About the job

Job summary

Help us articulate the most exciting energy plans.

As Britain’s regulator for the energy industry, Ofgem works on behalf of energy consumers to ensure that every household and business in Britain can rely on a safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable energy supply. The energy market situation in recent months is unprecedented. The record increase and volatility in global gas prices has put the energy market under severe strain, and is putting upward pressure on customers’ energy bills. Now more than ever we need to go further and faster in pursuing the country’s climate goals and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels to protect ourselves from similar future price shocks.

Building a more resilient energy retail market. Supporting the government’s climate agenda through helping to transform how we generate electricity, drive our cars and heat our homes. These aren’t simple issues. They are just some of the short and long-term challenges that Ofgem’s  Strategic Communications team is tackling.

As Lead Strategic Communications Manager,   you will help to shape policy,  commission research to

gain insight, identify realistic goals and work with the wider team to develop communication strategies. . If you’re an experienced communicator with these skills, and you like to dig deep to understand audiences and deliver the most effective communications and engagement, this is the role for you. We’re here to develop strategic, integrated communications campaigns that support the wide range of Ofgem’s priorities.

You’ll need to enjoy collaborating with a wide range of colleagues, industry partners, and government. We will expect you to have fantastic project management, influencing and networking skills, and you will have a background in developing communications plans and strategies. With experience of building long-term communications and engagement campaigns, your capacity to evaluate, develop and refine communication strategies will be essential to succeed in this role

This is an exciting opportunity to embed yourself in a team who are focused on achieving their goals. It is therefore essential that we are reflective of society, so we welcome candidates from all backgrounds, and especially individuals from underrepresented groups. While this is a full-time role, flexible working patterns and job shares are welcome, and we will strive to help you secure a great work-life balance. We will also support you with excellent training and development opportunities, plus a competitive benefits package.

Job description

To provide leadership to colleagues across the organisation by setting direction and making key decisions about what, when and how to communicate, bringing together ends (goals), ways (tactics) and means (resources) to achieve measurable changes in behaviour or perception. 

Key Responsibilities 

Insight: Develop a deep understanding of audiences, campaigns, channels and context using insight from stakeholder and media intelligence. Use this, along with understanding the operating context (such as Ofgem’s 5 Strategic Change Programmes and two enduring priorities), to develop overarching thematic strategies, identify campaign needs, inform communication objectives, craft messages and evaluate outcomes. Undertake strategic planning to inform decisions about what is communicated and when, mitigating risks and acting on opportunities to maximise impact. 

Ideas: develop insight-based, audience-focused strategies, campaigns and narratives as appropriate to set direction for the SCPs and policy teams. Develop annual communication plans setting out key communications priorities for the year ahead. 

Implementation: provide strategic oversight and project management to guide the delivery of strategies/campaigns and plans regularly, reviewing progress, adopting a test and learn approach and offering interventions if progress is not being made, co-ordinating big set pieces that require delivery from all communication disciplines. 

Impact: ensure all strategies and plans have measurable objectives for the short, medium and long-term, monitoring communication activities, identifying where communication has supported policy and sharing lessons learned to inform and improve future communication plans. 

Leadership: Build and nurture relationships with Government strategic comms and campaigns teams as appropriate, including No10 and Cabinet Office, as well as some industry/stakeholder comms colleagues. Act as a business partner for senior colleagues (PM/SCS level) across Ofgem, triaging, escalating and providing solutions for issues as required. 

 

Person specification

Essential Criteria 

• Ability to think and plan strategically to create and deliver an inspiring campaign, narrative and comms strategy using multiple channels that are adapted for different audiences. (LEAD) 
• Exceptional strategic communications skills, including project management, working within tight deadlines, balancing competing priorities. 
• Demonstrable ability to turn research and data into actionable insight that informs communications strategies.  
• Ability to influence senior internal and external colleagues.   
• Ability to horizon scan for opportunities, risks and improve plans following evaluations. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £43,650, OFGEM contributes £11,785 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.

When you press the ‘Apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the sift panel), your career history and qualifications.  

You will then be asked to provide a 1250 word ‘personal statement’ evidencing how you meet the essential and desirable skills and capabilities listed in the role profile. Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your supporting statement, how you meet each of the essential and desirable skills and capabilities. 

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.