Senior Communications Manager (Ref: 18511)

Job summary

This position is based nationally.

Job description

Job title: Senior Communications Manager

Directorate: Communications

Duration: 24 months

The role is advertised as a Fixed Term Contract initially for 24 months. There is the potential that this could be extended or the role made permanent at a later date, although this cannot be guaranteed.

About us

HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the administration of criminal, civil and family courts and tribunals in England and Wales. Our roles support our service users and colleagues, where people and businesses access potentially life-changing justice. We’re looking for individuals who are committed to public service and want to make a difference in people’s lives in delivering justice. If you’re interested in developing a career with a real purpose, please apply.

About the role

The role of the HMCTS Communications and Engagement Directorate is to:

• enhance and protect the reputation of HMCTS
• facilitate corporate communication and engagement with internal and external stakeholders and court users
• advise, challenge, and support the organisation to communicate and engage effectively.

This is a varied role as part of the Strategic Communications Team in the HMCTS Communications and Engagement Directorate, focusing on a blend of engagement, content, campaigns, stakeholder and corporate communications work.

This role primarily focuses on providing quality communications, engagement advice and direction on a wide range of areas including court buildings, cross-cutting services such as video hearings and court technology, and improvements to open justice, among others. As the organisation evolves, you may be asked to cover other subject matter areas too. These are challenging and highly scrutinised areas and your remit will involve close working and engagement with priority organisations across the justice system.

Whether it is business partnering with senior leaders and officials in projects or service teams or supporting our colleagues working on the frontline in courts and tribunals, this is a demanding but highly rewarding role. You’ll be the ‘go to’ communications expert and lead the delivery of comms and engagement activity relating to your area.

Through your work, you’ll be an integral part of how HMCTS achieves its priorities and delivers operational and strategic milestones.

Key Accountabilities

Your role as the Senior Communications Manager encompasses several key aspects, including but not limited to:

• designing, delivering and evaluating communications and engagement strategies and activity that really engage our complex audiences
• fostering strong working relationships with senior officials, developing solutions and working on complex issues to provide them with communications and engagement advice and support, helping them meet their business objectives
• telling our story and bringing the courts to life for our audiences by drafting a range of content, key messages and narratives including, but not limited to, news articles, blogs, podcasts, case studies, briefing documents, speaking notes and presentations
• providing quick and timely input to submissions, Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and Parliamentary Questions (PQs)
• handling high-profile and sensitive media issues, working with subject matter experts and press office to develop proactive and reactive media lines and products that enhance and protect HMCTS’ reputation
• taking responsibility for supporting evaluation and reporting of communications and engagement activity in your area and ensure we meet the required outcomes
• providing support to the G6/G7 and other senior leaders in directing and advising on all communications and engagement activity in relation the organisation’s response to a crisis

Who are we looking for? (Person Specification)

This is a specialist communications role, so it is essential that the role holder is an experienced communications professional. You will need the confidence and experience to engage with a diverse range of audiences and stakeholders.

The ideal candidate for this position should demonstrate:

Essential Skills

• Strong planning, organisational skills with experience of developing and delivering external communications and engagement strategies and plans in a large and complex organisation.
• Proven stakeholder management skills, quickly able to establish credibility and rapport with senior colleagues and other external partners.
• An exceptional storyteller, able to adapt writing style for different audiences and channels and content formats.
• Experience of handling media enquiries, able to ask the right questions of the right people to get to the heart of issues and provide quality advice.
• The ability to quickly generate insights from available data and use these to shape communications activity.
• Able to evaluate communications activity and develop lessons learnt with a view to continuous improvement within your practice.
• Strong problem-solving skills with the ability to work quickly and effectively under pressure and through ambiguity, making decisions at pace and managing competing priorities and changing deadlines.
• A team player, able to quickly mobilise colleagues around common goals and deliver creative communication activities.

The below criteria are desirable only. These will not be assessed throughout the recruitment process, but will be used in the event of tied scores between candidates

Desirable Skills

• Familiarity with using content management systems and managing web pages.
• Experience of change or technology related communications

How to apply

Application Stage

Please submit:

• An anonymised CV. Please ensure your CV is uploaded in a simple format to prevent any formatting issues when it's downloaded or reviewed.

