Communications Officer

Job summary

Forestry England is seeking a creative and organised Communications Officer to support delivery of high quality, integrated communications across a range of priority areas, including our partnership with Forest Holidays.

Working within the Brand and Engagement team and reporting to a Communications manager, you will play a key role in delivering engaging content, supporting campaigns, and helping to tell the story of Forestry England’s work to a wide range of audiences, ensuring the use of Forestry England’s tone of voice and brand guidelines.

The role will involve supporting communications activity linked to Forest Holidays’ new sites development, helping to ensure consistent messaging and strong partnership working. The remainder of the role will support wider organisational priorities, contributing to campaigns and projects that connect people with our forests and our work.

This role requires strong storytelling ability, excellent organisational skills, and the confidence to work collaboratively with colleagues and partners across the business.

Job description

Key responsibilities & accountabilities

• Support the planning and delivery of integrated communications activity across a range of projects and priority areas, ensuring alignment with Forestry England’s brand, tone of voice and key messages.
• Support the development and management of the External Communications team annual plan
• Provide communications support to the Forest Holidays partnership, including:
o Developing and delivering content across channels
o Supporting community engagement around proposed new site developments
o Working closely with internal teams and Forest Holidays colleagues, as well as external planning consultants to ensure coordinated messaging
• Create engaging content for a variety of channels, including digital, social media, press and print, adapting style and format for different audiences.
• Assist in the development and delivery of communications plans for projects and campaigns, working with Communications Managers and subject experts.
• Work with colleagues across Forestry England (including district teams and specialists) to identify stories and opportunities, translating complex information into clear, accessible and engaging content.
• Support media activity by drafting press releases, case studies and reactive lines, working with the wider communications team to maximise coverage.
• Coordinate communications activity across multiple channels, ensuring a joined-up and consistent approach.
• Build positive working relationships with internal stakeholders and external partners to support effective collaboration and delivery.
• Proactively identify and develop opportunities for greater understanding, supporter development, partnership working, helping to generate income and extend our reach.
• Support administration, planning and reporting processes to ensure communications activity is delivered effectively and on time.
• Undertake other tasks as reasonably requested by your line manager.

Person specification

Skills, knowledge & experience

Essential professional and technical experience

• Experience working in a communications, PR or marketing role, supporting delivery of campaigns or projects.
• Strong writing, editing and storytelling skills, with experience creating content for a range of channels.
• Ability to translate complex or technical information into clear and engaging communications for different audiences.
• Experience of working collaboratively with a range of stakeholders, building positive and productive relationships.
• Good organisational skills, with the ability to manage multiple tasks and deliver to deadlines.
• Competent IT user, including MS Office and digital tools relevant to communications delivery.
• Experience of using digital platforms and tools, including social media and content management systems.
• Competence in using AI to support communications delivery and improve outputs, applied in a safe, ethical, and quality-assured manner.
• A proactive and flexible approach, with the ability to work both independently and as part of a team.

Communicating and Influencing

• Use a range of communication methods effectively, including digital tools, ensuring messages are clear, targeted and audience-focused.

Working Together

• Build strong working relationships across teams and with external partners, collaborating to deliver joined-up communications.

Managing a Quality Service

• Support delivery of high-quality communications outputs, helping to maintain standards, processes and continuous improvement.

Delivering at Pace

• Take responsibility for delivering timely and effective communications activity, managing priorities and meeting deadlines.

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree and/or professional qualification in communications, PR, marketing or a related field, or equivalent relevant experience.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Managing a Quality Service
• Delivering at Pace

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £33,854, Forestry Commission contributes £9,807 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours.

How to apply

You will be asked to write a 200 word statement on your relevant experience and career history, along with a personal statement of no more than 500 words. You will be assessed on both during sifting. More details about how to apply are listed on the application form.

You will be assessed on experience, a technical skill and strength based questions during your interview.

The Behaviours being assessed at interview are –

• Communicating and influencing
• Working together
• Managing a quality service
• Delivering at pace

Successful candidates will undergo a criminal record check and the government baseline personnel security standard check.

If you require any reasonable adjustments, please email fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk.

If you're planning to use AI to support your application, please ensure you've read our guidelines here first.

Read more about our application process and working with us on the Forestry England website.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Medical

Successful candidates will be expected to have a medical.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS) (opens in a new window)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements (opens in a new window)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window).The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see theCivil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk
• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : fcrecruitmentteam@forestryengland.uk

Further information

Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment on the basis of fair and open competition and appointment on merit, as outlined in the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles.If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with these principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should in the first instance contact FCE by email: englandhr.services@forestryengland.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission, which regulates all Civil Service recruitment.

Attachments

Forestry England Job Description - Communications Officer Opens in new window (pdf, 196kB)