Information Rights and Correspondence Officer

Job summary

Ofgem is Great Britain’s independent energy regulator. Our primary responsibility is to protect energy consumers, especially the most vulnerable, while at the same time working with government, industry and consumer groups to deliver a clean, more affordable and secure net‑zero energy system at the lowest cost to consumers and drive economic growth.

We have an excellent opportunity for an Information Rights and Correspondence Officer to join our Communications directorate. This role is central to ensuring Ofgem meets its legal responsibilities around information rights while helping us maintain transparent, professional and effective engagement with the public.

This is a fast-paced and varied role, ideal for someone who enjoys tackling new challenges every day. You’ll join a supportive and collaborative small team where you’ll work together to deliver high quality responses utilising your skills across multiple areas of communications. The role also offers excellent exposure across a wide range of teams across Ofgem, giving you insight into different areas of the organisation.

As a key member of Ofgem’s correspondence unit, you will coordinate responses to information rights requests, including Freedom of Information (FOI), Environmental Information Regulations (EIR) and Subject Access Requests (SAR). Your work will ensure that Ofgem provides accurate, timely and well written responses, helping us meet statutory deadlines and uphold our commitment to openness and accountability.

You will play an active role in helping colleagues across Ofgem understand their responsibilities around information rights, supporting them to produce robust and compliant responses. As part of a flexible team, you will also have opportunities to support wider communications work, requiring adaptability and a proactive approach.

In this role, you will help administer Ofgem’s information rights service, monitor a dedicated inbox, log cases accurately, and identify sensitive or high profile requests that require escalation. You’ll build strong working relationships across all directorates, providing advice, guidance and support to ensure high quality responses and compliance with key performance indicators set by the Cabinet Office.

This role offers variety and a chance to develop specialist expertise while working closely with internal teams and external partners. You’ll support senior managers, legal experts and subject specialists to deliver clear, informative and well reasoned responses that uphold Ofgem’s standards.

Join us and play a vital role in supporting transparent, accountable and effective public engagement at the heart of the UK’s energy regulator.

Job description

Key Responsibilities

• Help to administer Ofgem’s information rights service, including handling Freedom of Information requests, Environmental Information Regulation requests, Subject Access Requests
• Respond to requests for information in a timely and accessible manner, ensuring Ofgem meets its Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) set out by the Cabinet Office
• Build up effective working relationships across all directorates to ensure Ofgem meets its statutory deadlines
• Help to provide advice and training to teams across Ofgem on how to handle information requests and ensure accurate, timely and well written responses are provided to the public
• Regularly monitor a dedicated inbox, ensuring cases are promptly picked up and accurately logged on the relevant system
• Monitor developments in Freedom of Information and data protection legislation
• Identify requests which are sensitive or high profile for Ofgem, escalating when needed
• Provide strong administrative support to the Information Rights team
• Support the wider communications team, as required

Key Outputs and Deliverables

• Pro-actively manage own workload to achieve organisational deadlines so Ofgem meets the information rights KPIs
• Work closely with lawyers, subject matter experts and policy teams to ensure we are providing accurate and informative answers
• Exercise judgement and recognise potential reputational risks / sensitivities for Ofgem and escalate where appropriate
• Ensure responses sent are professional and consistent by adhering to the Ofgem style and Simpler, Clearer Communication principles
• Help your line manager to deliver a programme of information rights training to all levels of colleagues, in a variety of formats
• Build, maintain and manage internal relationships to raise awareness and understanding of the team’s work

Key Stakeholders Relationships

• Information Rights and Correspondence Managers
• Information Rights and Correspondence Officers
• Ofgem Public Affairs team
• Colleagues across Ofgem to support the timely answering of information requests and of parliamentary correspondence.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Can demonstrate an awareness of the information rights Acts and their requirements in the context of our organisation. (LEAD)
• Able to demonstrate excellent proofreading skills and the ability to identify compelling angles for external audiences. (LEAD)
• Proven experience in quickly understanding complex subject matter and conveying it effectively in both written and verbal formats to a range of stakeholders at all levels.
• Excellent interpersonal skills to develop and nurture contacts across all teams.
• Self-starter with experience of prioritising a varied and complex workload, to ensure competing demands and unpredictable deadlines are met.

Desirable Criteria:

• Solid experience of working with information rights requests, including applying exemptions.

Behaviours

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

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

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £25,854, OFGEM contributes £7,489 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; 30 days annual leave after 2 years; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; hybrid working (currently 1 day a week in the office but this is kept under review), flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about.

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.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be directed to a Civil Service test – guidance for this can be found here Civil Service online tests - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The test you are due to take is not timed and you can complete it at your own pace. Upon passing the test, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential criteria listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the criteria listed in the role profile.

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn].

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.

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

Please note this Post is NOT regulated by the Civil Service Commission.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 : Lisa Buchanan
• Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk
• Telephone : Shannon Convery

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitment@ofgem.gov.uk

Attachments

Role Profile_Information Rights and Correspondence Officer Opens in new window (pdf, 115kB)Infortmation Rights and Correspondence_Candidate Pack Opens in new window (pdf, 895kB)Terms & Conditions April 2025 Opens in new window (pdf, 323kB)