Senior Internal Communications Officer

The Department for Education [DfE] is working hard to ensure that every child and young person reaches their potential, regardless of background.

You will have a unique opportunity to operate at the very heart of the UK Government in a major delivery department. DfE is responsible for policy covering: early years, primary school through to post 16 education and skills and apprenticeships. Whether we are changing attitudes, supporting the recruitment of frontline professionals or encouraging the next generation of apprentices, our communications plays a central role in delivering our reforms.

As a department, we are also changing. We are now looking for an experienced, confident and motivated Internal Communications Officer to join our Internal Communications Team.
As part of the wider communications group, you will be a member of a dynamic and energetic team committed to delivering outstanding and engaging content. You will collaborate closely with colleagues from across press, social media, digital and strategic communications teams to deliver coherent, joined-up messages.
You will also work collaboratively with colleagues across the wider organisation to co-ordinate and deliver internal communications using analysis, insight and understanding to reach various audiences and help DfE to deliver its objectives.

This is an exciting time to join the department with many great opportunities for you to develop and progress, both within your own team and across the wider communications operation.
A strong writer with excellent organisational and people skills you - along with the rest of the team - will be central to our success. As a member of the Government Communications Service, you will also work closely with colleagues across government to drive forward improvements in internal communications that will help all of our people, understand their role in delivering outstanding public services.

If you want a new challenge and want to be part of a crucial and innovative team, we want to hear from you.

Job Specification:

1. Manage and develop strong working relationships with key internal stakeholders, providing expert advice to departmental leads on appropriate channels to reach and target internal audiences. You will have a primary focus on the 'Organisation and Delivery' strand of our Internal Communications strategy.
2. Develop engaging internal communications plans and campaigns, aligned to our Internal Communications strategy, that inform and engage staff with our corporate ambitions, tell our story and remind everyone of the department's key priorities.
3. Lead on the co-ordination and manage the delivery of our key internal campaigns under the 'Organisation and Delivery' strand of our Internal Communications strategy to promote and engage staff with corporate changes, our transformation ambitions and the ministerial priorities.
4. Lead the insight and evaluation work within the team, understanding what is working and what needs to improve and using this insight to drive real improvements and help land important messages about our priorities, ambitions and change within the department. With the Deputy Head of Internal Communications, act on these findings to develop and pilot new communications channels, including digital channels.
5. Strategically lead the coordination and oversee delivery of a rolling calendar of visual displays, exhibitions and stakeholder visits that showcases the work of DfE to staff and visitors.
6. Manage the co-ordination and oversee delivery of our all-staff meetings, senior leadership team and ministerial visits to DfE sites.
7. Lead the communication handling for ministerial submissions, working with the Communications Group and relevant private offices to align and position messaging.Identify, create and champion engagement opportunities to increase the visibility of our Ministerial team and collective senior leadership team, across all our key DfE sites, liaising extensively with Heads of Sites, Private Offices and others to sequence activity.
8. Manage members of the team to ensure that they delivering their objectives and as well as supporting their long-term professional development.

Person specification

Required:

• Demonstrable experience of developing and delivering internal communications strategies and action plans within a complex and multi-site organisation.
• A great relationship builder, able to build relationships with key internal stakeholders and to challenge, influence and advice as needed.
• Strong event management skills with proven experience of delivering inclusive and engaging events.
• Proven experience in using insight and evaluation to help drive and build effective communications plans.
• Good editorial skills and experience of writing and developing engaging content which is consistent with an organisation's priorities and values.
• Ability to operate creatively in an environment of change and ambiguity, and making effective use of digital tools and channels.
• Good people management skills with a commitment to develop those you are managing, as well as commitment to your own professional development and continuous improvement.

Desired:
• A relevant qualification in communications, marketing or journalism.
• Experience of working with audio or visual software. For example, video editing, design or desktop publishing

Competencies:

• Communications - Insight: (GCS core competency to level 3)
• Communications - Implementation: (GCS core competency to level 3)
• Communications - Ideas: (GCS core competency to level 3)
• Communications - Impact: (GCS core competency to level 3)
• Collaborating and partnering (Civil Service Competency to level 3)
• Seeing the bigger picture (Civil Service Competency to level 3)

Competencies are taken from both the Government Communications Service competency framework, and the Civil Service competency framework. Candidates who pass the sift will be invited to complete a task and interview.

Here's a more detailed summary of the competencies you'll need:

• Communications - Insight:
Effectiveness in this area means working with colleagues in a timely way to examine and define policy issues to be supported, commissioning additional research to gain insight into issues, where required, and developing measurable communication objectives to support the delivery of policy. It also means the ability to use segmentation and mapping techniques to identify target audiences and potential partners, always ensuring strategies take into account the recommendations and lessons learnt from evaluations of previous campaigns.

• Communications - Implementation:
People who are effective in this area gather evidence to assess impact and effectiveness throughout the delivery of communication, and demonstrate strong written communication skills. They provide advice and guidance to colleagues on writing clearly for target audiences and ensure communication products are cost effective, delivered to a high quality and represent value for money. They ensure supplier relationships are cost effective.

• Communications - Ideas:
People skilled in this area demonstrate flexible,creative thinking, testing and refining ideas to develop innovative solutions and confirming segmentation to ensure audiences are targeted effectively. They design integrated communication strategies ensuring the most appropriate and cost effective channels mix and maximise the potential of digital channels.They develop plans, considering resources and budgets, identify risks and plan mitigating actions. They embed evaluation and tracking into communication strategies and determine evaluation criteria and consider how to assess the impact of communication.

• Communications - Impact:
Effectiveness in this area menas developing and delivering the overall evaluation approach for communication, using relevant tools and guidance (such as the GCS guidance 'Evaluating Government Communication Activity'). It also means developing appropriate dashboards to support timely, effective evaluation, analysing evidence to assess effectiveness of communication and identify lessons learned.

• Collaborating and partnering:
People skilled in this area are team players. At all
levels, it requires working collaboratively, sharing
information appropriately and building supportive,
trusting and professional relationships with
colleagues and a wide range of people within
and outside the Civil Service, whilst having the
confidence to challenge assumptions.

• Seeing the bigger picture:
Seeing the big picture is about having an in-depth understanding and knowledge of how your role fits with and supports organisational objectives and the wider public needs and the national interest. For all staff, it is about focusing your contribution on the activities which will meet Civil Service goals and deliver the greatest value. For leaders, it is about scanning the political context and taking account of wider impacts to develop long term implementation strategies that maximise opportunities to add value to the citizen and support economic, sustainable growth.

Person specification

Please provide details of previous experience and relevant skills.

Competencies

We'll assess you against these competencies during the selection process:

• Communications - Insight: Core
• Communications - Implementation: Core
• Communications - Ideas: Core
• Communications - Impact: Core
• Collaborating and partnering
• Seeing the big picture

Civil Service Competency Framework

Benefits

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