Senior Marketing Manager

Job summary

The Home Office works to build a safe, fair and prosperous UK. We achieve this through our work on counter-terrorism, policing, crime, drugs policy, immigration and passports.

The Communications Directorate is a multi-disciplinary team delivering the Home Office’s communications strategy. We are insight-led and results-driven, and our marketing campaigns support strategic objectives using a wide range of channels. We seek to provide high quality media, rebuttal and social media services. Our Internal Communications team supports employee engagement and business transformation.

Home Office Communications is insight-led, results-driven, multi-disciplinary team, and our marketing campaigns support strategic objectives using a wide range of channels. You will join a multi-disciplinary team with colleagues based across the UK, working together to deliver the Home Office’s communications strategy.

We believe a positive, open and supportive culture is essential to help everyone deliver their best work. We value diversity and provide an inclusive and encouraging environment for our team members. We nurture our talent and offer a broad range of learning and development opportunities to help you fulfil your potential.

Job description

The post will sit in the directorate’s specialist marketing team who work on a range of campaigns to inform the public and/or change attitudes and behaviours, targeting a range of audiences across all media channels. As well as the opportunity to work on campaigns that improve lives and the safety and security of the UK, the successful candidate will work with some of the best media and creative agencies in the business.

We are seeking an experienced and passionate Senior Marketing Manager to develop and implement marketing strategies in support of the Home Secretary’s priority areas.

You will have strong experience in a communications delivery role and expertise in developing and delivering integrated paid-for marketing campaigns. The successful candidate will bring experience of leading campaign activity from initial research through strategic development, creative and media planning and implementation and evaluation. They will have excellent marketing skills as well as the ability to build strong relationships with a diverse range of audiences and stakeholders.

It is essential that candidates are highly organised, with an ability to work autonomously and prioritise effectively. Strong project management skills will be key. In addition, candidates should have experience of accurately managing budgets, including forecasting future spend.

Key Responsibilities:

• Campaign development: sourcing and analysing insight to set KPIs, define audiences and inform creative and media plans.
• Internal and external stakeholder management: including securing approval of plans with ministers and GCS, and collaboration with policy colleagues and other specialist communications teams.
• Agency management: briefing, approval and evaluation of communications agency work.
• Implementation of communications plans: including advertising production, PR, delivery, partnerships and paid media plans.
• Evaluation: close working with the Insight team and research agencies to set, measure and report on KPIs and analyse results to improve future campaigns.
• Budget management: accurate management of campaign budgets including forecasting and payments.
• Contribute to development of the Marketing team: seek opportunities to promote the work of the Marketing team and improve knowledge and skills within the team.

Line Management

The role is likely to involve line management of Marketing Manager(s), so experience of staff management and delivery through others would be beneficial.

Working Pattern

This role is available on a full-time basis with the option of compressed hours working. This role is also suitable for part-time working hours, with a minimum requirement to work 4 days / 29.6 hours per week due to business requirements.

We encourage applications from candidates who wish to work part-time; however, part-time opportunities cannot be guaranteed and are subject to the requirements of the role and business. Candidates wishing to work part-time should notify the vacancy holder as soon as a provisional offer of employment is made, to explore whether this can be accommodated at your selected location.

Person specification

Essential Criteria:

• Experience working on multi-channel marketing campaigns from brief to delivery, including agency briefing and management, budget oversight and forecasting, creative strategy and aptitude for developing propositions, messaging and production of creative assets in various formats, media strategy, planning and implementation of integrated multi-channel media campaigns and public relations strategy and activation, including partnerships.
• Experience of sourcing, analysing and prioritising relevant sources of data and insight to inform campaign development and objectives as well as managing a range of data and methodologies for campaign evaluation to demonstrate impact.
• Demonstrated ability to lead projects independently, managing all stages of campaign delivery and directing others where required to achieve successful outcomes.
• Ability to collaborate with a range of internal teams and external stakeholders, who may have conflicting priorities and interests. A track record of influencing at a senior level to secure buy-in to proposals.
• Experienced in managing agency delivery, from briefing to performance oversight.
• Excellent project management skills, with the ability to work at pace across multiple priorities and experience of managing substantial budgets.

Desirable Criteria:

• A formal marketing qualification, eg CIM, is desirable but not essential.

Behaviours

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

• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing

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

• Making Effective Decisions

Technical skills

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

• Insight
• Ideas
• Implementation
• Impact

Benefits

In addition to your salary, a career with the Home Office offers a range of benefits, including:

• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
• In-year reward scheme for one-off or sustained exceptional personal or team achievements.
• 25 days annual leave on appointment, rising with service to 30 days.
• Eight days of public holidays, plus one additional privilege day.
• Where business needs allow, some roles may be suitable for a combination of office and home-based working. This is a non-contractual arrangement where all employees will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of their working time in an office.

