Senior Communications and Engagement Officer 127 views

Senior Communications and Engagement Officer

Job Type : Contract, Full Time

Salary : £17/hour

Senior Communications and Engagement Officer- West Sussex
£17/h

About the job
This is a unique opportunity for a communications professional looking to make a
difference. As a Senior Communications and Engagement Officer you will be
responsible for establishing and delivering the communication strategies for
several key technology and service transformation projects that are either
underway or on the horizon.
You will own, shape and deliver campaigns and engagement activities across a
range of channels, focusing on internal and staff engagement, as well as
including local and national media, digital, and social media.
Working on several challenging and interrelated projects at one time, you will
ensure that all communications activity is planned, monitored and evaluated to
demonstrate impact.
The job will involve extensive relationship building across the organisation and
with a variety of internal and external teams, partners and stakeholders.

You'll need the ability to hit the ground running, initially working remotely, with
a hands-on and can-do attitude to your work. You'll need to be able to manage
your own workload, juggling competing priorities and organising your work to
meet deadlines. You'll be comfortable making decisions and exercising initiative
without ready access to your manager. You'll be able to apply focus when
conducting research, preparing plans, delivering activities and analysing
feedback, and will use your creative skills to develop campaigns that are in line
with the council's brand values and reputation.

Required experience and skills

1. Ability to work alone and take full ownership of the communications needs for
simultaneous projects, with a 'hands-on' and 'can-do' approach.
2. Highly computer literate with sound and accurate IT skills, capable of carrying
out research, planning, reporting and presenting.
3. Professional communication skills with the aptitude and confidence to provide
clear advice and feedback to colleagues and senior managers. Excellent
literacy and numeracy skills in order to understand and interpret research
data, technical reports, customer feedback, policies and guidance.
4. Highly developed negotiation skills that persuade others of the need to take a
specific course of action. For example, negotiating opposing opinions and
finding a mutually agreeable solution.
5. Excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to quickly build
relationships with a variety of internal and external stakeholders and deliver
concise presentations to senior managers.
6. Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to resolve issues independently,
making sound pragmatic decisions.
Qualifications and/or experience:
* Degree, or equivalent qualification or experience demonstrating a high level
of applied knowledge in communications, particularly in a public sector
environment.
* Post graduate professional qualification in a relevant field – Desirable
* Relevant advanced theoretical and organisational knowledge of
communication platforms, procedures and policies and understanding how
they may impact on the development and content of campaigns, for example,
knowledge of drafting newsletters, website content, adverts and social media
posts. Professional understanding of the latest communications and
engagement methods, channels and metrics.
Job Description & Person Specification

* Thorough working knowledge of the wider environment, the functions and
structure of national and local government and of organisational policies,
practices and procedures.
* In-depth and significant knowledge of effective solutions to meet changing
customer needs and demands.
* Knowledge of and experience in managing consultations and surveys.
* Significant, demonstrable experience of designing, conducting, co-ordinating,
implementing and evaluating engaging communication campaigns.
* Practical experience in analysing, interrogating and interpreting information
from a variety of sources in order to inform communication campaign
planning.
* Experience of working in partnership and networking, and of providing
professional advice to a range of senior staff, peers and partner
organisations.
* Experience and confidence in dealing with people, preferably including in a
supervisory capacity, and the ability to establish credibility at all levels of the
organisation.
Key responsibilities
Leading and co-ordinating communication and engagement activities for several
key projects, managing the delivery of complex messages, guidance and
progress updates via the most appropriate channels.
Advising on the most efficient and effective way for the project sponsors to
achieve their communication objectives.
Coordinating and delivering high profile engagement activity both internally and
externally.
Developing campaigns for major behaviour change initiatives.
Monitoring both the media and political landscape, looking for opportunities or
risks which the wider team should be aware of.
Producing accurate and timely reports and presentations for a range of
audiences in a clear, concise and compelling manner that persuades recipients to
accept recommended solutions.
Providing creative input to the production of communication materials, including
where necessary proofing and sense checking.
Communicating and developing strong working relationships with a range of
people, including senior managers, suppliers and other stakeholders, to provide
campaign updates.
Providing professional advice to the most senior members and officers of the
Council on the best way to proactively present information in a way that
promotes and defends the Council's reputation. Providing advice to Members
and Officers at all levels of the organisation, often dealing with highly
confidential and sensitive issues

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