About the job

Job summary

This is an exciting opportunity to use your content writing and digital communications skills to make a positive impact on the UK economy and society.

Join the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and play a key role ensuring our online content is communicated clearly and effectively to everyone in the UK.

About the CMA

We help people, businesses, and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. Our work is wide ranging, ambitious and often new and challenging.

The role

As a Senior Digital Officer, you will make sure the important content the CMA generates is communicated clearly and effectively to everyone in the UK.

You will be involved in leading important projects for the team and the organisation, from making sure our digital content is helpful and accessible for our users, to developing engaging content for social media – and everything in between.

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Managing a busy publishing schedule of important content to GOV.UK, including the CMA’s regularly updated case pages
• Developing innovative digital communications plans to build genuine engagement with UK businesses and consumers
• Working with teams across the CMA to ensure users are at the heart of our content
• Regularly contributing to, and improving the CMA’s social media output, increasing engagement, and growing our digital channels
• Working with colleagues at all levels of the organisation to plan social media and digital content

You will also help manage a busy digital content team, directly line managing a Digital Officer and indirectly managing an Assistant Digital Officer.

About you

Experience of writing content, including a strong understanding of content design principles, is essential, as is experience of overseeing communications or digital content project work.

You will also need experience of working collaboratively with and managing colleagues in a fast-paced digital content environment, with the ability to communicate persuasively with colleagues at all levels.

The ability to use data to develop key insights into recommendations and communications plans is equally important.

To find out more about this opportunity and about working for the CMA, please click on the APPLY button.

Closing date for applications: 5th February 2024.

Job description

As Senior Digital Officer, you will:

• Support the Deputy Head of Digital in the line management of the team, with one direct report (Digital Officer) and one indirect report (Assistant Digital Officer)
• Help to oversee and manage a busy publishing schedule of important content to GOV.UK, including the CMA’s regularly updated case pages, taking decisions and advising on the content and articles published
• Ensure digital work meets the expected CMA high standards, including on accessibility, and advocate for those standards within the organisation and as part of the cross-government and cross-regulatory community
• Work with teams across the CMA to ensure users are at the heart of our content, and important information is presented in the most effective way
• Develop innovative digital communications plans, building genuine engagement with UK businesses and consumers as well as the CMA’s followers and users
• Regulary contribute to, and improve the CMA’s social media output, increasing engagement, and growing our digital channels.
• Work with colleagues at all levels of the organsiation to plan social media and digital content work that meets their objectives
• Evaluate the impact of our work, using insights gained to continuously optimise and improve impact, and develop our understanding of our users
• Represent the Digital Communications Team in meetings with senior individuals within the CMA, and work with them. 

Person specification

It is essential that you can provide evidence and examples for each of the following selection criteria in your application:

 

• Experience writing content, including a strong understanding of content design principles (lead criteria)
• Experience overseeing communications or digital content project work, including improvements and collaborative working (lead criteria)
• Experience communicating persuasively with colleagues at all levels
• Experience working collaboratively with and managing colleagues in a fast-paced digital content environment
• Ability to use data to develop key insights into recommendations and communications plans

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,924, Competition & Markets Authority contributes £11,589 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Things you need to know

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

As part of the application process you will be asked to complete a CV, personal statement and an online application form. Further details about application requirements are listed on the application form.

The selection process will comprise of the sift (CV & application review) and an interview. Arrangements for the interview will be enclosed in the invitation.  Interviews will be conducted virtually. 

An initial sift based on the lead criteria may be held if a large number of applications are received. If your application progresses to a full sift, all elements of the essential criteria listed under Person Specification (above, below and in the attached role profile) will then be considered.

• Experience writing content, including a strong understanding of content design principles (lead criteria)
• Experience overseeing communications or digital content project work, including improvements and collaborative working (lead criteria)
• Experience communicating persuasively with colleagues at all levels
• Experience working collaboratively with and managing colleagues in a fast-paced digital content environment
• Ability to use data to develop key insights into recommendations and communications plans

The sift will take place week commencing 5th February 2024.

If your application is successful you will be invited to attend an interview. You will be notified via email to log-in to your Civil Service Account and book your interview slot. You will be sent an email with full details of your arrangements for interview.

Interviews will be held from w/c 19 February 2024.

Successful candidates at the shortlisting stage will be invited to interview.

Candidates who are invited to interview will be asked to complete a technical assessment as part of the overall interview process. Further information on the topic of the assessment will be provided alongside the invitation to interview. The second part of the interview will involve questions based on the Behaviours and Experience outlined in the role profile. In total, we expect the interview to last no longer than 1 hour.

Existing CMA staff can apply for this position and remain working from their current office location.

Reasonable adjustments

We want to make sure no one is at a disadvantage during our recruitment process because of a disability, condition or impairment. To assist you with this, we will reduce or remove any barriers where possible and provide additional support where appropriate.

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should complete the “Assistance required” section in the “Additional requirements” page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need during the recruitment process.

For example, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you are deaf, a Language Service Professional. You might also require additional time to complete a timed assessment or a sign language interpreter to support with the relaying of information.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check. 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.