Senior Communications Officer

Division
Strategy & Impact
- Department
Communications
- Location
Warrington
- Grade
12
- Salary
£37,120
- Contract Type
Fixed Term
- Contract Duration
6 months
- Job Description

**Providing clarity; building trust. A job that matters**

**Job Title**: Senior Communications Officer (Hillsborough) - Hybrid working

**Salary**: £37,120 per annum

**Location**: Warrington

**Duration**: 6 month fixed term contract / secondment

**Your role**:
As a completely independent organisation, the IOPC seek to uphold the rights of the public and investigate the most serious matters, including deaths following police contact, to promote learning and influence change in policing. The IOPC is an organisation steeped in history, influenced by significant figures such as Stephen Lawrence and Sir William Macpherson. We are looking for people to uphold our core values, and in return we will give you a supportive and inclusive work environment to flourish in.

There are many opportunities to work for the IOPC outside of investigations, where your skills, experience and passion can be utilised. Within the Strategy and Corporate Services Directorate, you will find a wide variety of careers to support our organisational goals of improving confidence in policing whilst developing your own expertise. The Communications team includes media, digital, content and design, internal communications and Hillsborough communications.

The Senior Communications Officer is responsible for the planning and delivery of a range of communication projects and tasks, in support of the Hillsborough Communications and Engagement Strategy.

The post holder will provide advice and support, identifying key messages and opportunities for proactive communications work, including media engagement, online content and internal communications. They will also identify any risks around communicating and, where necessary, escalate these or advise about mitigating them.

**What you will need**:

- Experience of developing and implementing successful communications plans for complex projects
- Experience of handling sensitive media enquiries and working with the media
- Ability to advise, negotiate and influence colleagues at all levels
- Experience of working collaboratively with colleagues across different teams and functions
- Ability to develop and deliver clear, consistent and tailored messages for internal and external audiences
- Good creative skills and a proactive approach to handling communications challenges
- Ability to write clear, high-quality, accurate copy that is suitable for both digital and print-based products, and for a range of audiences
- Experience of organising events
- A good understanding of how to evaluate and measure communications activity
- A track record of working to tight deadlines and juggling a range of priorities
- Experience of working in a busy team environment independently, confidently and with initiative
- A good knowledge of current communications techniques and practice
- Experience of working in a communications role in a high-profile organisation

**What we offer**:

- 27.5 days paid annual leave (increasing with service to 32.5 days)
- Options to carry over, buy or sell annual leave
- Civil Service pension
- PAM employee assistance programme
- Access to Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) membership
- Staff networks focused on each of the protected characteristics - run for staff, by staff
- Learning and development tailored to your role
- An environment with flexible working options
- A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity behaviours

We'll assess you against these Level 2 behaviours during the selection process:

- Communicating and Influencing
- Making Effective Decisions
- Working Together
- Managing a Quality Service
- Delivering at Pace

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, to find out more, please click here.

Converted File Senior Communications Officer (Hillsborough) - JD - July 22.docx.pdf - 1382KB
- Working conditions

**Be yourself**:
The IOPC is committed to **promoting equality and valuing diversity** in everything we do. Our vision is to be, and to be seen as, a leader in inclusive employment and services; demonstrating this ethos in everything that we do.
- As a silver standard Stonewall employer, we continue to commit ourselves to being a LGBTQ+ employer through the work of our Pride LGBTQ+ Staff Network, creating welcoming environments for lesbian, gay, bi and queer people.
- We are pleased to share we are a signatory of the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter. The Charter is composed of five calls to action for leaders and organisations across all sectors.
- Being a Disability Confident employer, the IOPC is dedicated to removing the barrier for disabled people to thrive in the workplace.
- Our Staff Networks are constantly working to make the IOPC the leaders of inclusive employment, from our Allyship Programme to Operation Hotton, to Welsh Language Standards and Know the Line