  Recruitment and Retention Allowance (RRA):

  The role attracts a Recruitment and Retention Allowance of £3800.

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.

This gives us the best possible chance of finding the right person for the job, drives up performance and improves diversity and inclusivity.

We will endeavour to conduct the selection process in line with the dates indicated below, but cannot guarantee that these will not, where necessary, be revised.

As part of the application process, you will first be asked to confirm your eligibility by providing some basic personal information.

After submission of this first stage, you will be invited to complete the followingCivil Service Verbal test.

1. Online Test – by 20th February 2026.

If you successfully pass the Civil Service Verbaltest, you will be invited to complete the full application form. Please complete the online test as soon as possible (within 24-48 hours is recommended). If you fail to complete the online test or full application before the deadline, your application will be withdrawn.

Guidance for the Civil Service test will be available when you are invited to take the test. The online test are accessed via the Civil Service Jobs website.

You cannot complete the test on a mobile phone or tablet.

Following successful completion of your test, you will then be asked to complete the full application form.

2. Application – by 20th February 2026.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete:

• CV.
• Personal Statement (maximum 500 words).
• Evidence of the Behaviour – Making Effective Decisions (maximum of 250 words).

Your CV should consist of your career history, qualifications and skills/experience, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

For guidance and information on how to construct your application (CV, Personal Statement and Behaviours), you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers website.

3. Sift – from 20th February 2026.

The sift will be held on the Personal Statement, CV, Behaviour Making Effective Decisions, as listed in the advert.

Should a high volume of applications be received, an initial sift will be conducted on the CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift will then be progressed to a full sift where the Personal Statement and behaviour Making Effective Decisions will be scored. These candidates will therefore receive a sift score for all elements. Candidates who fail to meet the minimum pass score for the CV will not have their Personal Statement or behaviour scored and will therefore only receive a sift score for the CV.

4. Interview – from 16th March 2026.

If you are successful at sift stage, you will be invited to an interview that will be Technical Skills based questions and Behaviours.

The Technical questions will be centred around Government Communication Professional Competency Framework. Please refer to: Competency Framework - technical specifications - GCS

The interview will take place in person, at 2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF.

Travel expenses will not be reimbursed.

In addition, candidates will be asked to complete a written exercise at the beginning of their interview, and to prepare a presentation that will be delivered at interview. Further details around what this written exercise and presentation will entail will be provided to those invited to interview.

The presentation and written exercise will be assessed against the GCS Competency Framework and will be assessed against the Technical Skills as listed in the job advertisement.

For guidance and information on what to expect and how to prepare for an interview, you are encouraged to visit Civil Service Careers.

Problems during the application process

If you experience problems accessing this advert, or you think you’ve made a mistake on an initial application, please contact hocandidates.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk, including the vacancy reference, at least two working days before the vacancy closes. Further information can be found on our website.

Location Preferences

You can select up to threelocations in order of preference. Please ensure that these are locations you are prepared to travel to. If you are offered a role at one of your preferred location(s) and you decline, your application will be withdrawn.

Reserve List

A reserve list may be held for a period of up to 12 months from which further appointments may be made. There is no guarantee that being held on a reserve list will lead to a job offer. Further information can be found on our website.

Standards

All Civil Servants are expected to comply with the Civil Service Code, and its core values of integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality.

Additional Security Checks

As well as successfully obtaining UK Security Vetting clearance, candidates will be subject to a range of additional checks. The range of checks carried out will depend on whether you are a current Home Office employee, existing civil servant or an external new entrant as well as the role requirements. The level of Criminal Record Check required for this role is Basic. Further details are included in the Notes to Candidates.

Further Information

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service on your behalf. However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct.

If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

Reasonable Adjustments

If a person with disabilities is at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should:

• Contact Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs

• Complete the “Assistance Required” section in the “Additional Requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you're deaf, a language service professional

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘Contact point for applicants’ section.

Feedback

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 counter-terrorist 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 : Home Office Resourcing Centre – Corporate Enablers
• Email : HORCCampaignTeamCorporateEnablers@homeoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service recruitment principles and you wish to make a complaint, then contact the Government Recruitment Service via HOrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission.

Attachments

2025-11-17 Pre-employment Checking - Document Requirements (V17) Opens in new window (pdf, 231kB)candidate_information_v16_January_2026 Opens in new window (pdf, 429kB)