Strategic Communications & Campaigns Lead
Location: Aylesbury
This is a secondment/fixed term contact for 6 months with potential to extend up to 12 months.
About us
Buckinghamshire Council is a relatively new organisation that combines the strengths and expertise of the previous five councils in the county to create positive change for local people, communities, and businesses. We are firmly focused on the future and have made a clear commitment to serve residents better and to provide stronger representation for Buckinghamshire, both locally and nationally.
We are a forward-thinking organisation committed to excellence in public service. Our team is dedicated to providing professional communications advice and support to both internal and external stakeholders. We pride ourselves on our collaborative and innovative approach, ensuring that our communications are timely, relevant, and aligned with our organisational goals
About the role
As the Strategic Communications and Campaigns Lead, you will be a key point of contact for directorates, building trusted relationships with senior managers and stakeholders. You will lead the development and delivery of communication strategies and campaign plans, ensuring effective collaboration across the organisation. Your responsibilities will include:
* Developing communication strategies and innovative communication plans to drive efficient and high-quality delivery of communications around projects and corporate priorities.
* Leading the development and delivery of integrated campaign plans and strategies.
* Ensuring effective collaboration within the communications and engagement service and with other teams across the organisation.
* Embedding a culture of forward planning within the directorates and the wider communications team.
* Maintaining forward plans of planned communications activity, opportunities, issues, and risks.
* Identifying and raising emerging issues, opportunities, milestones, and key dates through horizon scanning.
* Providing strategic and tactical communications advice at a senior level.
* Creating a culture of best practice and innovation, supporting colleagues to develop skills and knowledge.
* Evaluating the effectiveness of communications and campaigns and providing detailed feedback to managers and leaders.
* Producing high-quality and compelling communications and campaign content for different audiences and channels.
* Developing communications plans and content to help manage issues and crises.
* Building trusted relationships with senior managers, directors, members, and stakeholders.
* Deputising for managers in the communications and engagement service as required.
* Working some evenings, weekends, and occasional public holidays to ensure appropriate representation of the Council.
* Being an active member of the out-of-hours communications rota.
As an ‘any-desk’ worker, you’ll need to be connected to our network to access digital folders and resources, but this can either be from home or an office location when required. You will be required to work from the office a couple of times a week, depending on your role and team requirements.
About you
To excel in this role, you should be a strategic thinker with excellent communication skills, both oral and written. Strong copywriting abilities for various audiences and purposes, along with experience in creating multi-media content, are essential. Your expertise in communication disciplines and emerging developments will be highly valued.
You should bring a creative mindset, capable of analysing communication issues and solving problems innovatively. Experience in developing and implementing comprehensive strategies and plans, as well as evaluating their effectiveness, is required. Strong organisational skills, the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, and good IT skills are key. Political and cultural awareness, along with tact, discretion, and sound judgment, will ensure your success in this role.
Other information
For further information on this role please see the attached job summary.
The position is ‘Any Desk’ hybrid working. The role is 37 hours a week with a request to be in the office a minimum of one day with an additional day as required to participate in face-to-face meetings. As a team we meet in the office on a Monday enabling us to start the week together and collaborate in person. We are looking for an immediate start.
Closing date: 30 June 2025
Interview date: 7 July 2025
Interview-type: In person and will consist of a short presentation followed by a series of questions related to the role.
If you would like to have an informal conversation with the recruiting manager, please contact: Laura.Cooper@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
This post is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore applicants are required to declare:
* All unspent cautions and/or unspent convictions
We reserve the right to close the vacancy once we have received sufficient applications, so please be advised to submit your application as early as possible.
Our values and culture
We have a set of values, which our employees have chosen, that represent what we are – Proud, Ambitious, Collaborative and Trustworthy.
By joining Buckinghamshire Council, you can expect:
a fair and inclusive culture
* the chance to really make a difference to those around you
* health and well-being initiatives including an Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and mindfulness workshops
* a unified voice through our Employee Representative Group
* ongoing support, and the opportunity to develop and progress in your career with us
* opportunities to take part in fun activities such as fundraising and social events
At Buckinghamshire Council, we know that our biggest strength comes from the people that work for us, and that’s why we’re working hard to ensure we continue to be an accessible and inclusive organisation.
From dedicated staff networks overseen by our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Steering Group, to proudly standing as a Disability Confident employer, it’s important to us that all our colleagues feel engaged, listened to, and valued. Our offer of flexible working empowers a productive and happy workforce and allows employees to combine work with other responsibilities and commitments.
We believe our workforce should reflect the diverse communities we service in Buckinghamshire, and are looking for like-minded individuals to join us in promoting equality, fairness, and inclusion for everyone.
About the Business Unit
The Assistant Chief Executive directorate is central to Buckinghamshire Council’s journey to establish itself as one of the best councils in the country. With a clear focus on service improvement through transformation and a drive to build better relationships with the local community, the directorate is fast-paced; but extremely rewarding. Our teams are not only proactively delivering on projects and plans but also reacting to developing situations. If you are ambitious, innovative, and would relish the opportunity to influence change - a role within our service area could be your next career move.
The team includes exciting areas of work, including a brand new localities model – delivering 16 community boards across the county to make it easy for our residents to engage with us as we work together to plan for the future. Other teams include our Policy and Communications and Legal and Democratic Services teams – innovating the way we communicate with our colleagues, Members and the local community, and role-modelling best practice through policy, planning and legal services. If you think you can help us achieve our goals, and want to be a part of this exciting journey, we would love to hear from you!
We recognise and reward you
Hard work and success deserves recognition. That’s why we pride ourselves on the benefits we give our people. We actively encourage a good work-life balance and promote flexible and agile working arrangements. We provide discounts on various Cafés, restaurants, shops and auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme. In addition to the opportunity to gain membership to Costco, we have discounted gym memberships, travel discounts with Arriva and much more.
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