Chief Press Officer

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

- 260481**Salary**:

- £57,239 - £68,510**Job grade**:

- Grade 7- Grade 7 Communications**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 work of the Department for Work and Pensions makes a difference to the lives of millions of people, right across the country.

We are recruiting a Chief Press Officer to be part of our supportive and high-performing press team.

Our work is often national news. From cost-of-living support for the most vulnerable and getting people back into work to improving the lives of disabled people and giving pensioners security in retirement.

As part of the Press Office, you will be responding for breaking news stories, planning proactive press activity and briefing ministers. You will be part of the Press Office leadership team and will also work closely with the rest of the Communications Directorate to promote the Department’s work and services, as well as bringing ideas and energy to one of Whitehall’s busiest press offices.

We are looking for people who have good judgment, a strong understanding of how the news cycle works and an ability to solve problems creatively under pressure. If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

This post will be based at Caxton House, London.

**Job description**:
**As a Chief Press Officer**:
Central activities include:

- Set the news agenda across national, regional, digital and consumer channels, telling a consistent and compelling story about the department’s work.
- Build strong relations with Ministers, special advisers, policy officials, key external stakeholders and senior colleagues.
- Use expert knowledge to offer proactive communications advice and guidance to Ministers, officials and other stakeholders to inform their approach.
- Initiate and develop communication strategies and integrated media campaigns that keep us on the front foot.
- Demonstrate excellent written communication skills and set standards to ensure appropriate content, messaging, tone and consistency in all media communication.
- Participate in the out-of-hours “back up” weekly duty rota, as the go-to point for duty press officers.
- Directly manage an SIO and support a wider team of IOs to deliver communication objectives and progress in their roles.
- Play an active role in Press Office SMT, contributing to the leadership of a high performing team. In return, we will ensure that you are fully supported and have the opportunity to develop your career as a skilled communications professional.

**Please** **Note**: Out of hours working is a key feature of this role and you will be included on a backup rota for weekday evenings and weekend service. There is an additional allowance paid for this.

**Some travel may be required for business purposes. Travel costs will be re-imbursed in these cases.**

**Person specification**:
**Essential Criteria**
- Experience of working in a fast-paced press office, with highly effective media, rebuttal and crisis management skills.
- Excellent political understanding and news judgement.
- Experience of leadership, including leading virtual teams and working closely with colleagues in the wider organisation to achieve objectives.
- Clarity of argument and concise writing skills.
- Experience of developing and leading multi-channel media strategies.
- Exceptional influencing skills and experience as adviser to the most senior executives.
- Experience of developing strategies and evaluation in a news environment.
- A track record of being a strong and supportive leader, with history of managing and developing teams.

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

- Leadership
- Communicating and Influencing

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

- Insight
- Idea's
- 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%
- 25 days Annual Leave allowance in year one. This may vary for existing Civil servants based on their number of years in service.

Things you need to know

**Selection process details**:

- This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.2.** Interview**

A ‘blended’ interview lasting around 45 minutes to 1 hour will test a mix of behaviours, technical skills and strengths:

- Leadership
- Communicating and influencing

b. For this professional communications role, you’ll also be tested against the following *