Job Description

Details

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Reference number

425429

Salary

40,669
The salary for this role is 44,319 (London) or 40,669 (National).


For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If you apply for a role that requires a transfer of location, for example if you are transferring from London to a National location, your salary will be adjusted in accordance with our policy on transfer between HQ pay ranges.
A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
GBP

Job grade

Senior Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

Group: Strategy and Communications Directorate: Communications

Type of role

Other

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

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Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information

Location

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Bristol, London, Wolverhampton

About the job

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Job summary

Do you have a passion for news and current affairs?


Are you a motivated, creative individual who thrives on working in a fast paced environment?



If so we have an exciting opportunity for you to join our team and shape media coverage on stories that are regularly top of the news agenda.



The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is central to the mission-driven government - from delivering the homes this country needs, to handing power back to communities and rebuilding local governments. As one of our senior press officers, you'll be part of an ambitious, collaborative and supportive team that responds to breaking news, manages crisis communications and proactively shapes the narrative on key issues. This role requires someone who can build strong relationships with journalists and stakeholders, can take a leading role in supporting ministers and senior officials, with the resilience to deliver in challenging situations. Combining strategic thinking with hands-on media engagement, you will translate complex policy decisions into clear, compelling stories that resonate with diverse audiences across traditional and digital media channels. Curiosity about how people consume and share news across different platforms will be key. You will likely have responsibility for task management of at least one Press Officer an as a result, you will need to be able to be able to oversee both your own and others' workloads, juggling competing priorities to tight deadlines.


About Government Communications

By joining a communications team, you will become a member of Government Communications, a well-established profession of communicators working in government departments, agencies and arm's length bodies. You'll benefit from continuous professional development from our new learning and development curriculum, a network of skilled communicators sharing best practice, mentoring opportunities, and much more! Learn more about how joining the communication profession can support your career and development, and get advice on your application by visiting the GCS careers page https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/professions/working-in-communications/

Job description

To be successful in this role, you will be confident in turning complex information into clear content that resonates with diverse audiences.
You'll be responsible for developing innovative media handling plans across multiple platforms - beyond traditional print and broadcast media - working creatively with colleagues on digital and social media channels to reach different audiences. Collaboration is key, and you will work closely with ministers, private offices, officials, stakeholders and other communication disciplines to create clear communication strategies and concise messaging.
You will also be responsible for responding to incoming queries from the media, proactively monitoring for breaking news that might require correction or rebuttal, providing swift and effective responses.

An essential part of the role is participating in the press office out-of-hours rota, providing a 24/7 point of contact for media enquiries and responding to breaking incidents outside of core business hours, for which you will be remunerated in line with the department's overtime policy. Regular attendance in London to support ministers and special advisers will be required.



Your key responsibilities will include:Leading on major proactive policy announcements and coordinate communications for high-level engagements. Creating clear, engaging content that translates complex government policies for public understanding. Providing expert communications advice to ministers, special advisers, and senior officials on policy matters. Responding swiftly and accurately to breaking news stories and manage crisis communications. Monitoring media coverage, rebut inaccurate stories, and protect departmental reputations Building and maintaining strong relationships with journalists, stakeholders, and across government departments. Working closely with our digital communications teams to develop and deliver integrated media strategies that maximise reach and engagement. Overseeing and developing junior team members, providing leadership and supporting their growth.

Person specification

A track record of developing and leading creative, innovative and compelling proactive media moments, targeting a range of different audiences and often landing complex information. Senior stakeholder engagement: able to deliver concise briefing, both verbal and written, to senior stakeholders with confidence; and able to gain the trust of, negotiate with and influence senior stakeholders, including ministers. Excellent understanding of the national news agenda, including outlets spanning consumer and trade audiences as well as the nations and regions. Political judgement: strong news judgement and excellent understanding of the social media landscape. Excellent communication skills: able to demonstrate outstanding written and verbal skills that require minimal edits from senior leaders, and able to deliver clear and impactful messaging across a variety of platforms. Strategic and analytical thinking: experience in using data and insights to inform strategies, whilst measuring the effectiveness of communications. Workload management: good experience in managing conflicting deadlines, demonstrating prioritisation skills and effective time management. Collaborative working: a proactive team player with sound problem solving abilities, with an ability to interpret complex information and deliver clear and engaging content.

Desirable criteria:



Experience of working either in a journalism/media/press office environment will be an advantage, although we are open to a range of backgrounds. Team management capabilities, including setting clear direction, supporting team members, and adopting an inclusive leadership style that values diversity and inclusion. Experience in developing and implementing systems or processes that ensure excellence and value for money in communications activities. Digital communication prowess: understanding of digital channels, platforms, and content formats to grow and engage audiences, including skills in digital strategy and content creation. Experience of working collaboratively with digital communications teams to deliver integrated media strategies that reflect modern news consumption and ever evolving information-sharing patterns.

Benefits

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Alongside your salary of 40,669, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes 11,781 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Learning and development tailored to your role An environment with flexible working options A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

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Selection process details

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.


