About the job

Job summary

We are looking for an experienced strategic communication manager to join our multidisciplinary communication team. You will be a proactive and confident self-starter, with a track record of spotting and driving through communication opportunities - from conception to delivery – to demonstrably further an organisation’s agenda. The role will involve leading our strategic communication and evaluation work. Working with colleagues from across the organisation, you will help to raise the profile of the SFO’s efforts, explain our work, its challenges and use communication as a lever for change.

You will be responsible for identifying opportunities for the SFO to further its organisational and policy objectives, and for planning ahead to manage reputational risks. This will include developing strategic communication plans, project-managing implementation and evaluating these efforts to shape positive outcomes for the SFO. We are looking for a candidate with experience of devising and managing communication plans with a strong audience focus, underpinned by robust insight and evaluation. Ideally you are skilled and experienced at using the GCS OASIS framework or equivalent. 

As well as understanding how targeted communication can shape desired outcomes, you will also demonstrate strong relationship building skills and an ability to bring colleagues from across the organisation on board with your proposed communication approach. Your work will involve shaping and delivering plans across different communication desks including news, digital, internal, web and branding.

The successful candidate will also lead our wider evaluation work for the team, calculating how our overall communication work has made a strategic impact and advise where it is most appropriate for us as a team, to channel our future efforts. 

Job description

As a Communication Manager (Campaigns) you will be responsible for: 

• Develop a strong understanding of the department in order to develop, lead and evaluate our strategic communication efforts.
• Work closely with the wider team and wider business to develop a strong understanding of our audiences in order to develop and manage strategic communication plans against our objectives.
• Build and maintain good working relations with colleagues, senior management, partner agencies and other departments to support communication outcomes.
• Lead the evaluation of the communication team’s work, demonstrating the impact against our defined objectives. Be a flexible, communication team-player – willing to lean into and support on communication issues as required.  

Person specification

See above and attached Job Pack.

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £37,514, Serious Fraud Office contributes £10,129 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.

Application stage

As part of the application process you will be required to provide:

• A personal statement of no more than 750 words that explains how your skills and experience meet each of the essential experience criteria as listed in the job pack.
• A supporting CV outlining your job history.

It will not be possible to provide feedback to applicants who are unsuccessful at the application stage.

Interview stage

Behaviours and essential and desirable criteria as outlined in the job pack will be tested at interview. 

Candidates invited to interview will also be required to complete an assessment.

Full details of the interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates in the invite to interview.

Sift to take place from w/c 20 May 2024.

Interviews are expected to take place w/c 10 June 2024.

All dates are indicative and subject to change.

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

Security

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.