
Communications Officer
- Public sector
- London
- 06/05/2025
- £38,006.00 - £42,174.00 /yearly
- Fixed Term Contract
Location
Job Type
Salary
Date Posted:
Expiration date:
Job ID
Work Location
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has an exciting opportunity for a highly skilled Communications Officer in one of the most interesting, varied and fast-paced Whitehall departments.
We're looking for an experienced, driven and creative Communications Officer to join our small, friendly integrated team where you'll get the chance to build your skills across all areas of DCMS work.
We work closely with Ministers, private offices, policy teams and special advisors to identify proactive media opportunities for Ministers and to promote the department's work, plan media events and manage reactive media enquiries. We also work with our sectors to ensure we provide stakeholder and third-party support for specific announcements.
This is a hugely rewarding role which will provide a fascinating challenge for the right candidate.
The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has an exciting opportunity for a highly skilled Communications Officer to join one of the most varied and fast paced departments in Whitehall.
We're looking for experienced, driven and creative Communications Officers to join our small, friendly, integrated team where you'll get the chance to build your skills across all areas of DCMS' work.
You will join a busy News team that covers one of the most diverse briefs in Government, including sport, gambling, civil society and youth policy; arts, heritage, major national ceremonial events, media, creative industries and tourism policy.
From supporting the establishment of an Independent Football Regulator, to delivering a new National Youth Strategy, making the UK the safest place in the world to gamble, or supporting the creative industries to thrive you will be part of a small team devising and delivering creative, communication strategies across all DCMS channels.
Working closely with colleagues across the department, you will:
The ideal candidate will have the following key skills and experience:
The successful candidate will need to demonstrate a range of essential skills and experience outlined in the GCS Competency Framework and Behaviours set out in the Success Profiles Framework.
You will have an excellent news sense, proven experience of working in a busy communications environment and first-rate writing and media handling skills.
You will be a confident self-starter and have the ability to foster and maintain good relations with a wide range of people, from journalists to key stakeholders and Ministers.
You'll know how to get our messages out through the media, deliver targeted communication plans across all channels, and provide an effective and professional service to the media.
Essential criteria:
Reporting to a Senior Communications Officer, the successful candidate will:
We are running an information session where prospective applicants can find out more about the role and will take place on:
The session will be an opportunity to hear more about the role, the team and wider directorate and the department. It will also be an opportunity for you to ask any questions.
Please register your interest by filling out this Registration form by 17:00 on Friday 9th May and you will be sent an invitation.
Please note that the session will not focus on the DCMS recruitment process - please direct any queries that you have on this topic (timelines, reasonable adjustments, onboarding etc) to [email protected]
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
DCMS values its staff and offers a wide range of benefits to everyone who works here. We're committed to developing talent, and supporting colleagues to have great careers in our department. To support with that, some of the benefits we offer include:
Flexible working arrangements and hybrid working - DCMS staff work on a flexible basis with time spent in offices, and time spent working from home
26.5 days annual leave on entry, increasing to 31.5 days after 5 years' service
A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
Access to the Edenred employee benefits system which offers discounts to popular retailers and access to various useful resources such as financial and savings advice
3 days of paid volunteering leave
Up to 9 months maternity leave on full pay + generous paternity and adoption leave
Staff reward and recognition bonuses that operate throughout the year
Occupational sick pay
Access to the Employee Assistance Programme which offers staff 24/7 confidential support and resources such as counselling, debt guidance and management advice
Active and engaged staff networks to join including the LGBT+, Ethnic Diversity, Mental Health and Wellbeing and Gender Equality Networks
Exceptional learning and development opportunities that you can explore alongside your day to day work
Season ticket loan, cycle to work scheme and much more!
Terms and conditions at SCS grades will vary. Those applying for SCS roles should refer to the candidate information pack for more information on terms and conditions.
To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than 23:55 on 19th May 2025 via the CS Jobs portal:
To apply for this vacancy, you will need to submit the following documents which will assessed against the experience success profile:
For the shortlist, we will select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.
In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the statement of suitability. Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application.
For indicative sift and interview dates please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack.
For support in writing your application and interviewing, please refer to the 'Application and Interview Guidance' document attached to the job advert.
The interview process will assess behaviours, technical skills and experience through a scenario based task which will be provided prior to interview.
The behaviours to be tested at interview are:
The GCS competencies to be tested at interview are:
Your interview will take place in person at 100 Parliament Street, London, SW1A 2BQ
You will also be required to undertake a written exercise as part of your interview for which further details will be provided in advance of the interview.
Further Information
If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servants must join on a Loan basis only. Prior agreement to be released on loan must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.
A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.
Any move to Department for Culture, Media and Sport 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
DCMS has a London and a National pay scale. For more information on this, including the circumstances in which each pay scale will apply, please see the 'Candidate Information Pack' attached.
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service 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 [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant's details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
NSV
For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting
Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter
Reasonable Adjustment
We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process.
In order to request an adjustment, please:
Complete the 'Assistance required' section on 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 a verbal test rather than a written one.
Alternatively, contact the Government Recruitment Service via [email protected] as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
Accessibility
If you are experiencing accessibility difficulties with any of the attachments, please contact us. Contact details can be found in the 'contact point for applicants' section of the job advert.
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This job is broadly open to the following groups:
Application Guidance Opens in new window (pdf, 182kB) |
404266 - Communications Officer candidate pack Opens in new window (pdf, 7027kB) |
We use necessary cookies to help our site function. We’d also like to use analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use our website.
For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookies page.
Necessary cookies
Necessary cookies enable core website functionality such as network management, security and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may impact how the website functions.
Analytics cookies
We’d like to collect website analytics cookies information using Google Analytics to help us improve our website. We collect this data by running Google Analytics JavaScript on your device, which collects data about how you interact with our site. The data is collected in a way that does not directly identify anyone. For more information please see our Cookies page.