Senior Strategy & Planning Manager - Strategy and Campaigns - GCS

Job summary

Our mission is to deliver exceptional public service communication that makes a difference.

People work in government communications because what we do matters. We explain the objectives and policies of the government of the day. We provide clarity and reassurance to the public at times of crisis. We support businesses to grow. We protect our environment. We help those in need to access support.

The Government Communication Service (GCS) is the professional body for all public service communicators working in government. Our GCS membership incorporates marketing, stakeholder engagement, internal communications, media, digital and social, and operational communications professionals. We collaborate across government with 25 ministerial departments, 21 non-ministerial departments and more than 300 agencies in addition to other public bodies.

It's an exciting time to be a communications professional in government. The launch of the GCS Strategy 2022-2025 sets our vision to harness the rapid technological changes in communications for the public good; whilst developing our talent with unparalleled opportunities for learning and development. All whilst carrying out interesting, meaningful and purposeful work.

The Team

This is a small, dynamic and creative team of communications experts that assure, enhance and support the delivery of all major government campaigns, ensuring they are effective and deliver value to the taxpayer. We provide oversight of UK Government brands and ensure that the Prime Minister’s priority themes for communication are identified, agreed and shared across departments and arm’s-length bodies (ALBs). This team works collaboratively across government to respond to crises and to create impactful campaigns that support PM and Ministerial priorities. This team works in a highly matrix fashion across the GCS Strategy and Expert services function.

Job description

Job Description

This role will support the delivery and reform of the Cabinet Office spend control process for advertising, marketing and communications (AMC) spend across government. You will work with internal Cabinet Office stakeholders, departments and ALBs to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of the process, identify and mitigate against risks, and develop suggestions for improvements.

You will manage delivery of a cross-government Director of Communications (DoCs) steering group, ensuring forward thinking and timely sharing of updates within the DoC community and other stakeholders. You will coordinate plans across the year, including advising senior leaders which topics should be focused on, when and how; making connections with previous meetings and other relevant sessions; and being a point of contact for people to propose areas they might like to focus on, showcase, etc.

You will also work collaboratively across GCS and across government to coordinate the development and publication of the annual Government Communication Plan, ensuring the project is delivered on-time and has senior buy-in from the outset.

Person specification

Responsibilities & Duties

Experience / Ability

• Work with the wider Strategy and Campaigns team to ensure the effective delivery of the cross-government AMC control approval process.
• Lead on reporting and correspondence on the control, including its efficacy.
• Engage with communication teams across departments and ALBs to promote and explain the AMC control and how they can best engage with the assurance process.
• Work with teams across government to identify opportunities for improvement. Test and manage any process changes with stakeholders, ensuring they have clarity on what to expect over the year.
• Support engagement with the Cabinet Office Central Controls Team and other functional control teams to ensure a consistent approach.
• Work closely with internal and departmental stakeholders, including engaging senior leaders, in order to develop and publish an overarching government communication strategy that is supported across departments and ALBs.
• Oversee planning for and actions resulting from DoCs meetings to ensure tasks are actioned, blockers are removed and any issues and risks are flagged.
• Experience as a trusted communication advisor, building and maintaining successful and productive working relationships across complex organisations.
• Experience or substantial understanding of campaign and campaign planning, insight and evaluation strongly desirable.
• Experience of working in highly collaborative, mutually supportive, inclusive and high performing teams.
• Postholder will ideally have experience of, or appetite for, working across Whitehall as you will help bring together a number of plans to form one comprehensive plan, that is supported across Departments at the most senior level, with Ministerial buy-in.
• Excellent attention to detail, proven organisational skills and the ability to work to tight deadlines under pressure.
• Excellent communication skills: coordinating communication strategies, presentation skills, briefings, verbal updates.
• Excellent judgement, creative problem solving skills, political awareness and the ability to identify future/developing risks and issues.
• Ability to work in ambiguity.
• Responsible for planning and delivering your area of work, on time and to full objectives/KPIs.
• Responsibility for advising the team on delivery progress and decisions requiring senior steer or escalation.

Technical

• Affiliated with professional body for comms an advantage but not necessary (e.g. CIM, CIPR, PRCA)

Additional information:

Cabinet Office policy is that a minimum 60% of your working time should be spent at your principal workplace. For some roles, due to their nature and the business need, this may be up to 100%. Requirements to attend other locations for official business will also count towards this level of attendance.

Behaviours

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

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £47,670, Cabinet Office contributes £13,809 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

• Learning and development tailored to your role.
• An environment with flexible working options.
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
• A Civil Service Pension which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and employer contributions of 28.97%.
• A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

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 and Experience.

Application process

As part of the application process, you will be asked to submit a CV, and 500-word personal statement outlining any previous employment history, qualifications and skills that would make you suitable for this role.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be undertaken using your experience from your CV. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

Selection process

For your interview, you will be asked questions on the following behaviours:

• Seeing the Big Picture
• Managing a Quality Service
• Working Together

You may also be asked questions on your CV and personal statement.

More information about Behaviours:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles/success-profiles-civil-service-behaviours

Expected timeline (subject to change)
Expected sift date – TBC
Expected interview date/s – TBC
Interview location - Your interview will either be conducted face to face or by video. You will be notified of the location if you are selected for interview.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put 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 cabinetofficerecruitmenbt.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.

Further information

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years UK residency in the past 5. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

Any move to Cabinet Office from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

A reserve list will be held for a period of 12 months, from which further appointments can be made.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

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. .

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the Demystifying Vetting website.

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

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 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 : Emma Hill
• Email : emma.hill@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

Recruitment team

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

Further information

Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk
If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk/.

Attachments

Cabinet Office Employee Offer (1) Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions - External 2025-02-20 Opens in new window (docx, 83kB)