Deputy Director for Civil Service Communications and Cabinet Office Internal Communications and Engagement

Job summary

Government Communications is the professional body for communicators across the UK government. Our mission is to deliver exceptional communications that make a difference—informing citizens, changing behaviours, and building trust in government.

By joining a communications team, you will become a member of Government Communications, a well- established profession of communicators working in government departments, agencies and arm’s length bodies. You’ll benefit from continuous professional development from our learning and development curriculum, a network of skilled communicators sharing best practice, mentoring opportunities, and much more!

Visit our Government Communications website for more information on how becoming a part of the Communications Profession can support your career and development.

Job description

This is a high profile and challenging role with three primary strategic responsibilities:

1.Leading the Strategic Narrative: Defining and communicating the Cabinet Office’s evolving identity and departmental priorities to a nationwide audience of over 550,000 civil servants, ensuring clarity of purpose across the entire organisation.

2.Driving Innovative Engagement: Developing and executing creative, high-impact internal communication programmes that utilise modern storytelling and innovative channels to engage a diverse workforce in the Civil Service’s mission.

3.Delivering Flagship Strategic Engagements: Overseeing the end-to-end delivery of high-profile events and engagements, such as Civil Service Live, to facilitate direct connection between senior ministers, leadership, and the wider Civil Service.

You will deliver a highly effective and resilient communications function, building an unrivalled insight into the work of the department and playing a key part in wider government communications as part of the Government Communications Service.

You will also have responsibility for the leadership and development of your team, overseeing their activity and performance management to ensure high standards of service to ministers and senior officials, while ensuring that they are resilient when under pressure.

Additionally, you should be able to proactively create and maintain positive, professional and trusting working relationships with a wide range of people within and outside the organisation, including the Cabinet Secretary, COO of the Civil Service and other senior stakeholders.

The successful candidate will be a team player, able to motivate and instil confidence with clear thinking, strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence. You will develop a strong network of contacts across Whitehall and beyond, and draw on that network to secure the necessary advice, buy-in and quick decision-making.

Key Responsibilities

As Deputy Director for Civil Service Communications and Cabinet Office Internal Communications and Engagement, your key responsibilities will include:

• Lead the Communications Strategy for Civil Service Communication and Cabinet Office Internal Communication and engagement, working closely with the Cabinet Secretary, Permanent Secretary, senior officials and ExCo.
• Manage a broad range of communication channels, with stimulating content which gives CO colleagues, and wider Civil Service audiences the opportunity to have their views heard and responded to.
• Lead and develop a collaborative and high-performing CO internal communications, events and engagement and Civil Service communications team.
• Play an active role in the leadership of the Government Communications Service across Whitehall, building partnerships with key external stakeholders.
• Build strong partnerships with critical stakeholders across UKG and Devolved Administrations, both in the delivery of senior official engagement and to ensure involvement in Civil Service Live, leading ministerial engagement in CS Live programme.
• Demonstrate the ability to represent the views of the Department and Functions credibly in high level meetings while building relationships across Whitehall.
• Improving professional practice within the team, encouraging active participation in the GCS to build capability and networks across the team.

Person specification

It is important that, through your CV and supporting statement, that you provide evidence of the professional skills, breadth of experience and personal qualities for this post.

Essential Criteria:

• Strategic Communication & Narrative Design - Expertise in designing and delivering strategic communications, including high-stakes speech writing for Ministers and Senior Leaders during crises or occasions of national significance.
• Influential Stakeholder Engagement - A proven track record of building trust, credibility, and influence with Ministers and senior officials in complex environments, providing constructive challenge to drive effective decision-making.
• Visible Leadership & Team Development - Exceptional leadership and management skills, with a focus on developing talent and maintaining cohesion across geographically dispersed teams while contributing to broader corporate goals.
• Operational & Financial Oversight - Strong stakeholder and contract management skills, with experience overseeing multi-million pound budgets and managing critical third-party contracts.
• Multi-Platform Event & Content Delivery - Advanced expertise in designing and executing large-scale events utilizing multimedia and cross-platform communications to reach diverse audiences.
• Strategic Innovation & Problem Solving - The ability to think creatively and strategically to identify systemic improvements, working collaboratively to resolve challenging issues and implement lasting change.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £81,000, Cabinet Office contributes £23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Whatever your role, we take your career and development seriously, and want to enable you to build a really successful career within the Department and wider Civil Service.

