Press Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer

Job summary

The Ministerial and Communications Group sits at the heart of the Treasury. If you are interested in the inner workings of the Government, meeting Ministers, Senior Officials and liaising with the Press then this could be the place for you! We are a friendly and inclusive Group working on some of the most exciting issues of the day, bringing together work from across the rest of the department and engaging closely with partners across Whitehall and beyond.

We provide support to Ministers, through Ministerial offices. We act as Treasury's external face, through the Press Office and Communications team. We are responsible for managing the department, through our support for the Permanent Secretary, the Second Permanent Secretaries, the Treasury Board, and the Executive Management Board (EMB), and our ownership of Treasury governance structures. The Group is led by the Permanent Secretary.

The Communications Team is responsible for all communications conducted by HM Treasury and its Ministers. It works closely with Ministers, special advisors, and policy teams to communicate the Treasury’s work, through traditional and new media channels.

The team is fast-paced, supportive and fun. We work collaboratively across the different aspects of communications (press, digital, events) in high-profile roles where post-holders are given ownership for their areas.

The Strategic Support Unit is a key part of the Communications Team, providing vital administrative support to ensure smooth operations. It handles media enquiries, manages logistics, and streamlines workflows, enabling the team to focus on priorities. Its proactive approach keeps the team agile, organised, and ready for the demands of a high-profile department.

At HM Treasury, you’ll be at the heart of government, helping shape decisions that affect the UK economy and people’s lives.

From advising Ministers on tax and spending to supporting financial stability and analysing future economic challenges, our work is varied, fast-paced and high-impact.

We are an inclusive and collaborative department working across London, Darlington, Norwich, Birmingham and Leeds. Wherever you join us, you’ll have the opportunity to make a difference and help shape the UK’s economic future.

Job description

About the role:

The Communications Secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer is one of the most high-profile and unique communications roles in Government. Acting as a trusted adviser to the Chancellor, you will ensure their communications are impactful, coordinated and firmly anchored in the Government’s economic priorities.

You will lead the delivery of the Chancellor’s media and communications activity, ensuring key audiences, including citizens, businesses and markets, understand the work of the Chancellor and HM Treasury. You will identify and maximise opportunities across traditional and new media, communicate complex economic priorities in clear, bold and creative ways.

As a senior leader within Communications Directorate, you will work closely with the Chancellor’s Private Office to embed communications into the Chancellor’s day-to-day activity and wider strategic priorities. This is a demanding and influential role requiring energy, sound judgement, resilience and the highest standards of professionalism.

Key accountabilities

• Lead and advise on the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s day-to-day communications, working across the Communications team to coordinate press and digital activity, forward planning, visits and events.

• Develop trusted relationships with the Chancellor, Special Advisers, Private Office, Communications and policy officials, using your insight, experience and sound judgement to ensure communications considerations are embedded in Treasury decision-making and providing candid, authoritative advice to senior stakeholders.

• Build and maintain strong relationships with senior journalists and media organisations, using these relationships to shape coverage and support delivery of the Chancellor’s communications strategy.

• Work as an integral part of the Chancellor’s Private Office, supporting Private Secretaries on communications matters to ensure the effective delivery of the Chancellor’s communications objectives.

• Support the Deputy Director of News and Digital in setting strategic direction for the wider team, providing leadership and ensuring activity is coordinated and aligned with wider communications priorities.

• Participate in the senior out-of-hours rota and travel as required to support the Chancellor’s engagements.

Candidate Drop-In Session

The hiring manager will be running a candidate drop-in session to give you greater insight about the role and HM Treasury, and ask any questions you might have. If you would like to join us, use the link below to join the call at the right time.

Friday 6th November 2026 at midday - Click the link to Join

If you would like to speak to the hiring manager informally prior to the closing date, please contact Craig Saunders, craig.saunders2@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Person specification

Application Form

Applications should consist of a CV including your employment history, and a 1,000-word personal statement setting out how you meet the shortlisting criteria below. Your CV and employment history won’t be scored. It’s used to give context to your application and support discussions at interview.

The panel will review applications and invite those that best demonstrate evidence of the shortlisting criteria for interview. Please keep this in mind when writing your application.

