Job responsibilities
Job Summary
The Head of Strategic Communications, Campaigns and Content is a pivotal role within UKHSAs Communications Directorate, overseeing our strategic communications and planning function, as well as our in-house team of highly skilled creative professionals.
The post holder will play a central part in developing UKHSAs communications strategy, and ensuring we have the right KPIs and evaluation approach in place to demonstrate impact against our plan on an ongoing basis.
You will support and guide the strategic communications team to develop insight based communications plans, supporting delivery of some of UKHSAs most high-profile topics, ranging from vaccination, to antimicrobial resistance and the health effects of climate change. You will play a critical role within the Communications Directorate senior management team, encouraging collaboration between teams to enable effective virtual team working on top priority topics.
The content team supports the full breadth of the Agency work. They flex their focus and skills to inform and guide the public at times of risk, as well as in support of longer-term behavioural change campaigns, and creative corporate content to promote corporate priorities as well as our science, research and surveillance work.
The content team also oversees the development and curation of our social media channels and social media strategy. Over the next year, we are looking to put a more targeted approach in place to build the reach of each of our core channels and increase the impact of our social media activity as a whole and you will be responsible for overseeing this work.
Professional development
You should pursue a programme of continuous professional development in accordance with any relevant professional registration or statutory requirements, while maintaining appropriate awareness of service provider requirements.
Main Responsibilities
- You will be a strategic communications professional with experience of working across the different communications specialisms, adept at leading, managing, creating plans and presentations but also willing and able to turn your hand to writing content to a very high standard when needed.
- You will be passionate about public health and will need to quickly develop a strong, comprehensive understanding of UKHSAs corporate strategy, identifying where communications can enable successful delivery.
- You will lead a team of 12, and line managing five senior colleagues within the team, including strategic communications professional, writers, graphic designers, videographers. You will ensure the team can flourish, with a well-balanced, well organised programme of work and a clear sense of direction and purpose.
- You will need to engage with experts and senior officials across the agency, becoming a trusted advisor, helping to define the role for communications and guiding your team and the wider Directorate - to develop multi-channel, insight-based communications plans to support delivery of these.
- You will play a major role in the creation of UKHSAs communications plan. Once the plan is finalised, you will ensure we have the right metrics and broader evaluation approach in place to track and report on our impact to the wider team, the senior leadership of the Agency and UKHSAs Advisory Board.
- You will guide and enable your team to work successfully with DHSCs marketing team on any paid campaigns that have significant budgets behind them.
- You will support the development of a planning culture in the communications directorate, working with the Deputy Director to ensure we have the right cycle of strategic planning meetings and planning products.
- You will work particularly closely with our Behavioural Insight Team in our Science group, so that we keep abreast of any insight that may support our work.
- You will oversee development of our social media strategy, including our own channels and how we work with others, to grow and expand the impact of our content.
- You will ensure we have the right social media monitoring processes in place to support effective reputation management, identifying trends and any emerging issues in a timely way and advising on the best response.
- You will oversee the development of creative content for our own and partner channels; ensuring the team are focussed on the right priorities and are engaging productively with the wider Directorate, particularly on rapid incident response work.
The Communications Directorate supports and protects UKHSAs reputation as a trusted and independent source of expert advice for the public, the media and professionals in the fields of health security and science. The Directorate comprises a number of specialist areas media and external affairs, campaigns, content, strategy, publications, internal communications and conferences and events.
STAGE 1 - APPLICATION & SIFT:
You will be required to complete an application form and a statement of suitability. Your Statement of Suitability should outline your skills, experience, and achievements, providing evidence of your suitability for the role, against the essential criteria (outlined in the person specification section). Your Statement of Suitability must not exceed 1000 words.
You will be required to complete an application form. This will be assessed in line with the advertised essential criteria please do provide evidence of how you meet this.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to an interview.
STAGE 2 INTERVIEW
This stage will involve an interview in person at UKHSA offices at Canary Wharf.
This vacancy is being assessed using Success Profiles. During the interview we will assess your Behaviours/Strengths/Ability/ Experience/Technical skills.
The Success Profiles framework will be used to assess and recruit the most suitable candidate. The following behaviours will be used at the interview:Behaviours to be assessed:
- Seeing the big picture
- Changing and improving
- Making effective decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and influencing
- Working together
- Developing self and others
You will be asked to prepare and present a 5-minute presentation. The subject of this will be sent to you prior to interview.
Expected Timeline:
Advert close: 23:55hrs on 10/09/2023 unfortunately, late applications will not be considered. Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Interviews: TBC
Please note these dates could be subject to change.
Eligibility Criteria
Open to all external applicants (anyone) from outside the Civil Service (including by definition internal applicants)
Nationality requirements
Appointments to roles within UKHSA will be made in accordance with the Civil Service nationality rules. These can be found athttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/nationality-rulesThis job is broadly open to the following groups:
- UK nationals
- Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
- Nationals of the Republic of Ireland
- Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with settled or pre-settled status or who apply for either status by the deadline of theEuropean Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals working in the Civil Service
- Relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals who have built up the right to work in the Civil Service
- Certain family members of the relevant EU, EEA, Swiss or Turkish nationals
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles.
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment.
Security clearance level requirement
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check. Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard. People working with government assets must complete Basic Personnel Security Standard checks.
For posts on UKHSA Civil Service terms and conditions, new entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. For existing Civil Servants and roles advertised across government, the rules of transfer apply, i.e., level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive a 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
Please Note
This role is to be appointed under Civil Service Terms & Conditions. Full details on the T&Cs are found https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/
Are you already a civil servant, or employed by a Civil Service Commission accredited public body? Please state home department on your application form.
Do you meet the nationality requirements for this post? https://www.ukhsa.reed.com/
The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact UKHSA Public Accountability Unit via email:Complaints1@ukhsa.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission: Visit the Civil Service Commission website.
