About the job

Job summary

We are currently looking for an experienced Deputy Director-Communications to join our Communications and Engagement Team to cover 7 months’ paternity leave.

This is a full-time opportunity, on a loan, or secondment basis until the end of September 2024. The role will be based in 10 South Colonnade, Canary Wharf London, E14 4PU with occasional traveling to South Mimms, Hertfordshire, or other locations. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas.  

Government departments and agencies are working towards implementing a minimum 60% attendance in office sites.

We are currently implementing a flexible, hybrid way of working, with a minimum of 4 days per month working on site to enable the collaboration and contact with partners and stakeholders needed to deliver MHRA business. Attendance on site is driven by business needs so depending on the nature of the role, this can flex up to 8 days a month, with the remainder of time worked either remotely or in the office. Some roles will need to be on site more regularly. Remote working is potentially available for some specific roles. Please discuss this with the recruiting manager before accepting an appointment. 

 

Who are we? 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency enhance and improve the health of millions of people every day through the effective regulation of medicines and medical devices, underpinned by science and research.  

The MHRA is a world class regulator making the right benefit risk judgements and delivering the right outcomes for patients. We have an exciting opportunity in our multi award-winning Communications and Engagement group for a new Deputy Director – Communications to cover paternity leave for 7 months. You will lead our Communications team, with your focus being strategic communications, risk communications, marketing, and internal communications and engagement.

Job description

What’s the role?

The successful candidate in this high profile and influential senior leadership role will provide strategic advice, leading high-profile, agency-wide cross cutting communications projects to improve operational effectiveness and public and patient safety, working with senior stakeholders internally and externally. You will advise senior leaders on high-profile communications and engagement issues, many of which are confidential, sensitive and involve understanding of complex issues, development of communications strategies and approaches. In addition, you will develop and lead on internal communications and engagement strategies, enabling employee engagement and promote a patient and customer focused culture. This role is to cover paternity leave for 7 months.

 

Key responsibilities: 

•  Lead the communications team, ensuring high quality service provision through providing clear strategic direction and priorities, and contribute to the leadership of the Communications and Engagement Group and the wider agency.
•  Lead and oversee the delivery, continuous improvement, and evaluation of programmes of strategic communications, safety and risk communications, and marketing, delivering agreed outcomes and behaviour change and working with colleagues across the agency to deliver our communications and reputation strategy in an integrated and coordinated way.
• Lead internal communications and engagement, ensuring employees feel better informed and are engaged in delivering for patients; improving employee engagement / voice; improving the effectiveness of internal communications channels; and promoting a patient and customer focused culture.
•  Excellent communication and interpersonal skills both written and oral, with the ability to accurately and confidently communicate, influence and challenge staff and external contacts at all levels.
•  Advise senior leaders on high-profile, confidential, and sensitive communication issues, many of which are involve understanding of complex issues, development of engagement strategies and approaches, and engagement with senior external stakeholders.
•  Build and maintain excellent working relationships with diverse groups of people, with the ability to quickly establish credibility and work effectively with other teams and senior colleagues both from inside and outside an expert organisation.

Person specification

Who are we looking for? 

• Managing a Quality Service - A confident self-starter, who can operate independently and manage conflicting priorities while delivering to deadline but can also operate flexibly as part of a team and encourages feedback and the views of others.
• Leadership - Strong team leader, working closely with colleagues and team members to deliver organisational objectives. Self-motivated, with a strong sense of personal accountability, ensuring tasks, projects and issues are appropriately dealt with to their successful delivery or conclusion.
• Working Together - Advanced diplomatic skills, able to handle challenging circumstances or relationships, talented at establishing and sustaining productive stakeholder relationships.
•  Strong senior leadership and management skills, able to demonstrate significant experience of leading multi-functional communications units in a complex organisation, including motivating and developing staff, and managing their performance.
• Senior level experience of developing communication strategies and delivering complex communication campaigns and programmes using a range of tools and techniques, drawing on an understanding of customer and business insight and your own emotions and those of others to demonstrate empathy.
• Senior level project management skills, with the ability to lead engagement projects involving cross-organisational and external team members. Including ability to anticipate potential risks, handle any unanticipated problems and develop and communicate solutions to achieve successful resolution whilst delivering a high standard of customer service.

 

If you would like to find out more about this fantastic opportunity, please read our Job Description and Person Specification! 

 

Please note: The job description may not open in some internet browsers. Please use Chrome or Microsoft Edge. If you have any issue viewing the job description, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £75,000, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency contributes £20,250 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

The selection process: 

We use the Civil Service Success Profiles to assess our candidates, find out more here. 

 

• Online application form, including a statement of suitability, attached as a PDF no more than 2 pages of A4 of demonstrating how you meet the person specification (Behaviours, Technical and Experience criteria). Please ensure all application questions are completed in full; your application may not be considered if any responses are left blank. Our applications are CV blind, and our Hiring Managers will not be able to access your CV when reviewing your application. Please ensure not to include any personal identifying information on your supporting information.
• Presentation, to be prepared as part of your interview, with further information being supplied when you reach this stage. 
• Interview, which can include questions based on the Behaviour, Experience, Technical and Strengths Success Profiles. 

 

Applicants are assessed on whether they meet any mandatory requirements as well as the necessary skills and experience for the role. Applications are scored based on the statement of suitability provided. You can view the criteria for this role in the job description.

 

If you require any disability related adjustments at any point during the process, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk as soon as possible. 

  

Closing date: 31/12/2023

Interview date: 09 or 11 /01/2024

 

If you need assistance applying for this role or have any other questions, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk 

 

Candidates will be subject to UK immigration requirements as well as Civil Service nationality rules. Further information on whether you are able to apply is available here. 

Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check as well as animal rights and pro-life activism checks. People working with government assets must complete basic personnel security standard checks.

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.

Any move to the MHRA 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 here.

 

Successful candidates may be subject to annual Occupational Health reviews dependent on role requirements. If you have any queries, please contact careers@mhra.gov.uk.

 

In accordance with the Civil Service Commissioners’ Recruitment Principles our recruitment and selection processes are underpinned by the requirement of selection for appointment on the basis of merit by a fair and open competition. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should firstly contact Mira Mepa, Head of Recruitment and Operations, Mira.Mepa@mhra.gov.uk.  

 

If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, you can contact the Civil Service Commission at: civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk 

 

info@csc.gov.uk 

Civil Service Commission 

Room G/8 

1 Horse Guards Road 

London 

SW1A 2HQ 

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.