Job Title: Senior External Communications and Engagement Manager
Directorate: Communications and Engagement
Location: National
Based on current ways of working, work location is likely to be a combination of working from home and from the office, dependent on business needs.
About Us
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support service users and colleagues, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice. We’re looking for an individual who is passionate about public service and wants to make a difference to people’s lives in delivering justice. If you’re interested in developing a career with a real purpose, then please apply.
The role of the HMCTS Communications and Engagement Directorate is to:
enhance and protect the reputation of HMCTS.
facilitate corporate communication and engagement with internal and external stakeholders and court users.
advise, challenge, and support the organisation to communicate and engage effectively.
About The Role
This is a varied role and will work as part of the External Communications and Engagement Team in the HMCTS Communications and Engagement Directorate, focusing on a blend of engagement, content, campaigns, stakeholder and corporate communications work.
You will primarily focus on providing quality communications and engagement advice and direction to the fast-paced and high-profile criminal court jurisdiction. Whether that be business partnering with senior leaders and officials in projects or service teams, or supporting our colleagues working on the frontline in Crown and magistrates’ courts, this is a demanding but highly rewarding role. You’ll be the ‘go to’ communications expert and lead the delivery of comms and engagement activity relating to your area.
Through your work, you’ll be an integral part of how HMCTS achieves its priorities and delivers operational and strategic milestones.
A summary of the role is below. If you would like to know more about the role, the full Role Profile is attached as a PDF. Please note the fuller Role Profile was developed to cover a broader scope for roles at this grade, covering both internal and external communications manager roles. Therefore, some of the detail below will be more specific and differ from the attachment, but the two are to be considered together for the purpose of the application.
Please note that our intention is for the successful candidate to fill the role on a full-time basis, although flexible working requests could be considered. If you require further information about this, please contact [email protected] in advance of applying.
Key Accountabilities
You will:
design, deliver and evaluate communications and engagement strategies and activity that really engages our complex audiences and directly contribute to the successful rollout of our reform programmes.
foster strong working relationships with senior officials, developing solutions and working on complex issues to provide them with communications and engagement advice and support to help them meet their business objectives.
tell our story and bring the courts to life for our audiences by drafting a range of content, key messages and narratives including, but not limited to news articles, blogs, podcasts, case studies, briefing documents, speaking notes and presentations.
provide quick and timely input to submissions, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and Parliamentary Questions (PQs).
Handle high-profile and sensitive media issues, working with subject matter experts and press office to develop proactive and reactive media lines and products that enhance and protect HMCTS’ reputation.
take responsibility for supporting evaluation and reporting of communications and engagement activity in your area and ensure we meet the required outcomes.
provide support to the G6/G7 and other senior leaders in directing and advising on all communications and engagement activity in relation the organisation’s response to a crisis.
Person Specification
This is a specialist communications role, so it is essential that you are an experienced communications professional. You will need the confidence and experience to engage with a diverse range of audiences and stakeholders.
The ideal candidate for this position should demonstrate the following:
Essential
strong planning, organisational skills with experience of developing and delivering external communications and engagement strategies and plans in a large and complex organisation.
proven stakeholder management skills, quickly able to establish credibility and rapport with senior colleagues and other external partners.
an exceptional storyteller, able to adapt writing style for different audiences and channels and content formats.
experience of handling media enquiries, able to ask the right questions of the right people to get to the heart of issues and provide quality advice.
the ability to quickly generate insights from available data and use these to shape communications activity.
able to evaluate communications activity and develop lessons learnt with a view to continuous improvement within your practice.
strong problem-solving skills with the ability to work quickly and effectively under pressure and through ambiguity, making decisions at pace and managing competing priorities and changing deadlines.
a team player, able to quickly mobilise colleagues around common goals and deliver creative communication activities.
Desirable
Familiarity with using content management systems and managing web pages.
Experience of change or technology related communications.
How To Apply
Please provide a CV and 750-word statement of suitability demonstrating your abilities to fulfil this role. The statement of suitability should be based on the requirements set out in the ‘Key accountabilities’ and ‘Person Specification’ sections within the job advertisement. You may also demonstrate your suitability against the requirements in the fuller Role Profile attached should you wish to.
For those successful in passing the sift stage, interviews will take place over two stages.
At both stages of interview, candidates will be assessed against the below Civil Service Success Profiles and Government Communication Service (GCS) competencies at SEO/SIO level. Guidance for these can be found below:
Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)
The first stage of interviews will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams during the week commencing 29th July 2024 (subject to change). At this stage, candidates will be assessed against the below behaviours and competencies:
Working together
Communicating & influencing
Delivering at pace
GCS Ideas
Successful candidates will be then invited for the second stage interview, in-person either week commencing 5th August or 12th August 2024. The interview will be held in either 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ, or another location. The location will be confirmed once the first stage interview results are released.
At this stage, candidates will be asked to:
complete a written exercise (further guidance on this will be provided with the in-person interview invitation)
be assessed against the GCS Implementation competency.
Travel fares will be the responsibility of candidates and are not reimbursable.
About our benefits:
We reward our people for their hard work and commitment. We have a number of family friendly and flexible working policies that will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition, we offer a range of employee benefits which include generous annual leave, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme (up to 27%!), childcare benefits, season ticket and bicycle loans.
Person specification
Please Refer To Job Description
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
Working Together
Communicating and Influencing
Delivering at Pace
Technical Skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
GCS Ideas - for more information on this competency, please find GCS framework here : https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Government-Communications-Professional-Competency-Framework.pdf
GCS Implementation - for more information on this competency, please find GCS framework here : https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Government-Communications-Professional-Competency-Framework.pdf
Alongside your salary of £39,868, Ministry of Justice contributes £10,804 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
Access to learning and development
A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of 27%
Annual Leave
Public Holidays
Season Ticket Advance
For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.
Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About the MOJ
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About the MOJ
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality Requirements
This job is broadly open to the following groups:
UK nationals
nationals of the Republic of Ireland
nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service
Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .
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.
Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. I you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL ([email protected]) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitment/complaints/