Director, Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson

Job summary

The Director, Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson will lead a brilliant and high-performing No10 Communications team, speak on behalf of the Prime Minister at daily lobby briefings and have the chance to travel with the Prime Minister for both domestic and international events and visits.

This is one of the most exciting and challenging jobs in government communications, providing a unique opportunity to work at the heart of the Prime Minister’s Office. The post holder will need to provide trusted media advice to the Prime Minister and his wider political team, represent the Prime Minister and the Government directly at ‘on the record’ briefings to political journalists, motivate and develop the talented No10 Communications team as well as work in close partnership with Whitehall counterparts, providing leadership to the cross-government Communications cadre.

The post holder will also be responsible for providing excellent leadership across the No10 Communications team, instilling strategy, continuous improvement and driving an integrated approach between the multiple communications functionalities, including press and digital, available to No10 and the Prime Minister.

This post will appeal to an experienced and confident communications operator, who enjoys working with senior ministers, political advisers, officials, and journalists, who is equally confident that they can articulate the clear sense of direction necessary to motivate a high-performing team and who wants to play an active leadership role in the wider Prime Minister’s Office senior leadership team, contributing to the corporate functions of the unit.

Working at No10 involves regularly delivering under pressure and to challenging deadlines. The No10 Communications team comprises around 55 staff, including two senior civil servants. To be successful in this post will require establishing strong relationships at the most senior levels of government both within No10 and across Government. The successful candidate will show credibility, resilience, and the ability to distil complex matters easily.

Job description

Key responsibilities include:

• Lead the No10 communications team, ensuring high quality 24/7 media operations, digital media, insights, and planning teams.
• Regularly brief the UK’s political press on behalf of the Prime Minister as Official Spokesperson and chair briefings for foreign correspondents based in the UK.
• Lead and develop, in line with GCS principles, a No10 Communications senior leadership team who each lead on specific functions / policy areas.
• Ensure the Prime Minister, his political team and the No10 senior team are well sighted on emerging issues and that his day-to-day business is transacted efficiently and in a timely manner.
• Advise the Prime Minister and his senior team on media handling related, but not limited to government policy announcements, events, visits, and the full range of domestic and foreign affairs.
• Provide senior leadership oversight on government planning activity to ensure the coordination of cross-government press operations.
• Work collaboratively with the No10 senior team, private office, policy unit, delivery unit, cabinet office, departments, and others to manage announcements and deal with ad-hoc issues.
• Develop and use a wide range of media strategies, including active use of digital, direct, regional, and non-news media channels to promote and defend government policy.
• Financial responsibility for the No10 Communications team including budget management and contract management for services provided.
• Be a key member of both the No10 SCS management team and the Cabinet Office Communications Leadership Team, actively participating in corporate activities to further staff engagement, motivation, and inclusion.
• This role is based at 10 Downing Street and office based only.

Person specification

It is important, that through your CV and supporting statement, that you provide evidence of the following Essential Criteria:

• A track record of inclusively leading and motivating a diverse, high-performing, ambitious team of professionals to deliver at pace on a demanding and complex agenda, driving progress despite a range of competing views and priorities.
• Effective judgement under pressure regarding the news cycle, ensuring that media operations work efficiently, emerging issues are handled appropriately, and concerns escalated as required to the relevant senior stakeholders.
• Experience working in a modern, fast-paced communications environment that requires strong credibility, personal resilience, and the ability to convey difficult or complex messages clearly and with tact.
• The personal presence, effectiveness and credibility to operate at a very senior level across Whitehall, with a proven track record of working closely and in partnership with senior stakeholders (e.g. Permanent Secretaries, C-suite leaders, Boards or Ministers) in challenging situations.
• A strong understanding of the wider media and political context in which No10 and the Government operates including an understanding of, and ideally strong experience with, the use of digital media as part of your media execution and strategy.
• Significant experience of leading cross discipline teams, with a detailed understanding of and appreciation for digital communications.
• Excellent interpersonal, negotiation and relationship building skills to ensure you can work closely, whilst under pressure, with colleagues across No10, Government departments and external media/organisations to support strategic thinking, analysis and use of evidence-based decision making.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £100,000, Cabinet Office contributes £28,970 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

Application

To apply for this post, you will need to complete the online application process, outlined below. This should be completed no later than 23:55, Tuesday 24th Feb 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 750 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.

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

Shortlist

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.

Assessment

Candidates successful at sift will be invited to a panel interview focusing on Behaviours and Experience. You will be asked to deliver a 5-minute presentation and have a more in-depth discussion of your previous experience and professional competence in relation to the criteria set out in the Person Specification.

Candidates successful at stage 1 interviews will be invited to a Mock Lobby Exercise where you will be given reading materials in advance. You will need to show evidence of successfully responding to mock political press questions. Candidate may also have the opportunity to meet the team.

Further information of the presentation topic and assessment process will be made available to shortlisted candidates.

The process will be chaired by Martin Spencer, Civil Service Commissioner.

Indicative timeline (subject to change)

Shortlist - Friday 6th March 2026

Mock Lobby Exercise - Week Commencing 16th March 2026

Panel Interview - Tuesday 24th March 2026

Reasonable Adjustment

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service at: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.
• Complete the ‘assistance required’ section in the ‘personal information’ page of your application form to provide information we should be aware of that will enable us to support you further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

Reserve lists

A reserve list may be held for up to 12 months, which the Civil Service may use to fill future suitable vacancies across government for candidates who are considered appointable following interview.

Further Information

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact: scscandidate.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

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; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

Current Civil Servants (all contract types) will need to ensure that they are still employed as a civil servant at the point of starting in the relevant new post. If their contract ends (e.g. end of FTA contract or resignation) at any point during the recruitment/onboarding process for the advertised role, they will no longer be eligible and may be withdrawn.

Please note that this role requires Security Check (SC) clearance with a further willingness to undergo Developed Vetting (DV), which would normally need 5 years UK residency in the past 10 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.

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

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

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.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

2026-02.02 438078 - Director, Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson - Candidate Information Pack (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 659kB)438078 - Director, PMs Official Spokesperson - Cabinet Office Accessibility Pack(13) (1) Opens in new window (docx, 428kB)