Senior Internal Communications Adviser  (Ref: 18949)

Job summary

Please refer to Job Description

Job description

Location: National with a base at one of the following MOJ hubs: Birmingham, London, Nottingham.

About the team

This is a great opportunity to make a difference by joining the proactive and highly respected MOJ internal communications team. In 2025 we were named the Best Public Sector Communications team in the UK by the Institute of Internal Communications (IOIC). It’s a great place to work.

We are looking for an experienced, high-performing and collaborative communications professional to join our team and establish themselves as a trusted adviser to senior leadership.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is one of the largest government organisations, with more than 95,000 staff in offices, courts and prisons across the country.

Across the team, our approach focuses on: engaging colleagues in the organisation’s purpose; building a culture of delivery; and supporting leaders to communicate effectively with their people, including leading through change. All our work is in line with the GCS Internal Comms Principles.

Job Description

Your role will focus on our purpose and leadership strand of work, working on a varied programme that combines creative, factual and also reactive internal communications, including for the Deputy Prime Minister, Permanent Secretary and wider leadership team. At times, you may lean across into our wider work to build a culture of delivery and high performance.

You will build strong relationships with leaders, and partner with senior internal stakeholders, to provide strategic and reactive communications advice. You will be expected to exercise sound communications judgement in complex and high-profile environments, balancing pace, quality, stakeholder needs and organisational priorities. You will be trusted to drive work forward independently, while recognising when wider engagement, leadership backing or escalation is required.

You will play an important role in developing and delivering outstanding communications to inform and inspire thousands of staff, motivating them to maximise their performance to deliver crucial services.

You will line manage one person.

Personal specification

You will be an experienced communications professional.

You may have a background in any of the communications disciplines.

You will bring excellent communications judgement, strong editorial instincts and the ability to operate confidently in fast-moving environments where priorities, stakeholder views and organisational pressures frequently compete.

People who are successful in this role will be:

· Comfortable exercising independent judgement based on insight while recognising when to seek advice, involve stakeholders or secure leadership backing.

· Comfortable working with ambiguity in complex and high-profile environments, and able to create clarity and direction for others.

· Curious and motivated to understand the wider organisational and societal context that informs our work.

· Solutions-focused and able to bring workable ideas and recommendations.

· Proactive and confident in driving work forward, taking responsibility for outcomes.

· Able to identify what matters most in complex situations and make sound, well-reasoned decisions at pace, factoring in risks and opportunities.

· Highly collaborative, with the ability to build trusted relationships and bring people with them.

Trusted adviser

· Proven ability to advise and influence senior stakeholders on internal communications strategy, including offering constructive challenge where required.

· Proactive in building and maintaining collaborative relationships with colleagues at all grades across the organisation, including senior stakeholders, and involving the right people early enough to secure buy-in.

· Ability to connect communications activity to organisational outcomes.

Behaviours and mindset

· A focus on creativity, innovation and continuous improvement to improve the service you deliver.

· Confident in deciding how to prioritise your work when handling competing priorities, balancing pace, quality, stakeholder needs and organisational priorities. Comfortable working under pressure to changing deadlines, while maintaining judgement, professionalism and quality.

Communications capabilities

Essential

· Excellent grasp of the end-to-end communication process: experience developing and delivering communication plans from objective through to evaluation, clearly linked to organisational outcomes.

· Strong planning and organisational skills, including the ability to prioritise effectively and keep activity moving in a fast-paced environment.

· Content creation: experience in turning complex policy and organisational language into easy-to-understand creative copy, with excellent drafting and editorial skills.

· Demonstrates practical use of AI and digital tools to improve the quality of communications.

· Evaluate the effectiveness of work to deliver continuous improvement, using insight, feedback and evidence to improve outcomes.

Desirable experience

· Leading and delivering in-person and online events.

· Developing and delivering internal campaigns content.

About the vacancy

This vacancy is using Success Profiles, and will assess your behaviours, strengths, and experience.

We'll assess you against these 4 competencies behaviours during the selection process:

Civil Service competencies (https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a815610ed915d74e33fda4b…)

· Seeing the Big Picture

· Communicating and Influencing

· Delivering at Pace

GCS competencies (https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/competency-framework)

· Insight

Stage 1: Application and Sift

As part of the application process you will need to provide:

· A CV

· A statement of suitability of up to 750 words aligned to the job description and person specification. Your statement should include evidence of strong communications judgement, ownership, influence, delivery and the ability to navigate ambiguity and stakeholder complexity.

Stage 2: Interview

If you are successful at the sift stage, you will be invited to a blended interview. At interview stage you will be assessed against the behaviours and experience listed in this vacancy, plus strengths. The interview will take place in person at MOJ’s London HQ. It will include a panel interview and written activity, designed to test your communications judgement, ability to prioritise, and ability to provide clear advice in a realistic scenario.

Person specification

Please refer to Job Description

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• GCS - Insight

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,914, Ministry of Justice 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.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/18949?entityId=18949