Senior External Affairs Manager (Ref: 17204)

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

Job description

About the Ministry of Justice

From keeping drugs out of prisons and cutting crime, to overhauling sentencing laws and delivering justice for victims – the Ministry of Justice is doing important work to make our streets safer as part of the Government’s Plan for Change. It’s a large department, often at the forefront of the news agenda and our relationships with stakeholders across the justice system are crucial.

Our small External Affairs team plays a key role helping to build and maintain those relationships to enhance policy development and improve the delivery of our services. The team supports colleagues across the department navigate the complex landscape of agencies, charities and advocates which it interacts with.

The team provides regular updates to our stakeholders and a route into policymakers. It also has a renewed focus on collaborating with our stakeholders to communicate government policy and initiatives. This involves working with other communications colleagues in the press office, digital, visits and internal communications.

And with a diverse remit including prisons and probation, family justice, victim support and the courts system, no day is ever the same in this busy office.

About the role

Working as a Senior External Affairs Manager within this team is an exciting challenge and will certainly develop you as a professional communicator.

We are looking for a proactive and skilled individual to drive high-quality stakeholder engagement and produce plans which help mitigate criticism and boost third-party support in the media. In this role you will build, develop and maintain effective relationships with a diverse range of key stakeholders, contribute to strategic communications planning, and support senior civil servants, Ministers and the Lord Chancellor in their engagement activities.

You will work within a fast-paced environment, responding quickly to changing priorities while maintaining strategic focus. This role requires excellent judgement, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to navigate complex policy landscapes while building trusted relationships.

The Communications Team at the Ministry of Justice prides itself on its supportive, collaborative culture and diversity, and is often highlighted for its innovative, impactful work. Ensuring our colleagues have a good work-life balance is important to us and our flexible working policy helps those with caring responsibilities.

About the GCS

By joining a communications team, you will become a member of the Government Communications Service, a profession of around 6000 communicators working in government departments, agencies and arm’s length bodies. You’ll benefit from continuous professional development from our new learning and development curriculum, a network of skilled communicators sharing best practice, mentoring opportunities, and more!

For more information on how becoming a part of the Communications Profession can support your career and development please visit our https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/professions/working-in-communications/

For our top tips on how to write your application, please take a look at our recruitment top tips for candidates guide Recruitment: top tips for candidates - GCS

Key Responsibilities

Your key responsibilities will be:

● Identifying influential stakeholders across the justice system, monitoring their positions on key issues, and producing regular reports.

● Developing and implementing comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategies that align with departmental priorities and policy goals.

● Managing relationships through direct engagement, events, visits and tailored communications while building advocacy for government initiatives.

● Contributing to cross-cutting communications campaigns, ensuring stakeholder perspectives are integrated into planning and delivery.

● Collaborating with stakeholders to find communications activity we can link-up to build the case for changes the government is making.

● Working with the press office and digital communications teams to find ways to involve our stakeholders in MoJ communications plans.

● Coordinating with colleagues across government, in particular those involved in the Safer Streets mission, to ensure a joined-up approach to external engagement.

● Evaluating the impact of stakeholder engagement activities to demonstrate value and inform future approaches.

● Supporting the development of an External Affairs Manager (HEO grade).

With the support of an experienced network of peers and a strong focus on professional development, you will continue to develop skills in these areas. Your work with colleagues across different communications disciplines places you in a good position to build a wide-range of communications expertise.

Person Specification

Government Communications is determined to ensure that the profession is representative of the audiences we are communicating with and welcomes applications from the widest range of people of different backgrounds, cultures and experiences. You can find out more by visiting https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/

Essential Criteria:

● Experience in stakeholder engagement, external affairs or public relations, with proven ability to build and maintain strategic relationships at all levels

● Understanding of the political landscape and experience in navigating complex stakeholder environments

● Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to write clear briefings for a diverse range of stakeholders and audiences

● Experience of managing multiple projects, prioritising competing demands and managing sensitive information

● Good understanding of strategic communications and stakeholder management principles

● Collaborative working, a proactive team player with sound problem solving abilities, an ability to interpret complex information and deliver clear and engaging content.

Desirable Criteria:

● Experience of using stakeholder management systems and tools

● Leadership and team management capabilities, including setting clear direction, supporting team members, and adopting an inclusive leadership style that values diversity and inclusion.

● Understanding of the media landscape, from traditional print and broadcast to social media and influencer-based communications.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture

Technical skills

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

• Describe a time when you have worked with press office or digital comms colleagues to incorporate stakeholder voices into external communications. What did you learn?

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £49,325, Ministry of Justice contributes £14,289 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.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.

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/17204?entityId=17204