Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
Press Officer
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Bristol, London, Wolverhampton
Job Summary
We are MHCLG
We are looking for motivated and creative individuals, with a passion for news and current affairs, to join our supportive, ambitious and collaborative team. To be successful in this role, you will be confident in turning complex information into clear, concise content that speaks to different audiences. You'll be responsible for coming up with innovative media tactics that target platforms and outlets beyond the traditional print and broadcast media - finding creative ways to tell stories about our policies to journalists and content creators. One of the main aspects of your role will be responding to incoming queries from the media. This will involve proactively monitoring for breaking news stories, providing swift and effective responses to requests for comment, verbally briefing members of the press and defending the reputation of the department. Collaboration is key, and you will work closely with ministers, policy teams, political advisers and partner organisations to develop concise messaging and clear communications tactics.
Job Description
- Reactive media management - managing breaking stories, drafting concise media lines to very tight deadlines, and confidently verbally briefing senior journalists.
- Proactive media handling - drafting press releases, consumer factsheets, and developing proactive media tactics that will get cut through in a competitive media landscape. You will work with policy teams and political advisers to agree messaging and maximise ministers' time with media.
- News management - the ability to quickly spot both potential media risks but also opportunities to insert a government voice positively.
- Digital communications - helping to create, shape and exchange information with social media teams at traditional news outlets, as well as content creators. With the support of an experienced network of peers and a strong focus on professional development, you will develop skills in these areas.
- An essential part of the role is participating in the press office out-of-hours rota, providing a 24/7 point of contact for media enquiries and responding to breaking incidents outside of core business hours, for which you will be remunerated in line with the department overtime policy.
Person specification
- Excellent understanding of the news agenda, with knowledge of outlets across regional, consumer and the lobby, as well as online and social media focused news output.
- Political judgement, strong news judgement and an excellent understanding of the news cycle and social media landscape.
- Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, producing high quality written products such as press releases, briefings and social media copy for a range of audiences, with minimal supervision and requiring minimal edits. Confident when briefing senior figures and/or journalists.
- Proven ability to distil large amounts of complex information into clear, concise messages suitable for specific audiences.
- Strong organisational and planning skills, comfortable with managing multiple priorities and working to extremely tight deadlines.
- Strong networking skills with confidence in building and maintaining a network of internal and external contacts, including journalists.
- Strong team collaboration skills, working effectively as part of a team, contributing to shared goals, supporting colleagues and fostering a positive team environment.
Alongside your salary of £36,169, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government contributes £10,478 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).
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At MHCLG we offer many benefits that range from tailored career pathways and flexible working to MyLifestyle Staff Benefits Scheme, Childcare Vouchers, and Cycle to Work Schemes. For more information, please click here.
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
Application and Selection
The application process will be split into 2 stages, testing the following Success Profiles:
Behaviours, Experience
Please ensure your CV does not contain any personally identifiable information.
Note: We do not consider direct CV applications. All applications must be submitted via the provided application link.
Important: Your CV and Cover Letter must be merged into a single document before uploading.
Stage 1: Sift (CV & Cover Letter)
Experience: Please submit your CV and a covering letter of no more than 1000 words that sets out how your experience meets the essential skills required in this role. Your CV and covering letter must be merged into a single document before uploading.
Stage 2: Interview
Behaviours: Seeing The Big Picture, Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace
Experience: Experience questions will be based around the essential skills and criteria as listed in the job description.
Candidates invited to interview will be expected to complete a written test. Further details of this will be sent with invites to interview.
Sift and Interview
Sifting is envisaged to take place starting 01/09/2026.
Interviews will likely be held in person at 2 Marsham Street in the end week commencing 7th September. We are unable to accommodate interviews in Wolverhampton and Bristol. If you have selected Wolverhampton or Bristol as your intended work place, we may consider funding reasonable travel fares for those who would be financially disadvantaged. Please let us know if you would like to discuss further.
Disability Confident Scheme (DCS)
We are a Disability Confident employer.
We apply a fair and proportionate interview process for all candidates. In line with our commitment to the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS), we aim to progress candidates who apply under the Disability Confident Scheme and meet the required minimum selection criteria.
However, where high application volumes are received, progression to interview may be limited to those who best meet the role criteria. In these circumstances, the benchmark required to proceed to interview may be raised for all candidates.
How We Recruit
Find out more about our recruitment processes here.
Applying
Find out everything you need to know before applying here.
You must review the following information from the MHCLG Career's Site before submitting your application. This step is essential to ensure your eligibility for the role and that your application is completed correctly.
Security Clearance Requirements
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- National Office: BPSS + SC
- London Office: BPSS + SC
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
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).
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Contact point for applicants
Job Contact
Name: Jade Howard
Email: Jade.Howard@communities.gov.uk
Recruitment team
Email: recruitment@communities.gov.uk
Further information
If you are unsure about any part of the process or require additional information about the post to enable you to progress your application, you should speak to the Resourcing team - recruitment@communities.gov.uk. Candidates can appeal at any stage of the recruitment process if they believe there has been:
- a procedural irregularity
- an infringement of the Civil Service equal opportunities policy
- exceptional circumstances which were not notified to the interview panel which might have affected performance on the day.
It is important to note that these are appeals about the process not the decision. In the first instance, an appeal should be directed to the MHCLG Resourcing Hub at recruitment@communities.gov.uk.
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