Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Head of Strategic Communications, Insight & Planning
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Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York
Job Summary
The Head of Strategic Communications, Insight and Planning is a senior role at the very heart of Defra group Communications. The role holder is responsible for shaping and leading the strategic approach to our communications across Defra and our largest Arms Length Bodies, ensuring we are identifying the right messages for the right audiences on the right channels to best support the outcomes Defra group wants to achieve.
The role holder will oversee insight-driven communications strategies that support our priorities, utilising data, research and evaluation to inform evidence-based planning and continuously improve delivery, while fostering collaboration across multiple disciplines. The role involves leading integrated communications planning, coordinating responses to high-profile issues, and ensuring communications narratives remain directional with proper alignment across all disciplines. They will demonstrate strong leadership capabilities in delivering audience-centred communications activities and possess the ability to see the bigger picture while managing complex stakeholder relationships.
Job Description
Working to the Deputy Director for Strategy, Planning and Partnerships, this is a key leadership role within the Defra group Communications team, providing active and visible leadership to motivate, engage and develop team members to deliver multi-channel and insight driven communications plans that meet the priorities of Ministers and our Arms Length Bodies.
- Develop and maintain strong relationships with senior leaders, Ministers, Special Advisers and stakeholders across Defra group and wider government, providing trusted strategic communications advice to support business and operational delivery.
- Lead a communications team made up of specialists from across the communications mix, supporting the team with the development and delivery of high-priority communications work and bringing in colleagues from across Defra group Communications to help deliver.
- Lead our Comms Planning team to provide a strategic forward plan of activity, milestones and opportunities to inform our audiences about our priorities and delivery progress, including managing our inputs to No10 and PM priorities.
- Lead the Comms Insight function, ensuring communications strategies across Defra group's priority themes are underpinned by robust evidence, audience research and data analysis to maximise effectiveness and demonstrate impact.
- Develop and embed evaluation frameworks across all functional teams, using the Government Communication Service (GCS) Evaluation Cycle and OASIS planning principles to inform continuous learning and improvement.
- Work with the Senior Management Team to establish the role for communications in helping Defra group achieve priority business objectives.
- Provide leadership in crisis and incident response communications as required, including out-of-hours working as necessary, working seamlessly across Defra group communications disciplines and with partners to ensure coordinated, timely and relevant information reaches the public and stakeholders.
- Champion a culture of proactivity, flexibility and collaboration, with the ability to work well under pressure, manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines, and balance reactive work against strategic organisational goals.
- Professional standards: Upholding and embedding GCS professional standards, ensuring compliance with the Communication Functional Standard (GovS011), propriety guidance, and accessibility requirements across all communications activity.
Person Specification
- Significant relevant experience of working at a senior level in Communications to design and deliver strategic comms plans that support business objectives.
- Experience of high-quality leadership of a large team – including experience of developing team capability and resilience.
- Demonstrable experience of advising senior clients on communications strategy.
- Strong analytical and planning abilities, plus excellent written and oral communications skills reflecting the need to explain and present complex policy areas to non-specialist audiences in a clear and engaging way.
- Experience of delivering robust communications evaluation and reporting to show impact of communications activity and how learnings are influencing future advice.
- Experience developing excellent working relationships with senior leaders, executive boards, elected officials or equivalent senior decision-makers and multiple external partners.
- Comfortable working at pace to tight deadlines.
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Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Leadership
- Seeing the Big Picture
- Communicating and Influencing
- Working Together
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
- Leadership
- Seeing the Big Picture
Salary and Benefits
Alongside your salary of £69,931, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £20,259 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%
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.
Selection Process Details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.
Application Process
As part of the application process you will be asked to submit:
- a CV. Your skills and experience should demonstrate your suitability for the role.
- a personal statement of no more than 500 words. Your personal statement should provide detailed evidence of how you meet the essential criteria in the person specification section of the job advert.
- Statements (no more than 250 words per statement) for the following Civil Service Behaviours: Leadership and Seeing the Big Picture.
Sift
Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
Interview
If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on the following Civil Service Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Leadership, Seeing the Big Picture and Working Together. You will also be assessed on Civil Service Strengths.
A presentation/additional exercise may also be assessed.
Interviews will take place online, via Microsoft Teams.
Further Information
Location
As part of the pre-employment process for this post, successful candidate(s) will be able to agree a contractual workplace from those locations listed in this advert. The agreed contractual workplace is then the substantive and permanent place of work for the successful candidate(s).
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Where the location is ‘National’ the successful appointee should discuss and agree an appropriate contractual location in line with both Defra’s location policy and site capacity, prior to proceeding with pre-employment processes. The agreed amount of time spent at a workplace for this post will reflect the requirement for Civil Servants to spend at least 60% of their working time in an organisation workplace with the option to work the remaining time flexibly from home. Working time spent at a workplace may include time spent at other organisational locations including field-based operational locations, together with supplier, customer or partner locations. This is a non-contractual agreement which is consistent with common Civil Service expectations.
Travel costs to non-contractual workplaces will be subject to departmental travel and subsistence policies. Travel costs to contractual workplaces are the responsibility of the employee.
The successful candidate is required to carry out all their duties from a UK location, and cannot do so from an overseas location at any time.
Defra includes the core department, APHA, RPA, Cefas and VMD.
New entrants to the Civil Service are expected to start on the minimum of the pay band. The internal roles rules apply to existing Civil Servants, i.e. level transfers move on current salary or the pay range minimum, transfers on promotion move to new pay range minimum or receive 10% increase. Either case is determined by whichever is the highest.
Reserve List
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Childcare Vouchers
Any move to DEFRA 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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.
Reasonable Adjustment
If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.
If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:
- Contact Government Recruitment Service via defrarecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.
Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Visa Sponsorship Statement
Please take note that Defra does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker License sponsor and are unable to sponsor any individuals for Skilled Worker Sponsorship.
Near Miss
Candidates who are judged to be a near miss at interview may be considered for other positions in Defra which may be at a lower grade, but have a potential skills match.
Merit Lists
Where more than one location is advertised, candidates will be appointed in merit order for each location. You will be asked to state your location preference on your application.
Criminal Record Check
If successful and transferring from another Government Department
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