AMS PSR

On behalf of DWP, we are looking for a Communications and Engagement Manager for a 3 month (Inside IR35) hybrid contract based 3 days per week in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle or Blackpool.

As a Senior Digital Communication and Engagement Manager you will support and create the Comms and Digital Engagement Strategy for Hybrid Cloud Services (HCS) in collaboration with senior colleagues across Technology Services and DWP Digital, through audience insight, your channel expertise and your creative communications skills.

You will have lead responsibility for communications strategy for HCS, and you’ll work collaboratively with a wide range of colleagues across HCS and DWP Digital to define, deliver and evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies.

You’re comfortable operating at all levels of DWP, across different stakeholders, and provide effective professional leadership within your team and across the Digital Engagement community.

Responsibilities and skills

• Leads and defines professional-standard communications and engagement strategies which are aligned to Digital strategic objectives, using a range of channels and techniques, including comms and engagement campaigns and stakeholders, to deliver effective, innovative and measurable communications to multiple audiences
• Provides expert, strategic communications advice to colleagues across HCS (including at leadership level), helping the business area translate complex issues into relevant, high-quality content which informs, engages and influences internal audiences in support of business objectives
• Play a leading role in the wider Digital Engagement community, providing visible and accessible leadership beyond own team, encouraging collaborative cross-team delivery, providing professional support and actively helping build capability
• Takes responsibility for team delivery, including planning, prioritisation, project management and reporting
• Ensures delivery of communication and engagement plans
• Leads on internal communication strategies, selecting the most appropriate channel mix and ensuring content is topical and timely
• Creates and makes the most of two-way and face-to-face communication channels where possible to build employee engagement
• Leads and co-ordinates all activity in internal communication plans for HCS, including deploying resources and managing risks
• Provides expert support, advice and constructive challenge to senior leaders to ensure they are effective in communicating clear, confident and consistent messaging across the organisation
• Takes responsibility for measuring the effectiveness of internal communications, acting on colleague feedback to ensure communications is timely, relevant and meets the needs of the organisation and internal audiences
• Uses employee engagement data to set strategy for internal communication, identifying challenges and barriers and suggesting actions for improvement
• Identifies, commissions and interprets a wide range of sources and data and insight to provide credible strategic advice to senior colleagues.
• Understands and can explain the role communication can play in supporting behaviour change, and the benefits/risks of alternative approaches.
• Understands and interprets the wider organisational, digital, political and communications agenda and what this means for strategy and delivery.
• Leads development and implementation of innovative communication strategies that meet business objectives and user needs and review communication strategies to ensure strong integration across priorities, audiences and communication channels. Sets and upholds high standards in measurement, reputation and propriety, and strategic fit with other priorities
• Takes responsibility for developing and implementing comms strategies and campaigns from the strategic planning stage onwards by building strong relationships with senior stakeholders and influential networks to enable teams to deliver quality solutions
• Assesses the impact of campaigns at strategic level across a range of measures including output, out take, and outcome, ensuring effective monitoring of, listening to and action on feedback from users of HCS digital products and services.

Please be aware that this role can only be worked within the UK and not Overseas.

Disability Confident 

As a member of the Disability Confident Scheme, DWP guarantees to interview all candidates who have a disability and who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of candidates who have a disability who meet all the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. This scheme encourages candidates with a disability and/or neurodivergence to apply. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

Armed Forces Covenant

DWP guarantees to interview veterans or spouses / partners of military personnel who meet all the essential criteria for the vacancy. In cases where we have a high volume of ex-military candidates / military spouses or partners, who meet all of the essential criteria, we will interview the best candidates from within that group. In exceptional circumstances, we may also need to apply the desirable criteria in our shortlisting process which may include holding active security clearance.

In applying for this role, you acknowledge the following "this role falls in scope of the Off Payroll Working in the Public Sector legislation. Any rates of payment quoted will reflect the gross rate per day for the assignment and will be subject to appropriate taxes and statutory costs. As such the payment to the intermediary and your income resulting from this contract will be different".