Work for The Department for Culture, Media & Sport

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) - Enriching Lives Driving Growth

As the dedicated department to the UK’s cultural, media, sporting, tourism and charity sectors, we are growing the economy and enriching lives across the country. Our sectors support over 3.8 million jobs and our exports, from the Premier League to films, are in huge demand around the world. At DCMS, we deliver an incredible impact on people’s everyday lives – from supporting local museums, galleries, cinemas and theatres to delivering sports pitches and youth facilities, or backing charities making a huge difference right across the country. These are the things that bring pride to local areas, deliver huge health and wellbeing benefits, and make life worth living.

We have an exciting agenda ahead – supporting the UK’s cultural and creative industries to thrive; investing in grassroots sport to increase participation; reforming football governance with fans at its heart; reviewing gambling laws; creating a media and broadcast system fit for the 21st century; delivering for young people via the National Youth Guarantee; and driving tourism.

DCMS has innovative and inspiring leaders of a diverse and dynamic team. We deliver incredible outcomes for the British people and make a difference every day, bringing pride and joy to the nation and making life worth living.

“DCMS is committed to supporting candidates through the recruitment process. We recognise that the Civil Service recruitment process is nuanced and can differ to other employers. With that in mind, we have created guidance and offer fortnightly workshops on what to expect when applying to DCMS.

Click the link below for Application and Interview guidance for when you apply to a role at DCMS.

Employee benefits

Hybrid working and flexible working policy
Job share scheme
Part-time working options for the majority of DCMS vacancies
26.5 days annual leave (+ bank holidays and 1 privilege day for HM King’s birthday) increasing to 31.5 days after 5 years service
Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
3 days of paid volunteering leave
Career break
Staff reward and recognition bonuses
Accessibility and workplace adjustments
Occupational sick pay
Employee Assistance Programme
Access to Edenred employee benefits system offering discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources
Active and engaged staff networks to join including the LGBT+, Ethnic Diversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality Networks.
Exceptional learning and development opportunities you can explore alongside your day-to-day work
Season ticket loan
Cycle to work

Find your perfect opportunity at DCMS

DCMS values

DCMS’s commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

The work we do at DCMS touches the lives of people in communities the length and breadth of the UK. So it is really important that we reflect those communities in all their wonderful diversity.

We are committed to doing the work to build a culture where everyone can be the best version of themselves; and where we bring the widest range of perspectives to bear in the work we do to drive growth and enrich lives.

Becoming more representative of the communities we serve, and more inclusive, will help ensure we are not blind to the needs and perspectives of the people our policies affect. Building an inclusive culture will help ensure that everyone can do their best work and thrive at DCMS. And by educating ourselves and influencing others, we will build sustainable change with far-reaching impact.

DCMS is for everyone, and everyone has a role to play in helping us achieve our goal to be the most diverse and inclusive department by 2025.

To become the most diverse and inclusive department in the UK Government by 2025 we will focus on three key issues:

Increase ethnicity, disability and gender representation and DCMS’ ranking on social mobility in comparison to other government departments
Close the ‘inclusion gap’ between majority and minority groups in DCMS such as white and minority ethnic colleagues, cis heterosexual and LGBTQ+ colleagues
Build our understanding and challenge our biases so that we eradicate racism and embed diversity and inclusion in ourselves, our sectors, suppliers and Public Bodies.

Read more about DCMS’ commitment to Diversity and Inclusion here.

Employee wellbeing: Caring for our people at DCMS

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport value the wellbeing of their staff and have a robust strategy with multiple avenues of support and resources available to support staff wellbeing and to empower and equip managers to support their employee’s wellbeing.

DCMS offers access to an ‘Employee Assistance Programme’, run by an external provider, which is available for all staff and their families to reach out for confidential support 24/7 from specially trained teams. It is designed to enhance employee wellbeing and resilience and they can support a range of things such as, financial issues, legal matters, anxiety and depression, bullying and bereavement. They also offer management advice to give line managers coaching support for their teams.

DCMS have also created a wellbeing conversation and resource pack for hiring managers to use to shape conversations with employees around the subject of wellbeing. It includes a ‘Five-step wellbeing conversation tool’ with examples of questions that they could ask to shape conversations and tips to share. It is mandated in HR policy that wellbeing is an agenda item within all monthly and quarterly reviews.

DCMS highly values the Mental Health and Wellbeing Network, a staff network led by staff volunteers at DCMS with Senior Civil Servant support. They advocate on behalf of colleagues with mental health conditions, support mental health champions and promote mental wellbeing and awareness in DCMS. This network is consulted on all departmental policy which may impact employees – demonstrative of the active voice they have and how well respected and valued they are internally.

DCMS offers all staff free membership to Headspace, a mindfulness app with proven results to reduce stress and burnout, and increase focus, amongst other benefits. This feeds into improved employee wellbeing.

HR have recently delivered a series of workshops titled “Work-life balance, managing workload and improving employee wellbeing”. These workshops cover theory and practical tips on these themes, group discussions and an opportunity to hear from senior staff members on their experiences and reflections on these topics.

Are you interested in joining a department which values employee’s mental health and wellbeing so highly? Then join the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.