Principal Communications and Engagement Manager Reference number: 407431 Salary: £54,470 - £61,000 A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97% Contract type: Permanent Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time Location: Northern Ireland, West Midlands (England) Job summary Are you passionate about the state of the environment? Do you enjoy engaging with a broad range of groups, organisations and individuals to understand their views and share information? Can you communicate complex ideas across different channels to different audiences, and develop communication and engagement plans to help organisations achieve their strategic goals? Are you passionate about helping others to develop their engagement skills to help them achieve their aims? If so, then we want to hear from you. The Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) mission is to protect and improve the natural environment. Established by the Environment Act 2021, our role is to hold government and public bodies in England and Northern Ireland to account. We do this in several ways including reporting on progress towards environmental commitments, advising on changes to environmental laws and receiving complaints from the public, which can lead to us investigations and taking enforcement action. Engaging with a wide range of stakeholders on diverse topics and for different purposes is essential for the OEP to achieve its objectives. This role will be focused on implementing, developing and expanding our approach to stakeholder engagement. The role sits within our Communications and Strategic Relations Team, reporting to the Head of Communications and Strategic Relations. The team has a wide remit, also covering media relations, internal communications and digital channels, so provides excellent access and insight into all areas of the organisations work. With a total staff of just over 90, we are a dynamic, friendly and flexible organisation covering both England, Northern Ireland, and environmental matters reserved to the UK government. We offer flexible working arrangements, including part time and job share arrangements, high profile, dynamic work and the chance to have an impact on improving the state of the environment. To find out more about the OEP, what we do, who we are and our current work, visit the OEP website The OEP is a non-departmental public body sponsored by Defra in England and DAERA in Northern Ireland which means it operates independently from Defra. Our employees are public servants and as part of the benefits package, employees have the opportunity to enrol in the Civil Service Pension Scheme. Job description This is an exciting opportunity to help the organisation develop its approach to stakeholder engagement, which is key to it achieving the impact and influence it needs to protect and improve the environment. This Principal Communications and Engagement Manager is key role in the Communications and Strategic Relations team, and will focus on stakeholder engagement across the complex and diverse environment sector and beyond into all areas relevant to our work. They will provide expert insight and knowledge to provide strategic and tactical advice to staff at all levels of the OEP, from the leadership team to our operational teams. They will drive how we work with others at all levels of the organisation to achieve our mission, including how we plan and implement activity, how we coordinate across the organisation and how we capture and use the insights from our engagement to inform our decision making. Being part of a small team means that this role will also have opportunity to work across and help shape our approach to media relations, public affairs, digital communications and internal communications. The role-holder's responsibilities will include:? Developing and implementing an overall stakeholder engagement approach for the OEP and the tools, systems and processes to support the workforce to deliver this?. Leading work with teams across the organisation to develop stakeholder engagement and communications plans to support the OEPs strategic priorities and key activities. Co-ordinating stakeholder engagement activities across the organisation to manage risk and maximise opportunities for impact and influence. Managing information about the OEPs stakeholder networks and leading on expanding our understanding into new areas related to our work. Building strong relationships with external stakeholder networks and OEP colleagues to understand the stakeholder environment and provide expert advice to all levels of the organisation on engagement and communications, managing a number of key relationships directly. Managing OEPs response to complex, sensitive, and urgent stakeholder situations. Working alongside the other team members to ensure service delivery is maintained and appropriate support is provided to the Chair, Board, Chief Executive, and senior leadership team in any absence of the Head of Communications and Strategic Relations. Support the team to deliver across range of its responsibilities, including media relations, public affairs, digital communications and internal communications. This may require some out-of-hours working. Support the Head of Communications and Strategic Relations in strategic planning for the team and ensuring delivery against business plans and budgets. The above list of job duties is not exclusive or exhaustive and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post. Benefits Alongside your salary of £54,470, Office for Environmental Protection contributes £15,779 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. Leave and Flexible Working The OEP offers 25 days annual leave rising to 30 days over 5 years for all new entrants. Additional paid leave is available where necessary to cater for a variety of situations including, but not limited to, family-related leave, volunteering days, exam and study leave, public duties and trade union activities. In addition, we offer a generous enhanced maternity leave, parental leave and shared parental leave policy. The OEP is supportive of flexible working and has a flexible working policy to allow for variations in individuals working hours where this is compatible with business need. Staff Wellbeing Staff wellbeing is extremely important and the OEP strives to provide access to numerous resources to aid the wellbeing of its employees. Current initiatives include: Access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) providing free and confidential 24/7 telephone advice and guidance to support employees with both personal and employment issues. This may include personal wellbeing, career development or legal matters such as landlord / tenant disputes. Access to an Occupational Health Service to provide a range of support service to help with the way you feel at work. Access to trained Mental Health First Aiders and wider Defra Group mental health first aid network and resources. Free access to Headspace, a mindfulness, meditation and sleep app. Access to a Financial Wellbeing Portal. Free eye tests and a contribution to glasses/ lenses if required for VDU use. Salary Sacrifice, Discounts and SmartTech Benefits All employees have access to the STaR, Reward Gateway an online platform providing access to hundreds of discounts, offers and cashback options with well-known retailers. They offer a SmartTech scheme, a Cash Healthcare plan and numerous other benefits and services. Location and Office Attendance All OEP roles are based in Worcester and/ or Northern Ireland. All GB employees will be contractually based at the Worcester office. The OEP embraces a blended working model and supports a combination of office and home working which will be dependent on business need and individual circumstances. Our current office attendance approach requires 40% attendance in one of the OEP offices or on official OEP business at offsite meetings with partners and customers. This approach enables thriving workplaces to connect with colleagues, as required by their role and business team needs balanced with personal flexibility and choice. If GB based, travel and subsistence will not be paid for travel to the Worcester office. Employees based in Northern Ireland will be contractually home based. There will be an expectation of travel to Worcester but this will be dependent on business need and individual circumstances. As a guideline, its envisaged that travel to Worcester would be between 4 and 6 times a year, fully funded by the OEP. However, travel will be a 2-way commitment, with other OEP staff members being expected to travel to NI at a similar frequency.?Northern Ireland based staff currently have access to a touch down space in Belfast to enable collaborative working. Criminal Record Check In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service or Access NI on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 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. Contact point for applicants Job contact Name: OEP Recruitment Apply before 11:55 pm on Wednesday 9 July 2025.