It is crucial that our employees have the right skills to develop their careers and meet the challenges ahead, and you’ll benefit from regular performance and development reviews to ensure this development is ongoing. As a Civil Service employee, you’ll be entitled to a large range of benefits.

This includes:

• 25 days annual leave on entry, increasing on a sliding scale to 30 days after 5 years’ service. This is in addition to 8 public holidays and one privilege day to mark the King's birthday.
• A competitive contributory pension scheme that you can enter as soon as you join where we will make a significant contribution to the cost of your pension; where your contributions come out of your salary before any tax is taken; and where your pension will continue to provide valuable benefits for you and your family if you are too ill to continue to work or die before you retire;
• Flexible working patterns including part-time or term-time working and access to Flexible Working Schemes allowing you to vary your working day as long as you work your total hours;
• Generous paid maternity and paternity leave which is notably more than the statutory minimum offered by many other employers;
• Childcare benefits (policy for new employees as of 5 April 2018): The government has introduced the Tax-Free Childcare (TFC) scheme. Working parents can open an online childcare account and for every £8 they pay in, the government adds £2, up to a maximum of £2000 a year for each child or £4000 for a disabled child. Parents then use the funds to pay for registered childcare. Existing employees may be able to continue to claim childcare vouchers, so please check how the policy would work for you here;
• Interest-free loans allowing you to spread the cost of an annual travel season ticket or a new bicycle;
• The opportunity to use onsite facilities including fitness centres and staff canteens (where applicable);
• Occupational sick pay.

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 and Experience.

Application process

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55pm Sunday 15th March 2026.

1. A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.
2. A Statement of Suitability (no longer than 1250 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification.

Failure to complete both sections of the online application form (CV and Statement of Suitability) will mean the panel only have limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

As part of the online application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select 'prefer not to say’. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategyfor more information.

Should you encounter any issues with your online application please get in touch with us via: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Shortlist

Your application will be acknowledged when it is received.

A panel, including the hiring manager, will assess your application to select those demonstrating the best fit with the role by considering the evidence you have provided against the criteria set out in the ‘Person Specification’ section. Failure to address any or all of these may affect your application.

The timeline later in this pack indicates the date by which decision is expected to be made, and all longlisted and shortlisted candidates will be advised of the outcome as soon as possible thereafter.

Assessment

If you are shortlisted, you will be asked to take part in a series of assessments which will a staff engagement exercise. These assessments will not result in a pass or fail decision. Rather, they are designed to support the panel’s decision making and highlight areas for the panel to explore further at interview. For more information about the assessment process, please follow this link: https://scs-assessments.co.uk/

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to attend a panel interview,in order to have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification. We will be assessing against the success profile behaviours and your experience at interview.

Full details of the assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates. If you are required to prepare a presentation for the final interview you will be given the subject in advance.

If we receive applications from more suitable candidates than we have vacancies for at this time, we may hold suitable applicants on a reserve list for 12 months, and future vacancies in the Civil Service requiring the same skills and experience could be offered to candidates on the reserve list without the need for a new competition.

Offer

Regardless of the outcome, we will notify all candidates as soon as possible.

We will send you a copy of any report for any assessment that you may have undergone as part of the recruitment process (if requested).

Indicative Timeline

Advert Closing Date - 23:55 Sunday 15th March 2026
Shortlist - From Thursday 19th March 2026
Assessment - Week commencing 13th April 2026
Interview - Week commencing 27th April 2026

Reasonable adjustments

We are committed to making reasonable adjustments in order to support disabled job applicants and ensure that you are not disadvantaged in the recruitment and assessment process. Reasonable adjustments could include; allowing extra time during selection tests; ensuring that information is provided in an accessible format or; by providing training.

If you feel that you may need a reasonable adjustment to be made, or you would like to discuss your requirements in more detail, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk in the first instance.

Further information
Please note that this role requires SC level clearance, which would normally need 5 years continuous UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare. Determine your eligibility at: https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).

See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

Open to UK nationals only.

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.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 : GRS SCS Recruitment Team
• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

Civil Service Commission Selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit, on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles.
In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles, our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of appointment on the basis of merit by fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance you should contact; scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk and more information can be found at www.civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk

Attachments

2026-02-23 CO Communications Deputy Director Cabinet Office CIP pack.pptx (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 670kB)Cabinet Office Accessibility Pack Template v9 (19) (1) Opens in new window (docx, 428kB)