About the job

Job summary

• Senior Officer - Communications

Bristol

£42,001 - £44,151 + generous Civil Service defined benefit pension

About us 

The Office for Students (OfS) is the statutory regulator for higher education in England.  Our aim is to ensure that every student, whatever their background, has a fulfilling experience of higher education that enriches their lives and careers.  We do this by regulating the higher education providers on our register to make sure they are delivering high quality courses and positive outcomes for their students; where they are not, we take action.  

Job description

Purpose of the job

This is a varied role to plan and deliver high quality communications content to support the objectives and regulatory aims of OfS. Key responsibilities include: drafting and writing media content including press releases and opinion pieces to help support and advance our regulatory aims and activities; responding to complex media enquiries; verbal and written briefing of OfS spokespeople ahead of media interviews; recommending and implementing media and social media approaches on various projects and campaigns; varied work with the public affairs team including supporting OfS events; engagement with external stakeholders as well as with internal colleagues; various writing tasks including for the OfS website and intranet; assisting in the delivery of strategic communications. 

Person specification

Key person attributes

• Excellent writing skills and the ability to write journalistic prose
• Strong news sense
• Ability to describe complex concepts to a general audience
• Excellent influencing skills – both externally (to journalists and other OfS stakeholders) and internally (to OfS colleagues)
• Good and up to date understanding – or ability to quickly acquire one – of national and trade higher education media
• Ability to provide advice and guidance to OfS directors, and the head of media
• Good all round communications skills including a demonstrable ability to plan and deliver communications campaigns
• Ability to work quickly and under pressure of a range of different projects.  

Responsibilities

Core tasks 

• Press releases, articles, letters and other media content are drafted as required to tight deadlines 
• High profile and complex queries from the media are accurately and speedily handled, using judgement and autonomy as appropriate 
• Specifically, the postholder uses their judgement and skills in order to produce effective press releases and other associated media materials for the production of official statistics where they will often be the only member of the directorate with pre-release access 
• Press conferences and media briefings are organised 
• OfS leaders are effectively briefed and accompanied to media interviews – in London and other locations within England as required 
• Effective and well evaluated communications campaigns are planned and executed in collaboration with colleagues across the external relations directorate 
• Contribution to crisis communications are delivered as necessary. 
• Strategic communications for specific OfS projects and campaigns are supported.  
• Content for all OfS channels is effectively planned and well written 
• The public affairs team is supported, including through the successful holding of OfS events and effective engagement with key OfS stakeholders.  

Strategic input to media team  

• A calendar of content is developed with the Head of Media to suggest and develop ideas to help the OfS to meet its strategic aims  
• Proactive and reactive approaches to media relations are recommended using in-depth knowledge and understanding of education and specifically higher education media  
• Lines to take on various issues are developed and updated 
• We are able to effectively evaluate and report on the impact of our work – explaining to colleagues in the OfS and beyond how our work helps drive change which contributes meaningfully to the successful delivery of the OfS’ strategic aims.  

 Internal Stakeholder management 

• Strong working relationships with key internal stakeholders across directorates are developed and maintained through effective communication and the formation of good working relationships to ensure that communications are meeting regulatory objectives and accessible to all audiences.  
• Excellent relationships are developed with the OfS chief executive and directors, and your advice as a media and communications expert is valued and trusted.  

Personal and professional development 

• Opportunities to build knowledge and expertise are sought and learning and development objectives agreed with Head of Media and – where appropriate – findings are shared with colleagues. 

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £42,001, Office for Students contributes £11,382 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

Working for us 

The OfS regulates the higher education sector on behalf of all students. We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do. 
 
We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation and socio-economic background. 

Working arrangements 

Flexibility is important to the OfS, as we recognise that it can enable people to work more effectively. A set of organisation-wide principles shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. This would usually mean working from the office for two to three days in a typical week. 

To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part-time working, applies to the role.  

Closing date for applications:  18 February 2024

Interviews:  From 11 March 2024

 

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.