Your CV should:

• be succinct and clear
• be factually accurate – you must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application, is truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own
• include your qualifications, highlighting any modules or accreditation relevant to the role
• include your relevant experience, providing dates
• provide detail – we are interested in how your knowledge, skills, and experience demonstrate the capabilities we are looking for in this role

A statement of suitability demonstrating how you meet the essential criteria (up to 750 words).

• Your statement of suitability should be no more than 750 words and should give us real life examples of how your skills and experience match those needed for this role. Your statement should be based on the criteria set out in the Key Accountabilities and Essential Criteria sections above.
• You must ensure that any evidence submitted as part of your application is truthful and factually accurate. Please note that plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own.

Candidates successful at sift stage will be invited to a blended interview assessment in line with the Civil Service Success Profile Framework and the Government Communications Service (GCS) competencies.

For those successful in passing the sift stage, interviews will take place over two stages.

At both stages of interview, candidates will be assessed against the Civil Service Success Profiles and Government Communication Service (GCS) competencies below at SEO/SIO level.

Guidance for these can be found below:

• Success Profiles - Civil Service Behaviours (publishing.service.gov.uk)
• Government-Communications-Professional-Competency-Framework.pdf (civilservice.gov.uk)

The first-stage interview will be held remotely via Microsoft Teams; interviews are expected around w.c 6th July 2026 – this is subject to change. At this stage, you will be assessed against the following behaviour, and technical questions:

Success Profiles Behaviours

• Working together
• Communicating & influencing
• Delivering at pace

GCS Technical Competency:

• Ideas

Successful candidates will then be invited for the second-stage interview which will be held in person either at 102, Petty France, London, or another appropriate site outside of London to be decided depending on the location of successful candidates. In person interviews are expected around 20 July 2026 – this is subject to change. The location will be confirmed once the first stage interview results are released.

At this stage, you will be asked to complete a written exercise. No preparation is required for the written exercise in advance, and candidates will be provided with all they need to complete this on the day. You will be also assessed against the GCS Technical Competency – Implementation.

Please note that travel fares will be the responsibility of candidates and cannot be reimbursed.

Further details

Working pattern

This is a full-time position only due to the nature of the role. Flexible working arrangements may be considered on a case-by-case basis, in line with business needs.

Travel requirements

There will be a requirement to travel occasionally to any HMCTS site in line with business needs.

Fixed Term Appointments (FTA) on Promotion MoJ employees may apply for FTA opportunities in MoJ that are advertised at a higher grade than their current substantive grade. Where an employee accepts an FTA on promotion, this promotion will be temporary, and the employee will revert to their substantive grade upon return to their home business area, as per the loan policy for OGD loans. Before applying, employees must seek approval from their line managers to ensure they can be released for the duration of the FTA and can return to their substantive role at the end. If there is no role available at the end of the FTA, the employee will be subject to redeployment and potentially redundancy procedures.

About our benefits

We reward our people for their hard work and commitment. We have a number of family friendly and flexible working polices that will help you achieve a healthy work-life balance. In addition, we offer a range of employee benefits which include generous annual leave, a highly competitive contributory pension scheme, childcare benefits, season ticket and bicycle loans.

Proud to Serve. Proud to keep justice going.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• GCS Technical Competency: Ideas
• GCS Technical Competency: Implementation

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,914, HM Courts and Tribunals Service contributes £12,432 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Access to learning and development
• A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance
• A working culture which encourages inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Annual Leave
• Public Holidays
• Season Ticket Advance

For more information about the recruitment process, benefits and allowances and answers to general queries, please click the below link which will direct you to our Candidate Information Page.

Link: https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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.https://justicejobs.tal.net/vx/candidate/cms/About%20the%20MOJ

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

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 : SSCL Recruitment Enquiries Team
• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk
• Telephone : 0345 241 5359

Recruitment team

• Email : moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@resourcing.soprasteria.co.uk

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel a department has breached the requirement of the Recruitment Principles and would like to raise this, please contact SSCL (Moj-recruitment-vetting-enquiries@gov.sscl.com) in the first instance. If the role has been advertised externally (outside of the Civil Service) and you are not satisfied with the response, you may bring your complaint to the Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: http://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/civil-service-recruitm…

https://jobs.justice.gov.uk/careers/JobDetail/18511?entityId=18511