Ministry of Justice

Senior Stakeholder and Communications Manager

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) is an executive agency of Ministry of Justice. We are responsible for the administration of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Schemes, making payments of compensation to victims of violent crime in England, Scotland and Wales. We receive over 40,000 applications a year for compensation, from people who have lost loved ones or have been injured as a result of violent crime. We know financial compensation can never fully redress what they have suffered. Nevertheless, what we do is an important part of providing justice for victims and we take pride that the compensation we pay helps people move forward with their lives. 

We employ around 350 people and are based in Glasgow city centre with excellent transport links. We are a small, engaged, productive workforce with a real sense of corporate community. We are committed to delivering a fair, sensitive and efficient service to all applicants and work closely with stakeholders to ensure the victim is at the heart of everything we do. We want to keep improving our services and the way we work to best serve victims of violent crime, meeting new challenges, delivering value for money and ensuring CICA is a great place to work. We are committed to being a trauma-informed organisation, embedding this into what we do and how we do it.

Some of the material you will access may include upsetting personal accounts of harm inflicted by others. This could include sexual assault and violence against children which is distressing. We recognise the personal impact this may have and we provide resilience training, to promote wellbeing.

This position is based at Buchanan Wharf, 10 Clyde Place, Glasgow, G5 8AQ. We currently operate a hybrid working business model, where a typical employee spends 50% of their working time in the office and the remainder at home.

Role Description

This is a new role with responsibility for providing day-to-day leadership and management of the Communications function within the Legal & Policy Directorate of CICA.

You will join a small and dynamic team responsible for stakeholder engagement, corporate literature and senior briefings. You will play a leading role in external communications, telling the story of CICA’s work delivering compensation to victims of violent crime, while supporting an ongoing programme of modernisation and transformation to create a fully accessible and trauma-informed service.

You will quality assure CICA’s response to a high volume of stakeholder correspondence on a range of topics from case-specific to Scheme-wide issues; contribute to policy documents; prepare timely and concise briefings for senior stakeholders; and translate complex issues into accessible, engaging content for a variety of audiences from the public to Members of Parliament.

You will build and maintain strong relationships with stakeholders in government, the justice system, and a wide range of organisations representing victims. You will plan, deliver and evaluate communications on behalf of CICA, shape our communications strategy and provide subject matter expertise to a range of cross-organisational projects.

We are looking for a strategic and collaborative leader who has experience in communications, who is passionate about stakeholder engagement, and who has a demonstrable and adaptable talent for written and verbal communication. You will have the ability to map out communications plans, tailor outputs to different audiences, and create sophisticated and engaging materials using a range of tools, ensuring every piece of communication lands effectively with its audience.

As a senior leader you will be visible and you will build trust with colleagues across CICA and the wider MoJ. You will exemplify and role model Civil Service behaviours and values. You must have strong interpersonal skills and be able to build mutually beneficial relationships at all levels. You will play an important role in shaping the culture and values of CICA, with a focus on respect, empathy and transparency whilst delivering a trauma-informed service with the victim at the heart.

This role includes line management responsibility for a small team of HEO Policy & Communications Managers. The post-holder reports to the Joint Heads of Policy and will work closely with the Senior Policy & Decision Support Manager, the Director of Legal & Policy Services and the wider Executive Management Team.

Key responsibilities/tasks: 

The responsibilities of the role are as follows:

• Manage CICA’s response to both strategic and routine communications with stakeholders on topics including case-specific queries, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, CICA’s modernisation programme, and wider work to deliver an end-to-end accessible and trauma-informed service. This involves supervising and quality-assuring responses to time-sensitive correspondence including MP Enquiries, Parliamentary Questions and press enquiries.
• Build and maintain professional and collaborative relationships with key stakeholders, identifying opportunities to raise awareness of CICA, share information and seek feedback.
• Produce and/or quality-assure high quality briefings for senior colleagues concerning stakeholder developments, policy changes and recommendations.
• Maintain and update public-facing materials including gov.uk content and a range of corporate literature ensuring they are clear, accessible and trauma-informed.
• Foster and champion collaboration across CICA to deliver effective and joined-up communications about our service.
• Essential Criteria
• Working together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Managing a quality service
• Delivering at pace

• Experience working in a communications role whether internal or external, preferably in a public sector, operational context.
• Excellent drafting skills with the ability to produce clear, concise and accurate written materials which are tailored for a range of environments.
• Proven ability to read, analyse and interpret complex information, including legislation, policy, guidance or detailed case materials, translating these into accessible content that is suited to its audience.
• Strong attention to detail, ensuring all communications are consistent, well‑structured, and high quality.
• Demonstrated ability to work at pace delivering high‑quality content within tight and/or competing deadlines.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to plan ahead, manage workload effectively and adapt quickly when priorities change.
• Collaborative working and leadership style with the ability to build effective relationships across teams and with external stakeholders to gather information, test understanding and improve service delivery.

Desirable Criteria

• Knowledge of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and/or the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme.
• Experience drafting public-facing content.

Other duties

The post holder is required to work in a flexible way and undertake any other duties reasonably requested by line management which are commensurate with the grade and level of responsibility of this post.

How to apply

The selection process for this vacancy will utilise Civil Service Success Profiles and will assess your Experience, Behaviours and Strengths.

Stage 1

Applicants should provide a Curriculum Vitae (CV) and a statement of suitability which evidences the essential criteria and, where met, the desirable criteria. The statement should be no more than 750 words in length.

Stage 2

If successful at Stage 1, you will be invited to interview.

During the panel interview, you will be asked behaviours and strengths-based questions. The interview will also incorporate a written assessment based on a scenario that will be provided on the day.

 At the interview we will assess you against the behaviours listed below.

Interviews are expected to take place mid - late April 2026.

We will be conducting all interviews in person at Buchanan Wharf, 10 Clyde Place, Glasgow, G5 8AQ.

Apply and Further Information

Once the application closing date has closed, the advert will no longer be available to view. You may want to save a copy for your records.

A reserve list may be created and will be valid for 12 months. If further vacancies arise for this or similar roles within the organisation, candidates may be appointed from the reserve list in order of merit.

We offer flexible working 7am – 7pm, Monday to Friday. This role is offered on a full-time (37 hours per week) basis.

If you have any queries about the role, or wish to discuss, please contact Christopher.Mochan@cica.gov.uk.

Reasonable Adjustments

Tell us if you have a disability when you apply, and we can offer reasonable adjustments to help with the selection process. 

If you require any assistance at any time, please call 0845 241 5359 (Monday to Friday 8am-6pm) or e-mail MoJ-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com.