Press Office and Digital Content Specialist

at  Payment Systems Regulator

Press Office and Digital Content Senior Associate
Salary - ranging from £46,400 - £60,000
About the PSR
How payments work affects the society we live in; the challenges faced by the vulnerable; how likely we are to fall victim to fraud; and how easily we can manage our money. Payments underpin our economy.
Behind these payments are several important payment systems. We rely on these systems to support markets, facilitate competition and drive innovation. This helps to deliver new products, find new ways to protect people from harm, and deliver services that give people and businesses more choice and control about how to pay and be paid.
The PSR is an independent economic regulator led by Interim Managing Director, David Geale. We are directly accountable to Parliament and funded by the payments industry. We work closely with other regulators involved in this sector, notably the Financial Conduct Authority, the Bank of England and the Competition and Markets Authority. Operationally we are an independent subsidiary of the Financial Conduct Authority.
Purpose of the role
The Communications Team supports the PSR by building trust and confidence in its work through engaging storytelling and being a valued partner to our colleagues. The PSR Press Office is the first point of contact for the media who are looking to understand our work, our role, or have questions about specific topics.
This senior associate will be an experienced press officer who is also adept at creating engaging social content and working with content management systems. This person will play an important role in telling the PSR story and shaping perceptions of how and why we do what we do – with the media and online audiences.
You will shape and lead from the front on engaging with the media. Internally, this person is an expert on the media and provides strategic advice and guidance on how best to engage, what journalists are looking for, and plays a key role in a crisis.
You will play a key role in showing the outside world how the PSR is doing a good job and that it is a competent and credible regulator.

Key accountabilities

• You will run our day-to-day media activities and write content for our online channels, including social media
• You will plan activity ahead with communications plans and more specific media comms plans for projects
• You will be the first point of contact for all media enquiries and will be skilled at having conversations with journalists – on and off the record - and will be the initial spokesperson for most enquiries
• You will write the vast majority of PSR press releases and statements, working with the relevant subject matter experts to ensure what we provide to journalists is accurate but also impactful, engaging and easy to understand. You will also create messaging and Q+A documents to ensure we are well prepared and on message when answering questions
• You will be proactive in engaging regularly with journalists to build relationships and understand their interests, giving an overview of our work and helping to build compelling stories for external audiences
• You will take a proactive approach to news generation, considering opportunities to deliver key messages via the media, considering the most effective way to do this
• You will also engage regularly with the press offices of other regulators, government departments, industry bodies and stakeholders to build relationships and understand their interests, and work closely with them as required
• Ensuring that media training is provided to spokespeople – either being provided internally for immediate broadcast interviews, or through working with external suppliers to provide more comprehensive training
• You will help us work out the best way to tell the PSR’s story across a range of channels and you will lead on creating (or working with third parties to create) engaging content that brings the PSR and payment systems to life
• You will lead your own projects and be an important communications adviser on others
• You will give media handling advice to the PSR’s managing director, chair and senior leadership team and use your work to demonstrate the value of good communications
• Every now and again a crisis may arise that requires you to take the lead, being calm and conscientious as you engage with our media and social media stakeholders, all the time protecting the PSR’s reputation
• You will also create and publish content on the PSR’s website and keep it updated as changes happen
• You will be a team player and need to work collaboratively with communications colleagues, policy experts, economists and lawyers, to come up with solutions that work for everybody. Making sure you understand our role and purpose, and can talk about it confidently, is essential

Minimum

We are a signatory to the Government’s Disability Confident scheme. This means that we will offer an interview to disabled candidates entering under the scheme, should they meet the minimum criteria for a role.

• Direct experience of working in corporate or financial media relations and dealing with national media and taking the lead on media handling during crisis situations
• Proven experience of managing social media channels and creating compelling content to engage a variety of audiences

Essential

• The ability to explain complex issues creatively, succinctly and with clarity, both written and spoken
• Has an awareness of the ‘bigger picture’ and uses that in their experience of strategic planning, including devising and delivering communications campaigns
• Experience of leading issue or crisis response teams
• Is proactive, and also able to work to short, sometimes very short, deadlines while maintaining high standards and composure
• Significant influencing skills required to work with directors and senior colleagues across the organisation. Can demonstrate how they have influenced stakeholders internally and externally
• Confident communicator who can have effective conversations with the media – either on or off the record
• Experience of writing for an online audience and comfortable using content management systems for web publishing

Desirable

• Experience of working in a high-pressure environment and with challenging stakeholders
• Understands the impact regulation, and regulatory decision making, has on industry and consumers, and how this will be perceived in the media
• Has worked on high profile and politically sensitive issues
• Experience of working for, or with, a regulator

PSR Values
All members of PSR are expected to demonstrate the PSR Values of Integrity, Unity, Engagement, Knowledge & Purpose.
In order to represent the people and organisations that we serve, we are committed to building and sustaining a diverse and inclusive workplace. Our commitment includes disability, ethnicity, LGBTQ+ and gender identity, mental health, and social mobility issues.
We are proud signatories of the e
Women in Finance Charter
, we hold the
Level 2 Carer Confident
accreditation from Carers UK and we signed the
Social Mobility Pledge
in June 2020.
As an inclusive employer, we are open to considering flexible working arrangements. Please contact our recruiter if you wish to apply for this role on a flexible basis.

Useful information

• This role is graded as Senior Associate - Corporate
• Application for this role close at 23.59 on the 18th November 2024
• This role will be based in London,

The International Quarter, Stratford
If you are interested learning more about the role, please contact:
For internal candidates Katie Ayling on
Katie.Ayling@fca.org.uk
For external candidates Ifrah Azam on
Ifrah.Azam@fca.org.uk
Want to know what it is like to work at the PSR? Check out this short video
PSR recruitment video 2022 - YouTube
Please note – Applications must be submitted through our online portal. Applications sent via email will not be accepted.
Conflicts of interest
All applicants to the PSR are required to demonstrate that they do not have other interests likely to conflict with their responsibilities as an employee of the PSR.
You should declare any potential conflict of interest as early as possible in the selection process (via the named recruitment contact), and also disclose information or personal connections that, if appointed, might be open to misperception.
Any potential conflicts of interest will not prevent candidates going forward to interview but may, if appropriate, be explored during the interview to establish how the candidate would address the issue(s) should they be successful in their application.
For more information on conflicts please visit:
https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/corporate/conflict-of-interests.pdf

• Direct experience of working in corporate or financial media relations and dealing with national media and taking the lead on media handling during crisis situations
• Proven experience of managing social media channels and creating compelling content to engage a variety of audience