Senior External Affairs Manager

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

The Communications Directorate is a multi-disciplinary team delivering the Home Offices communications strategy. We are insight-led and results-driven, and our marketing campaigns support strategic objectives using a wide range of channels. We seek to provide high quality media, rebuttal and social media services. Our Internal Communications team supports employee engagement and business transformation.

As a member of the Communications Directorate, youll be supporting our mission to deliver outstanding public services that work for everyone.

You will join a multi-disciplinary team with colleagues based across the UK, working together to deliver the Home Offices communications strategy.

We believe a positive, open and supportive culture is essential to help everyone deliver their best work. We value diversity and provide an inclusive and encouraging environment for our team members. We nurture our talent and offer a broad range of learning and development opportunities to help you fulfil your potential.

Working as a Senior External Affairs Manager for Government Communications is an exciting, inspiring opportunity that will challenge and develop you as a professional communicator. You will be working on impactful initiatives, helping to shape communications on issues that directly influence communities and everyday lives across the country.

We are looking for a proactive and skilled individual to drive the delivery of high-quality stakeholder engagement across the departments entire policy portfolio. In this role you will build, develop and maintain effective relationships with a diverse range of key stakeholders, contribute to strategic communications planning, and build public advocacy for the departments work.

You will work within a fast-paced environment, responding quickly to changing priorities while maintaining strategic focus, and whilst always safeguarding the departments reputation. This role requires excellent judgement, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to navigate complex policy landscapes while building trusted relationships with diverse stakeholders.

As part of the External Affairs team, you will contribute to an integrated approach to stakeholder management, ensuring consistent messaging and maximising the impact of our engagement activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Own a segment of the departments stakeholder base; build trusted relationships, harness their insight, build advocacy for the departments work and identify opportunities for collaboration.
• Develop and implement comprehensive External Affairs stakeholder handling plans that align with departmental announcements and priorities.
• Identify influential stakeholders, monitoring their positions on key issues, and develop advice and recommendations for senior leaders based on that insight.
• Coordinate with colleagues across the department and across government to ensure a joined-up approach to external engagement.
• Work collaboratively with Communications colleagues, including media and campaigns specialists, to incorporate stakeholder voices into comms delivery plans.
• Evaluate the impact of your work with stakeholders to demonstrate the impact on the public narrative and to inform future approaches.

Working Pattern

Due to the business requirements of this role, it is only available on a full-time basis.

Essential Criteria

• Experience in stakeholder engagement, external affairs or public relations, with proven ability to build and maintain strategic relationships at all levels.
• Understanding of the political landscape and the media cycle, and the role of stakeholders within both.
• Experience in navigating complex or sensitive policies and stakeholders.
• Strong influencing skills, both within the department and outside of it, and the ability to build credibility and trust with a variety of people from different backgrounds.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to write clearly and concisely for a diverse range of stakeholders and audiences.
• A strong sense of prioritisation, with experience of managing multiple projects, adapting to a developing situation, and managing sensitive information.
• Good understanding of strategic communications and stakeholder management principles.
• A proactive team player with sound problem solving abilities.

Desirable Criteria

• Leadership capabilities, including setting clear direction, supporting team members, and adopting an inclusive leadership style that values diversity and inclusion.
• Experience in other communications disciplines such as media or campaigns.