Internal Communications Officer

Job summary

As a key member of the Internal Communications team in DDC, you will play an important role in developing and delivering strategic internal communications and events based on clear objectives, insight, proactive digital delivery, and evaluation. Working within a small team, you will support high-quality, targeted Readiness communications campaigns across Defence. You will collaborate closely with the C1 Readiness leads to contribute to campaign communications on topics such as Growth and Change, while also leading logistics for the MODCAST, the Ministry of Defence’s internal podcast, readiness-themed events, newsletters, and related activities.

You will work alongside the C1 and D Band Readiness Campaigns roles to ensure full portfolio coverage and identify opportunities to include other campaign messaging in events, maximising communication impact across Defence.

The central Internal Communications (IC) team within DDC delivers and coordinates communications to both military and civilian staff across the entire Ministry of Defence. With over 250,000 employees across around 4,000 sites worldwide, the MOD is one of the largest Whitehall departments. Its workforce is highly diverse, including soldiers, sailors, pilots, office workers, doctors, teachers, police officers, engineers, and scientists. Many frontline operational roles lack regular access to Defence’s digital communication infrastructure, requiring a flexible and nuanced approach to internal communications.

This role sits within the Readiness team of the IC function, which focuses on communications supporting Defence’s operational preparedness and capability development. The team delivers campaigns that promote understanding and engagement around readiness priorities, including growth, change, and operational effectiveness. Your work will ensure key messages reach the diverse Defence workforce effectively, helping maintain a well-informed and prepared organisation aligned with Defence’s strategic goals.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

The successful candidate will play a central role in supporting the delivery of internal communications focused on change, growth, and wider Readiness within Defence. This includes creating and managing intranet content, organising events, producing articles and videos, and ensuring all communications effectively engage the diverse Defence workforce. A key responsibility will be leading the logistics for Readiness-related activities such as all-staff calls, the MODCAST internal podcast, newsletters, and other communications, ensuring smooth and timely delivery.

The role requires building a comprehensive understanding of Defence audiences to tailor messaging that reflects Defence priorities and resonates across different groups. The candidate will enhance existing campaigns, channels, events, systems, and processes to maintain relevance and maximise impact. They will also develop the skills necessary to cover for other team members, ensuring continuity in campaign delivery during absences.

Collaboration is essential, working closely with the wider Directorate of Defence Communications (DDC) team to identify opportunities for Readiness messaging to be integrated into ongoing campaigns or standalone initiatives. The candidate will provide professional, clear, and comprehensive internal communications advice to stakeholders at all levels, fostering strong relationships and confidently challenging where necessary to maintain communication quality and alignment.

Flexibility is important, as the role may require supporting other areas of the IC team when priorities shift or resources need to be reallocated. The successful candidate will also prioritise their own professional development and training to continually enhance their skills and effectiveness.

Person specification

You will have demonstrable experience in internal communications or a complementary discipline, strong interpersonal skills, and a passion for delivering high-quality outputs. You will be capable of producing effective communications that engage, inform, and motivate the diverse and dispersed Defence workforce. Your experience will ideally include internal communications or broader communications roles across other disciplines, supported by a firm knowledge of internal communication channels and methods. You will have the confidence and ability to build and maintain strong relationships with a wide range of people at all grades and ranks, underpinned by excellent writing skills.

Specifically, you will be expected to deliver communications within the Defence Readiness campaign plan, including intranet content, articles, and videos. You will develop existing Growth campaigns, systems, and processes to ensure all communications are relevant, reflect Defence priorities, and effectively reach their audiences.

Additionally, you will develop skills to cover for the C1 roles, ensuring continuity in delivering campaign communications. Working closely with the wider Directorate of Defence Communications Internal Communications team, you will identify opportunities to feature in ongoing campaigns or standalone initiatives. Providing professional and comprehensive internal communications advice to stakeholders at all levels, you will build strong, effective relationships and confidently push back when necessary.

Flexibility is essential, as you may be required to support other areas of the IC team as priorities shift and resources need to be reallocated. You will also prioritise your personal development and training to continually enhance your skills and effectiveness in the role.

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• Communications: Implementation
• Communications: Impact

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,720, Ministry of Defence contributes £10,927 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%
• Season ticket advance to assist with travel costs to/from home and your permanent work location
• Free use of the gym at main building

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD 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/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability. (500 words)

At sift, Candidates will be assessed against their CV and Statement of suitability and the following:

• Communicating and Influencing

Applications will be sifted on all Success Profile elements, but in the event of a high number of applications, the sift will be conducted on yourCommunicating and Influencing behaviour only.

Interview will be questions on the behaviours and GCS competencies.

At interview, Candidates will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical Skills:

• Communications: Implementation
• Communications: Impact

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.

There may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all DCS candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations such as a high volume of applications, seasonal demand, or peak periods, the employer may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both DCS and non-DCS applicants.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) 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 : Louise Tillbrook
• Email : Louise.Tillbrook100@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-Resourcingteam3@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk.

Attachments

Candidate Information Pack Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)Defence Internal Brief notice Opens in new window (docx, 43kB)Defence Civil Service Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)1068968903-GCS-Government-Communication-Profession_260814_103550 Opens in new window (pdf, 1066kB)