UK Ministry of Defence
Chief Ministerial Speechwriter
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Job Summary
The position of Chief Ministerial Speechwriter is a high-profile and influential post at the centre of one of Whitehall’s busiest and biggest government departments.
You will provide high quality, personalised speeches, parliamentary statements, articles and other content for the Ministerial team.
Your work will showcase the work of the Ministry of Defence and our Armed Forces. You will have a key role in conveying UK Defence policy to internal audiences, the wider public and the UK’s allies and partners.
Content will cover a wide range of subject matter, including national security priorities, global operations, the UK’s nuclear deterrent, assistance to Ukraine, commemorations and our defence industry.
You will provide strategic advice to help shape editorial programme as a strategic communications tool.
The Chief Ministerial Speechwriter provides strategic advice to help shape editorial programme as a strategic communications tool and has access to all principals.
The Chief Ministerial Speechwriter reports directly to the Speechwriter to the Secretary of State and has line management responsibilities for a Senior Ministerial Speechwriter.
Organisation background
This key post is in the Directorate of Defence Communications. DDC is responsible for communicating the activities of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces both internally and to the outside world. Its aim is to help people understand what Defence is about.
This position is advertised at 37 hours per week but you may be required to work out of hours given the parliamentary cycle.
Job Description
- Delivering outstanding speeches, articles and editorial products for Ministers.
- Explaining policy positions accurately while building strong, creative and lively arguments which engage audiences.
- Taking a strategic perspective on MOD issues.
- Building strong relationships with Ministers, Special Advisers and Ministerial Offices.
- Contributing to maintaining a first-class editorial team which provides consistency of service across the Ministerial team.
- Increasing the speech writing skills of the wider Communications Directorate and wider MOD.
- An ear for how all Ministers expresses themselves and an ability to translate that into speeches and other products.
Person specification
Essential
- Confident, self-starting and imaginative.
- Very strong communication skills – both written and spoken.
- Comfortable dealing with Ministers and the most senior people in Defence – both military and civilian.
- Ability to work under pressure to achieve tight deadlines.
- Resilience – able to withstand criticism and assimilate salient facts from a mass of information.
- Experience of speechwriting.
- Flexible – ability to capture the distinctive voices of our Ministers and translate it into compelling prose that we will be delivered before audiences worldwide.
- Outstanding writing skills (to be assessed via a written assignment).
- Excellent judgement, proven while working effectively in fast-paced environments.
- An ability to see the connections between politics, policies and issues.
- Able to think strategically and understand how communications can support organisational objectives.
- Strong leadership skills, including able to motivate, direct and support junior colleagues.
Desirable
- An interest in the work of the department and the Armed Forces.
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Communicating and Influencing
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Communicating and Influencing
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Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- GCS Impact
Alongside your salary of £61,630, Ministry of Defence contributes £17,854 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).
- 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 employer contribution of 28.97%
- Free use of gym at Main Building
- Season ticket advance to assist with travel costs to/from home and your permanent work location
Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and working from home as part of a non-contractual hybrid working arrangement. All office-based employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in office, subject to site capacity and any required workplace adjustments. Requirements to attend other locations for official business, or work in another MOD workplace, will also count towards this level of office attendance. Applicants can request further information regarding how this and other flexible working arrangements may work in their team from the Vacancy Holder (see advert for contact details). Defence Business Services cannot respond to any questions about working arrangements.
The post does not offer relocation expenses.
External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.
Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.
Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.
Any move to MOD from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax-Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.
The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.
MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
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Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
Applications will be sifted based on demonstrating an ability to write speeches, and 1 essential Success Profile criteria (Communicating and influencing)
Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.
In place of a traditional Personal Statement, please provide a 500 word draft speech setting out why you should be offered this job. You should use this to cover the information you would include in a traditional personal statement, but you should write it in the third person, to be delivered by an unspecified MOD Minister. You should aim to demonstrate an understanding of speechwriting principles and techniques.
At sift, you will be assessed against your CV, Statement of suitability and the following Behaviours:
- Communicating and influencing
- Seeing the bigger picture
At Interview, You Will Be Assessed Against The Following
Behaviours
- Communicating and influencing
- Seeing the bigger picture
- Working together
Technical Skills
- GCS Impact
Technical SKills - Framework: https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Government-Communication-Service-Career-Framework.pdf
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.
There may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all DCS candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations such as a high volume of applications, seasonal demand, or peak periods, the employer may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both DCS and non-DCS applicants.
As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.
The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.
The Ministry of Defence
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