Proven ability to develop relationships with clients to trial and deploy new and existing practices.
• Management/leadership of non-typical Civil Service roles such as designers, artists, technologists, ethnographers and scientists.
• Knowledge of social media, analytics tools and media distribution best practices.

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

The Aesthetics and Communications Lead is an exceptional role in a high-impact unit within the Civil Service. Policy Lab has a decade of experience working openly and collaboratively to address some of the UK’s toughest policy challenges. Our team of around 30 people comprises experts in policy, lived experience research, experimentation, art, systems thinking, futures, technology and design (including co-design, graphic design and strategic design). Recent projects include work in multiple disadvantage, the government’s new Opportunity Mission and protecting environmental sites. We operate on a cost recovery basis and are accountable to our varied commissioners. We are looking for an outstanding candidate to fill a role at the centre of Policy Lab’s visual identity, outreach and project delivery. As the Aesthetics and Communications Lead, you will be responsible for some or all of the following at different times:

• Develop and sustain outstanding visual language across the Policy Lab team, working with the Heads of Policy Lab to identify appropriate aesthetics and intended impact. This will include standardising our brand, establishing processes to maintain high quality photography and graphic design, and implementation of the visual identity including supporting projects teams to make use of high-quality templates and tools.
• Lead Policy Lab’s communications strategy and delivery working with others across the team to implement. This will entail creation of a comms strategy and oversight of channels such as our website, blog and social media. You will also build comms capacity in the team.
• Lead and support a substantive and varied set of policy innovation projects within the Policy Lab’s ambitious portfolio of work. You will be responsible for leading projects, overseeing colleagues within your project teams to deliver, as well as running high profile design initiatives and workshops.
• Overseeing more junior colleagues, placements and external suppliers in Policy Lab’s project teams.
• Develop relationships with commissioners and potential commissioners across government to drive Policy Lab’s business development. You will have considerable opportunities to demonstrate the value of policy innovation, and multidisciplinary working, to policy teams across government and play a key part in shaping proposals and engagements with our project commissioners.
• Have corporate responsibilities in the Policy Lab team and Department for Education, to support our unique studio culture at the heart of government, including line management and supporting the team’s collaborative culture