Head of External Affairs

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

- 341920**Salary**:

- £59,815 - £71,593- Inner London: Min £59,815 - Max £71,593**Job grade**:

- Grade 7**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- DWP - Communications**Type of role**:

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

- Full-time**Number of jobs available**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- LondonAbout the job

**Job summary**:
The Department for Work and Pensions makes a difference to the lives of millions of people right across the country. Our work is often national news; from our multibillion-pound drive to get Britain working and cost-of-living support for the most vulnerable to improving the lives of disabled people and giving pensioners security in retirement.

As the head of External Affairs Team, you will lead a team to build relationships with influential stakeholders, explaining DWP’s policies to help manage the department’s reputation and feed valuable insight back to the Department. You will head-up a team of trusted stakeholder engagement advisors, who provide first-class advice to ministerial teams to manage their stakeholder relationships.

You will be working at the heart of Whitehall to deliver world-leading communications work on policy areas related to key Government priorities.

We are looking for a leader who has a track record of managing risk, excellent influencing skills, strong judgement and who is a problem-solver, who can deliver and motivate a team under pressure.

If this sound like you, we would love to hear from you.

This post will be based at Caxton House, London.

**Job description**:
**The Head of External Affairs will**:

- Develop and oversee the implementation of an External Affairs strategy based on insight and in support of the department’s wider communications objectives
- Be a trusted adviser to Ministers, Senior leaders and Special Advisers on engagement with stakeholders, including in times of crisis communications
- Lead an efficient, high functioning team to provide expert handling advice to Ministers and senior leaders across the department
- Be a confident representative and advocate of the Department, representing DWP at high levels across Government
- Lead by example by building open and trusting relationships with stakeholders, identifying opportunities to shift sentiment and build partnerships.
- Develop and oversee a team to build its listening and monitoring function, sharing insight back into DWP and across Government - basing this intelligence on regular stakeholder mapping and horizon scanning.
- Be a leader and member of the Senior Management Team within the DWP Press Office, inspiring colleagues to enjoy their roles, improve skills and pursue their ambitions.

**Person specification**:
**Essential Criteria**
- Experience of working in a fast-paced environment, with highly effective media, rebuttal, and crisis management skills along with excellent political understanding and news judgement, plus being able to react quickly and confidently in developing situations
- Proven track record of engaging with stakeholders, designing and delivering engagement strategies, and evaluating impact
- Experience of leading virtual teams and working closely with colleagues in the wider organisation to achieve objectives, including having the ability to build and maintain relationships both internally and externally, with strong interpersonal and influencing skills
- A track record of being a strong and supportive leader, with history of managing and developing/nurturing teams experience in setting and maintaining high standards for a team, enabling it to operate efficiently, effectively and ensure team members are challenged and motivated.
- Clarity of argument and concise writing skills, as well as having a strong ability to maintain good judgment and attention to detail even under pressure
- Exceptional influencing skills, confidence and experience advising senior leaders, plus experience in supporting a team to do so
- Experience of developing strategies and evaluation in a news environment, plus having experience of developing and leading multi-channel media strategies

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

- Leadership
- Changing and Improving
- Delivering at Pace

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

- Insight
- Ideas
- Implementation
- Impact

**Benefits**:

- 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 average employer contribution of 27%
- 185hrs (25 days) annual leave allowance in year one. This may vary for existing civil servants based on their number of years’ service

**Location**

Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. R