Communications Directorate

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

- 238854**Salary**:

- £54,000 - £64,900- National: £54,000 - £59,400 London: £59,000 - £64,900**Grade**:

- Grade 7**Contract type**:

- Permanent**Business area**:

- HO - Communications Directorate**Type of role**:

- Communications / Marketing
- Customer Insight
- Market Research**Working pattern**:

- Flexible working, Full-time, Part-time**Number of posts**:

- 1Contents

Location

About the job

**Benefits**:
Things you need to know

Location
- Cardiff General Buildings, Manchester Dallas Court, London 2 Marsham Street (2MS), Sheffield Vulcan HouseAbout the job

**Summary**:
**The Communications Directorate** plays a critical role in the Home Office’s mission to keep the UK’s streets safe and borders secure. We help ministers and the wider department prepare for and respond to unexpected events, we identify and mitigate risks, and deliver attitude and behaviour change campaigns to our external and internal audiences - all of this ultimately supports the security and economic prosperity of the UK.

**The Insight Team **sits at the centre of the Communications Directorate. Working across the full range of Home Office policy areas, this specialist team helps ensure that the department’s communications strategy and activity is audience-led and effectively evaluated. This includes acting as trusted insight advisors to communications colleagues, carrying out high quality research and evaluation activities, and working closely with agency partners to brief, design and deliver commissioned studies.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on one of the most high-profile, interesting and demanding briefs in public sector communications, and work in a Communications Directorate that is fully committed to using audience insight to generate positive impact.

The work of the Communications Directorate is challenging but highly rewarding. Each and every member of the team plays a part in delivering the communications strategy and meeting its objectives. We work hard to maintain a positive working environment and are committed to helping each team member’s potential. We value diversity and provide an open, inclusive and supportive environment to help everyone do their best work.

**Job description**:
**Do you have**:

- An excellent research background.
- A proactive, solutions-focused attitude.
- A track record for driving improvements in the insight profession.
- An ability to work well under pressure.
- A clear, engaging communication style.
- Confidence to influence decision-making.
- Confidence to negotiate with colleagues and partners at all levels.

**This post will stretch and enhance your ability to**:

- Operate at a strategic level (often during ambiguous and changing circumstances).
- Work through others, especially outside line management structures.
- Drive decision-making.
- Deliver pragmatic solutions to solve difficult research questions.
- Champion the value of audience-led communications.

**Responsibilities**:
No day will be the same, but the role demands someone who can:

- ** Be fully embedded in the directorate’s strategic conversations** to ensure that insight and robust understanding of our diverse audiences sit firmly at the heart of our communications strategies.
- ** Be a strong voice and positive advocate for audience insight,** championing its use in driving effective communications.
- ** Be the custodian of the Directorate’s audience** **intelligence**, holding the pen on what we know about our audiences and make sure that knowledge is accessible and shared across the Directorate.
- ** Work with colleagues to identify opportunities for generating new insight,** advising teams on best value research solutions.
- ** Lead the design and delivery of insight and evaluation projects and programmes**, including projects run in-house and those delivered by our agency partners, ensuring that all work is carried out to a high standard and offers value for money to the Directorate and the Department.
- ** Manage our contracts with external research agencies**, working at a peer-to-peer level with senior leaders (e.g.Research Directors) in those agencies, ensuing the Directorate receives a value for money and high-quality service.
- ** Be responsible **(working alongside colleagues)** for ensuring that all communications activities have clear outcomes and evaluation plans **that are cohesive, effective and proportionate, and demonstrate value.
- ** Build positive relationships**, networking with other insight teams in the Department (e.g.HOAI) and across Whitehall to make sure that we make use of existing intelligence and share best practice.
- ** Line manage members of the insight team** (it is assumed that this role will be one of two Heads of Insight, with each Head having c.2 direct line reports).

**Essential criteria**

**You must have**:
A strong and demonstrable track record:

- As a senior insight professional.
- In leading others wit