Head of Strategic Communications, Channels and Campaigns

Grade 6
Full Time

Overview

We are looking for an exceptionally experienced communications professional with extensive strategic planning and campaigns experience to join the award-winning HM Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS) Communications Team within the Ministry of Justice.

You will be integral leading the strategic planning of communications work across HMPPS, which includes operational and corporate communications, as well as ensuring broader alignment of change programme communications to the wider departmental priorities. Your team plays the role of ‘engine room’ for communications activity for the Agency and will have oversight of the corporate channels we use to communicate messages to staff, prisoners, people on probation, their families and key stakeholders. You will also be responsible for overseeing the suite of flagship events on behalf of the Agency.

In this wide-ranging senior leadership role, you will have oversight of a mix of functions including digital can content, corporate communications and channels, events as well as setting up a strategic planning and insight function.

To be successful in this role, you must be results-driven, comfortable in working at pace and can quickly synthesise complex information to develop and execute comprehensive communications plans. You will have comprehensive experience in planning and delivering campaigns based in insight and approach your work through a strategic communications lens. You will be a strong and inspiring leader, championing the very best in communications best practice in your team and instilling a culture of evaluation. 

About HMPPS

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is to here to prevent victims by changing lives.

We work with our partners to carry out the sentences given by the courts, either in custody or the community.

We reduce reoffending by rehabilitating the people in our care through education and employment. The agency is made up of HM Prison Service, Probation Service, Youth Custody Service and a headquarters focussed on creating tools and learning to support the frontline.

About the HMPPS Communications Team

The HMPPS Communications team are part of the Ministry of Justice Communications function. We lead and manage the communications to over 60,000 frontline operational staff, prisoners and their families in the adult and youth estates and people on probation.

We support longer term and future focussed campaigns to drive improvements in security, safety and stability as well as planning and responding to operational crisis.

We are responsible for supporting HMPPS’s senior leaders to manage the Agency’s relationship with its most senior stakeholders including our inspectorates, arms-length scrutiny bodies, and third sector partners, ensuring we protect and enhance the reputation of HMPPS through effective communication and engagement.

We own and manage the Agency’s corporate channels from the intranet to external social media, events, as well as newsletters, bulletins and GOV.UK.

We are an award-winning multi-discipline team consisting of operational internal communications, corporate communications, stakeholder management, content design and production, social media, events and strategic communications and planning.

Role overview/Key responsibilities

As Head of Strategic Communications, Channels and Campaigns, you will be responsible for:

• establishing and setting the direction of the team’s strategic communications practice to deliver the communications priorities for the Agency. You will be responsible for setting, planning and co-ordinating communications activity across the team and overseeing the quality and performance of our communications, ensuring they are appropriately resourced.
• leading the implementation of HMPPS’s internal and external channel strategy, enforcing and advocating the standards required, upskilling colleagues across the Agency to understand the importance of content design, accessibility requirements and publishing processes
• oversee the delivery of agreed suite of high-profile staff events through the Events team, from planning, logistics, staging and evaluation
• being the strategic communications advisor to senior officials, sharing intelligence, insight and data to inform your recommendations and approaches to the Agency’s communications
• partnering with the Deputy Director for HMPPS Communications to continuously improve team performance enabling them to deliver to the highest professional standards
• deputising for the Deputy Director where appropriate

·        delivering excellent customer service to internal stakeholders at all levels of the organisation

·        providing leadership for your team, offering supportive and inspiring line management to direct reports to support their development

·        ensuring robust and up-to-date insight and evaluation metrics for your activities and ensuring your team actively engage with an evaluation culture

·        engaging with and be an advocate for internal processes both within your team and across the Agency

·        playing an active and visible role in developing, embedding and championing a positive and supportive team culture. This includes leading cross-team working groups, leading on team projects and supporting the Deputy Director, Head of HMPPS Communications on cross-directorate programmes, encouraging your team to contribute to our shared culture

·        demonstrating leadership across the MoJ Communications directorate and representing the directorate across the GCS by contributing to programmes that deliver transformational change and improvements on our ways of working and professional practice to benefit the wider Civil Service

As a senior leader in the HMPPS Communications team, you will be expected to:

·        be able to grasp a variety of fast moving, often nuanced and complex policies quickly and effectively

·        be able to cope comfortably with ambiguity and thrive on being creative and innovative

• inspire and motivate teams to be fully engaged in their work and dedicated to their role
• build relationships with a broad range of people from different backgrounds and levels, both within and external to Government, seeking multiple perspectives to improve thinking and bring the audience needs into designing communications
• be an ambassador for HMPPS Communications, showcasing our work to senior stakeholders, ministers and SpAds, and to the wider communications community

Behaviours

In addition to delivering your core duties and responsibilities, as a member of HMPPS Communications team, you will be expected to:

• support colleagues beyond your own area of responsibility, taking the initiative to work on areas outside your immediate team to help HMPPS Communications achieve its objectives
• create an environment where people feel safe to challenge and know their voice will be heard by effectively managing conflict, misconduct, and non-inclusive behaviour, raising with senior managers where appropriate
• understand your own level of responsibility and empower others to make decisions where appropriate
• take your responsibility as a line manager seriously; be a role model, know well the people you manage, be visible and accessible, give honest and timely feedback, provide stretching and timely objectives and overall inspire your people to produce their best
• invest time to develop a common focus and genuine positive team spirit where colleagues feel valued and respect one another
• promote a culture of following the appropriate procedures to ensure results are achieved on time whilst still enabling innovation
• be responsible in handling public money by ensuring financial accountability on your projects and through your teams; manage project budget, including procuring and managing external suppliers
• adopt a positive, proactive attitude, seeking out opportunities to contribute and improve the running of the HMPPS Communications team