Details Reference number 350417 Salary £42,001 - £44,151 A Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27% GBP Job grade Senior Executive Officer Were an independent public body so joining us from the CS means your pension transfers but not any other length of service benefit (mat/annual leave). Previous service will be included in any exit calculation, subject to prevailing CS rules. Contract type Permanent Type of role Other Working pattern Full-time Number of jobs available 1 Contents Location About the job Benefits Things you need to know Apply and further information Location Lime Kiln Close Stoke Gifford Filton Abbey Wood BRISTOL BS34 8SR, Sanctuary Buildings 20 Great Smith Street London SW1P 3BT About the job Job summary Senior Communications Officer £42,001 - £44,151 generous Civil Service defined benefit pension Bristol or London with some travel to Bristol. Higher education is rarely out of the news. And as the independent regulator of higher education in England, the Office for Students (OfS) has a crucial role in ensuring student reap the life changing rewards a degree can offer. Following an internal promotion, we have an exciting vacancy for a senior communications officer. This role sits within the media team, and the successful candidate will also contribute to all communications functions. The role will suit someone who has experience working in a press office perhaps for a government department, a large business or charity and is confident in working with journalists. There will be opportunities to plan, deliver and evaluate a range of communications campaigns as well as helping to offer a high-quality press office service responding to the wide range on enquiries we receive. The successful candidate will also make important contributions to our internal communications work and help to support our public affairs work. Person specification About you Were looking for someone with a passion for communications. Youll have excellent writing skills and be able to explain complex ideas and policies to a broad audience. An ability to work quickly and accurately, and to juggle a range of priorities, is essential. You will have strong news sense, and the skills and experience to communicate confidently with journalists. Youll need to be confident having conversations with journalists, briefing them on our work, and leading our media response to some of our highest profile pieces of work. Youll also need to be able to advise and influence others, including key OfS stakeholders and journalists as well as your colleagues within OfS. You will be able to plan and deliver communications campaigns which have an impact. Youll be supported in the role working closely with colleagues in our media team, public affairs team, and with staff working on internal and strategic communications. The role is varied, with no two days the same, and youll need to be able to juggle a range of different projects covering a wide range of OfSs work. Key responsibilities Drafting and writing media content including press releases and opinion pieces to help support and advance our regulatory aims and activities Answering complex media queries from journalists with confidence both on the phone and via email Verbal and written briefing of OfS spokespeople ahead of media interviews Recommending and implementing media approaches on various projects and campaigns Varied work with the public affairs team including supporting OfS events Engagement with external stakeholders as well as with internal colleagues Various writing tasks including our intranet and OfS website The planning and delivery of internal communications campaigns. Benefits Alongside your salary of £42,001, Office for Students contributes £11,382 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides. 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 average employer contribution of 27% Things you need to know Selection process details Working for us The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do. We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic background. Working arrangements Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that it can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two to three days in a typical week. To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part-time working, applies to the role. For further information about the role, please contact our Head of Media, sean.beynonofficeforstudents.org.uk Closing date for applications: 5 May 2024 Interviews: From 20 May 2024 Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment. Security Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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