As part of our pre-employment checking process, we will be using your CV to confirm your job history. Please note that by providing us with your CV you are consenting to us using the information enclosed as part of the checking process.

CV and Cover Letter Declaration

We recruit based on your knowledge and skills, and not background, gender or ethnicity - this is called name blind recruitment.



Please remove references to your:

name/title educational institutions age gender email address postal address phone number nationality/immigration status

You will need to merge your CV and covering letter into one document.

When submitting your application Applied will ask you to upload a CV, when doing this you should upload your merged document of your CV and covering letter

.



Most of our campaigns utilise multiple assessors and so it is possible that your application would be viewed by different assessors.

At sift, through your CV and covering letter we will be assessing:

Experience



Your covering letter should be no more than 650 words and should set out how your career experience to date meets the essential criteria and key responsibilities required in this role.

The interview will be of a blended nature consisting of the following success profiles elements:

Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions


Experience: Yes - Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description


Candidates will be asked to prepare a 5-minute presentation, further details will be provided on invitation to interview.

In the full campaign we will test the below Success Profile Elements:

Experience: Yes - Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description


Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Seeing the Big Picture, Delivering at Pace, Making Effective Decisions

Please contact the vacancy manager if you have any questions about the role.

We do not consider direct CV applications - you must apply for this role via the application link on Civil Service Jobs.

Please note that near miss offers may be made at the lower grade to candidates who do not meet the grade criteria for this campaign.

SEO salary

The salary for this role is 44,319 (London) or 40,669 (National).

For existing civil servants, the usual policy on level transfer and promotion will apply and is non-negotiable. If you apply for a role that requires a transfer of location, for example if you are transferring from London to a National location, your salary will be adjusted in accordance with our policy on transfer between HQ pay ranges.

Please note that the average employer pension contribution is based upon the National minimum salary for this role. Should your agreed starting salary for this role be different, the average employer pension contribution will be calculated accordingly. If you are a Secondee, this will not apply as you will remain on your home organisation's terms and conditions.

Benefits

Transfers across the Civil Service on or after 4 October 2018

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Any move to MHCLG from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.


For further information about the benefits available to MHCLG employees, please see the attached Candidate Pack.

Location

Bristol London Wolverhampton


There may be opportunities for candidates to work flexibly depending on the business needs. This will be discussed with the vacancy manager on a case-by-case basis if you are successful for the role.


At present, a minimum of 60% of your working time will be spent in your contractual office location. Requirements to attend other office locations or off-site meetings will be counted towards this. You will be asked to express a location preference during the application process.

Sift and Interview dates

Sifting is envisaged to take place W/C 15th September 2025 with interview dates to be confirmed.

Important:

All interviews for this post are to be held in person at our 2 Marsham Street office in London. Further details would be provided upon invitation.

Reserve List

In the event that we identify more appointable candidates than we currently have posts available, we will hold applicant details on a reserve list for a period of 6 months from which further appointments can be made. This may include roles at a lower grade. Candidates placed on a reserve list will be informed of this. Those candidates who do not wish to remain on the reserve list should contact recruitment@communities.gov.uk to be removed from the reserve list.

Security Clearance Requirements:

CTC

Please note that successful candidates will need to pass the CTC security checks - this requires you to have been resident in the UK for the past 3 years. Please refer to the MHCLG Notes on Security Clearance section of our Candidate Pack for further information on Counter Terrorism Clearance (CTC).


Candidates should also note that with effect from 1st August 2018 the department will also check all applicants who are successful at interview, against the Internal Fraud Database (IFD) held by the Cabinet Office. In accordance with the Civil Service Internal Fraud Policy, any applicant who is included on the IFD will be refused employment by MHCLG. Please see the Candidate Pack for further information on the Internal Fraud Database.

Before starting your application it's very important to make sure that you are eligible to apply and meet the Civil Service nationality requirements. All candidates are expected to read the information provided in the MHCLG candidate pack regarding nationality requirements and rules

Candidate Pack Information

Please see attached Candidate pack for further information.

Internal Fraud Database

The Internal Fraud function of the Fraud, Error, Debt and Grants Function at the Cabinet Office processes details of civil servants who have been dismissed for committing internal fraud, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned. The Cabinet Office receives the details from participating government organisations of civil servants who have been dismissed, or who would have been dismissed had they not resigned, for internal fraud. In instances such as this, civil servants are then banned for 5 years from further employment in the civil service. The Cabinet Office then processes this data and discloses a limited dataset back to MHCLG as a participating government organisations. MHCLG then carry out the pre employment checks so as to detect instances where known fraudsters are attempting to reapply for roles in the civil service. In this way, the policy is ensured and the repetition of internal fraud is prevented.


For more information please see- Internal Fraud Register



Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is counter-terrorist check .



See our vetting charter .
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

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

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.



We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

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This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

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Job contact :

Name : Harry Davis Email : harry.davis@communities.gov.uk
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Recruitment team

* Email : recruitment@communities.gov.uk