Media Relations Officer

**Details**:
**Reference number**:

- 323126**Salary**:

- £36,244- London: £36,244 + £5,000 duty / shift allowances per annum- A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%**Job grade**:

- Higher Executive Officer**Contract type**:

- Permanent
- Fixed Term
- Loan
- Secondment**Length of employment**:

- This role is being advertised on a permanent basis. If preferable, Loan or Secondment options will also be available for existing Civil Servants (Loan) and applicants from accredited NDPBs or any other employer (Secondment).**Business area**:

- DHSC - Group Operations**Type of role**:

- Communications / Marketing
- Press Relations**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- LondonAbout the job

**Job summary**:
The Department of Health and Social Care Media Relations team is an award-winning operation, recognised for its work on crisis communications, evaluation, insight, and partnership working.

We are looking for media relations officers who are as comfortable briefing journalists on queries and writing press releases as they are planning and delivering high-profile campaigns and producing campaign content.

You’ll be someone who can hit the ground running as part of a high-performing team, in an exciting, fast paced communications environment.

Each day will bring new challenges and varied opportunities to develop your skills and a career at the heart of government. You will need an excellent news sense to respond to breaking news stories and challenge misreporting, as well as creativity to generate proactive media announcements, support campaigns and create engaging social media content.

Applicants are required to have substantial, demonstrative experience working in either media, public relations, or other communications roles.

You will be supported to develop your career as part of a friendly, welcoming team where learning and development and wellbeing are integral parts of the offer.

Once you become a member of our team, we are not only interested in what you can bring to communications, but also our culture and values, including commitments to staff health and wellbeing, and our Diversity & Inclusion working group.

**Job description**:
Those working on our news desk will shape the news as it develops, responding directly to journalists, and monitoring media and social. You’ll ensure DHSC’s position is reflected in coverage, rebut inaccuracies, and update ministers and advisors with news as it breaks.

Proactive teams will focus on planning, designing, and delivering communications’ campaigns to support departmental priorities. You’ll be devising innovative audience-focused communications plans maximising all the channels at your disposal, including media, social, paid for and low cost no cost marketing.
- advise senior officials and ministers on a range of communications issues on behalf of the department, including identifying potential reputational risks and proactive opportunities
- support ministers on communications on their policy brief, providing clear briefing on live media issues and accompanying them on interviews, visits, and events
- provide a professional, responsive around the clock media service through participation in the out-of-hours and shift rotas, and working with our rebuttal team
- build close working relationships with counterparts in arms-length bodies and partner organisations, ensuring communications activity and messaging is coordinated and supports shared objectives
- work as part of a team to ensure all activity is planned and evaluated in line with GCS (Government Communications Service) standards, including the use of audience insight be given the chance to learn and enhance basic social media skills, including video content and photography, to support ministerial activity

**Person specification**:
Key skills and experience required for the role:

- substantial experience working in Media, Public Relations, or other Communications roles
- experience of delivering audience-focused proactive and reactive communications
- strong oral and written communications skills
- ability to communicate effectively with different audiences including using insight
- ability to remain calm under pressure, prioritise workload and deal with competing priorities
- evidence of using evaluation to learn lessons and improve communications
- ability to build and maintain networks with counterparts in other organisations

**Behaviours**:
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

- Delivering at Pace
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture

**Technical skills**:
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

- GCS Competency: Insight -core
- GCS Competency: Ideas - core
- GCS Competency: Implementation - core
- GCS Competency