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Job summary

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is seeking a talented and motivated Senior Press Officer to join one of the government’s busiest and highest-profile press offices.

From supporting the Armed Forces at home and overseas to responding to international crises and driving major defence policy, our communications help explain complex issues to the public and maintain confidence in the UK's defence mission.

This is a role for someone who thrives under pressure, enjoys working at the centre of the news agenda and has a genuine interest in defence, national security and current affairs.

If you're a dynamic leader with a passion for communications, an instinct for the news agenda and an interest in defence, this is a unique opportunity to make a real impact.

You will be expected to work from the Ministry of Defence’s Whitehall Office.

This position is advertised at 37 hours per week.

Job description

What you’ll be doing:

• The Ministry of Defence, including the Royal Navy, , British Army, and , Royal Air Force are subject to intense public, parliamentary and media scrutiny.
• You will be responsible for delivering successful proactive and reactive communications in the press office which protect and enhance the reputation of the MOD and the Armed Forces.

You will:

• Working to the Chief Press Officer on your desk, lead and develop a team of press officers, creating a supportive, high-performing environment where people can thrive.
• Oversee the day-to-day running of a busy press office desk, ensuring work is prioritised effectively and high standards are maintained, even during periods of intense activity.
• Develop proactive media strategies that help tell the story of UK defence and support wider government priorities.
• Respond to enquiries from national, international, regional, consumer and digital media outlets in order to enhance and protect the reputation of the department, ministers and senior military officers.
• Draft press releases, statements, rebuttals and briefings for senior spokespeople across Defence.
• Coordinate communications during breaking news and operational activity, ensuring responses are accurate, timely and effective.
• Work closely with policy, operational and digital communications colleagues to deliver joined-up campaigns and messaging.
• Manage media access at a range of high-profile events.
• Provide professional and comprehensive communications advice to ministers, military officers, senior officials, special advisors, and members of the Directorate of Defence Communications. As part of the wider press office management team, Senior Press Officers will act as a role model in the office, offering guidance and support to colleagues in their day-to-day work and to develop them over time, as well as have the leadership skills to provide direction and focus to both their own team and others across the office.
• You will also be required to take part in the out-of-hours duty rota, dealing with media enquiries across the full breadth of the MOD’s responsibilities.
• This can occasionally involve overnight stays in MOD accommodation, for which a separate allowance is paid.

Communication areas you will cover include, but are not restricted to:

• Military Operations
• Equipment procurement and latest technology being developed in Defence
• Personnel related issues, including wider Defence policy issues that affect how the UK Armed Forces operate

The role will provide opportunities for travel, both within the UK and abroad wider media minding asks from across the directorate.

Person specification

Who we are looking for:

Essential criteria include:

• Excellent understanding of the media, social media and new media landscape.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The ability to pay attention to detail and absorb complex information at pace in order to inform and produce plain language communications that clearly articulate the department’s objectives.
• The discretion to handle classified and sensitive information pertaining to policy or personnel issues.
• Confidence and strategic judgement, as successful candidates will be required to become a trusted adviser to ministers and senior military officers.

Desirable criteria include:

• A proven record of working either in a media/press office environment or in defence policy areas.
• Experience of news management in PR or journalism.
• Experience of using social media and evaluating communications.

Behaviours

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

• Working Together
• Making Effective Decisions
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills

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

• GCS - Ideas

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £46,040, Ministry of Defence contributes £13,337 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Free use of gym at Main Building
• Season ticket advance to assist with travel costs to/from home and your permanent work location

The post does not offer relocation expenses.

External recruits who join the MOD who are new to the Civil Service will be subject to a six-month probation period.

Please Note: Expenses incurred for travel to interviews will not be reimbursed.

Please be advised that the Department is conducting a review of all pay related allowances which could impact on those allowances that the post currently being advertised attracts.

Any move to MOD 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk/.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to providing a safe and healthy working environment for its staff which includes educating them on the benefits of not smoking, protecting them from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke and supporting those who want to give up smoking. Under the Smoke-Free Working Environment policy, Smoking and the use of all tobacco products (including combustible and chewing tobacco products) will not be permitted anywhere in the Defence working environment however some exemptions are in place, please refer to local guidance. The policy is Whole Force and includes all Defence personnel, contractors, visitors and other non-MOD personnel. All applicants seeking, considering, or accepting employment with the Ministry of Defence should be aware of this policy and that it is already in place at a number of Defence Establishments.

MOD Recruitment Satisfaction Survey – We may contact you regarding your experience to help us improve our customer satisfaction. The survey is voluntary and anonymous. You may however be given the opportunity to provide additional information to help us improve our service which includes the collection of some personal data as defined by the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The MOD Privacy Policy Notice sets out how we will use your personal data and your rights.

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.

We will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills (GCS Framework)

Candidates will be required to provide CV details to include job history; qualification details and previous skills and experience.

Candidates will be required to provide a statement of suitability. (250 Word count)

At sift, candidates will be assessed against their CV and Statement of suitability .

At interview, candidates will be assessed against the following:

Behaviours:

• Working Together

• Making Effective Decisions

• Communicating and Influencing

• Delivering at Pace

Technical Skill:

• Technical Skills GCS - Ideas

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.

There may be occasions where it is not practicable or appropriate to interview all DCS candidates that meet the minimum criteria for the job. For example, in certain recruitment situations such as a high volume of applications, seasonal demand, or peak periods, the employer may wish to limit the overall number of interviews offered to both DCS and non-DCS applicants.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.
Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

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.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 : Ranald Dinsdale
• Email : Ranald.dinsdale100@mod.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : DBSCivPers-ResourcingTeam3@mod.gov.uk

Further information

Please ensure you read the attached candidate information document prior to completing your application. If you are dissatisfied with the service you have received from DBS, or believe that DBS has failed to follow the recruitment process in line with the Civil Service Commission principles of selection for appointment on merit on the basis of Fair and Open competition, you can raise a formal complaint by writing to DBS at the following address: Defence Business Services, Scanning Hub, Room 6124, Tomlinson House, Norcross Lane, Blackpool, FY5 3WP. If after raising your complaint with DBS you remain dissatisfied you can complain directly to the Civil Service Commission at the following address: Civil Service commission, Room G/8, 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ Or by email: info@csc.gov.uk.

Attachments

Candidate Information 2025 Opens in new window (docx, 31kB)Defence Internal Brief Notice Opens in new window (docx, 39kB)EXTERNAL PACK Opens in new window (pdf, 1562kB)