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

Essential Criteria:

• Communications expertise - Significant media relations or communications experience, with excellent written and oral communication skills and the ability to develop and deliver high-impact communications across a range of channels and audiences.
• Strategic judgement and senior advice - ability to quickly grasp complex policy issues, exercise sound judgement and provide clear, authoritative and honest communications advice to Ministers and senior stakeholders, including in fast-moving or sensitive situations.
• Leadership and influence - strong leadership and influencing skills, with a track record of building effective relationships across organisational boundaries and with external stakeholders, and of leading, inspiring and developing high-performing teams, including through periods of pressure or crisis.
• Strategic delivery, creativity and problem solving - a proactive and solutions-focused approach, with the ability to anticipate issues, set clear communications priorities and develop creative plans that bring together colleagues and stakeholders to deliver the Chancellor’s communications objectives.

Interview Stage

If you are successful at the application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Strengths
• Behaviours:
  • Leadership
  • Making Effective Decisions
  • Communicating and Influencing
  • Seeing the Big Picture

Interview Task / Presentation

Prior to your interview, we will contact you about a task / presentation that the panel would like you to deliver as part of the assessment. Further details will be communicated to you nearer the time.

Behaviours

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

• Leadership
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,270, HM Treasury contributes £21,805 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).

• Generous Annual Leave - 25 days (rising to 30 after 5 years), plus public holidays and the King’s birthday.
• Outstanding Pension Scheme - Defined Benefit pension with employer contributions of 28.97%
• Parental Leave Packages - Including 6 months’ occupational pay for maternity/adoption, shared parental leave options.
• Advance Schemes & Discounts - Rental deposit, cycle-to-work, SmartTech, season ticket loans, and access to HM Treasury’s benefits portal for a wide range of discounts.
• Flexible & Hybrid Working - Options include part-time, job-share, compressed hours, flexitime, and hybrid working.

Hybrid working: HM Treasury operates an office based working approach across all Treasury sites. There is an expectation of a minimum of 60% attendance in the office. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.

The office working expectation is linked to the location of the role. If you apply to a post in a single location, then you will not be able to meet this expectation at any of our other sites or move your role to another location. Some roles may not be suitable for hybrid working, it will be stated in the role profile if the role cannot accommodate this.

You can review HM Treasury’s full offer here.

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, Strengths and Experience.

The reference to Experience above is system generated. For this role, experience is not assessed at any stage. We will ask for some CV details in your application form, but this is for reference only and will not be scored.

Candidate Guidance

Please review the candidate guidance for an overview of the Success Profiles and STAR approach, along with top tips for applications and interviews.

Recruitment Timeline

• Closing date: 9th November 2026
• Shortlisting: 12th November 2026
• Interviews: w/c 23rd November 2026

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs Profile.

Reserve Lists

You will be placed on a reserve list if your application is successful, but we cannot offer you a role immediately. Where more than one location has been advertised, candidates will be posted in merit order by location. You will be asked to provide your location preference on your application form. Please note that a place on the reserve list does not guarantee an offer.

If you are offered a role in your first preferred location and you decline the offer or are unable to take up the post within a reasonable timeframe, you will be removed from the reserve list, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Those on the reserve list may also be approached for similar roles at a lower grade. If you are offered a role at a lower grade and choose to decline, you can remain on the reserve list.

Internal Fraud Database Check

Candidates cannot apply to roles in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

Successful candidates will be subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database. This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This also applies to those who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the database will be refused employment.

National Security Vetting

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, successful candidates will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Security Check (SC).

To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. You will be asked to provide residency information within your application form, and eligibility for national security vetting will be checked once the advert closing date has passed. In certain circumstances, for example if you have been working abroad on a government posting, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis once the advert closing date has passed.

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

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a standard (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.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 : Craig Saunders
• Email : craig.saunders2@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.uk

Further information

Complaints Process: Our recruitment process is underpinned by the principle of appointment based on 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 HMT by email at: hrrecruitment@hmtreasury.gov.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

Role Profile 488110 Opens in new window (pdf, 216kB)