Communications Manager

Future Civil Service Group

The Cabinet Secretary has established the Future Civil Service programme to reform the Civil Service so it is recognised for excellence in delivery, innovation and improved productivity.

The Future Civil Service Group, led by Jerome Glass, Director General, was set up to deliver on this Cabinet Secretary priority. The programme brings together officials and senior leadership across government to build a coherent, Civil Service-wide plan, and a Civil Service fit for the future.

The Future Civil Service Group is the strategic and functional centre for the Government People Function and human resources (HR) in the Civil Service.

The FCS Communications team is responsible for:

• Functional communications across government to 12,000 members of the People Function and HR Profession, including through events, and digitally via the People Hub - the online collaboration platform for HR professionals.
• Internal and change communications activity across FCS, to 800+ colleagues.
• Cross-government communications to 500,000+ civil servants and the general public, on behalf of FCS (where relevant).
• Press handling (reactive) for media enquiries related to the work of government HR.
• The team also handles all Parliamentary business for FCS, including PQs, FOIs, SARs, ministerial correspondence, and briefings.

Reporting to the Communications Lead, you will support the development and delivery of a wide-range of communications and engagement initiatives.

This position is a varied role with responsibilities across functional, internal/change, and external communications, as well as parliamentary business support to the wider team.

The role works across a range of communications disciplines including strategic planning and delivery of cross-government campaigns, internal communications, press and PR, digital communications, stakeholder engagement, and event management.

Key responsibilities include:

• Implementing the tactical delivery of communications plans, including the production of creative content and associated materials.
• Use digital skills to manage email marketing campaigns, analysing data to improve campaign performance.
• Drafting articles and supporting the management of the cross-government People Hub platform, the primary source of engagement to the People Function.
• Leading the People Function presence at Civil Service Live, coordinating sessions and stands to deliver a cross-government agenda.
• Planning and delivering in-person and online events.
• Producing and editing digital content, including designing graphics, filming content and using editing software to produce videos, photography.
• Using excellent drafting skills to produce compelling written content such as newsletters, articles, stories, and blogs, and detailed briefing materials and Q&As to support events, announcements, publications.
• Insight-gathering and evaluating campaign performance, reflecting on lessons learned and seeking out opportunities to improve future communications and activities.
• Establishing effective networks across our organisation, as well as government, providing coordination, oversight and sharing of best practice.

We are looking for an enthusiastic team player to take on this important role in a small but high performing team. We are seeking someone with creative flair and a passion for communications, with excellent writing and digital skills.

Essential criteria

• Plenty of drive, energy, and a real enthusiasm for government communications.
• Proven experience in using creative ideas to develop campaigns resulting in successful outcomes, with little-to-no budget.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills, with an ability to simplify complex issues accurately while writing inclusively for different audiences and channels.
• Understanding and experience of using the Government Communications planning frameworks, including OASIS, to develop engaging communications plans.
• Event management experience, with experience of working collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to deliver in-person and online events to diverse audiences.
• Creative skills, including graphical design, photography, video recording and editing, with a preferable background in working with Canva, Figma and Adobe Creative Suite.
• Digital skills, with experience working with content management systems (CMS), intranet sites, email marketing software and digital tracking tools.
• Strong organisational and event management skills to see projects through from inception to completion.
• Experience of using insights and data to analyse campaign performance, spot trends and make improvements to communications.
• Strong relationship management skills and the ability to build networks of varied stakeholders.
• News sense and an interest in the wider political climate.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working with Google web analysis tools, including Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and Google Tag Manager (GTM).
• External agency and supplier management experience.
• Knowledge of the Government People Function and HR Profession.

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.