Head of Strategic Communications, Campaigns and Content

Are you passionate about public health and the power of communications to create positive change? We are looking for an experienced, creative strategic communications professional, to lead our Strategic Communications, Campaigns and Content team, within UKHSA’s Communications Directorate.
This role leads a diverse and talented team of strategists, planners, writers, designers and videographers with a broad remit. The work of the team ranges from campaign creation to increasing the impact of UKHSA’s social media channels. You will have the chance to develop creative solutions to some of the most important health challenges of our time, from promoting vaccine take up, to combating antimicrobial resistance and building a greater understanding of the health effects of climate change.
You will also support our critical incident and emergency response work, overseeing the delivery of a wide range of creative content, that will inform and guide the public to take the right action to protect their health, at times of risk.
If you have experience of leading and developing multidisciplinary communication teams, to deliver creative, impactful campaigns and digital content, along with a passion for public health, this could be a great opportunity for you.
We pride ourselves as being an employer of choice, promoting equality of opportunity to actively encourage applications from everyone, including groups currently underrepresented in our workforce.
UKHSA’s ethos is to be an inclusive organisation for all our staff and stakeholders. To create, nurture and sustain an inclusive culture, where differences drive innovative solutions to meet the needs of our workforce and wider communities. We do this through celebrating and protecting differences by removing barriers and promoting equity and equality of opportunity for all., The Head of Strategic Communications, Campaigns and Content is a pivotal role within UKHSA’s Communications Directorate, overseeing our strategic communications and planning function, as well as our in-house team of highly skilled creative professionals.
The post holder will play a central part in developing UKHSA’s communications strategy, and ensuring we have the right KPIs in place to demonstrate impact against our plans on an ongoing basis.
Overseeing a small, newly formed team of strategic communications professionals, you will act as a communications advisor to senior colleagues within UKHSA, enabling your team to build strong, trusted relationships with key officials, scientists and public health leads across the Agency.
You will support and guide the strategic communications team to develop insight-based communications plans, supporting delivery of some of UKHSA’s most high-profile topics, ranging from increasing vaccine uptake, to combating antimicrobial resistance and tackling health threats related to our changing climate. You will play a critical role within the Communications Directorate senior management team, encouraging collaboration between teams to enable effective virtual team working on top priority topics.
You will lead our in-house content team of designers, videographers and writers, to support the development of a wide range of creative content, to support both effective incident response work and proactive low and no-cost campaigns.
You will have excellent presentation skills and written skills and use these to create presentations to demonstrate the impact of the Directorate’s work, as well as to author blogs, film scrips and a wide variety of written content for external audiences.
The content team supports the full breadth of the Agency’ work. They flex their focus and skills to inform and guide the public at times of risk, as well as in support of longer-term behavioral change campaigns, and creative corporate content to promote corporate priorities as well as our science, research and surveillance work. We have unique studio facilities in our new Canary Wharf office and are looking to maximise the potential of these over the coming months.
The content team also oversees the development and curation of our social media channels and social media strategy. Over the next year, we are looking to put a more targeted approach in place to build the reach of each of our core channels and increase the impact of our social media activity as a whole and you will be responsible for overseeing this work.
Your key responsibilities will include:
+ Leading a team of 12, and line managing five senior colleagues within the team, including strategic communications professionals, writers, graphic designers, videographers.
+ Playing a major role in creating and overseeing the delivery of UKHSA’s communications plan, aligned to the organisation’s 3-year Strategic Plan
+ Identifying opportunities for communications to enable successful delivery of our Strategic Plan and Science Strategy, based on a comprehensive understanding of UKHSA’s goals, priorities, mission and vision.
+ Writing insight-based communications strategies and plans
+ Creating and delivering presentations to a high standard to - or for - senior colleagues and stakeholders, on the Directorate’s strategic priorities.
+ Building productive relationships with senior colleagues in pivotal roles throughout the agency, to identify and shape our communications plans.
+ Create a strong network of peers across partner agencies and Government Departments, identifying opportunities for collaboration and/or amplifying messages.
+ Embedding a culture of planning, insight and evaluation within the communications directorate, drawing on best practise standards, including GCS.
+ Where appropriate, identifying opportunities for paid communications to enhance successful delivery, whether as part of a proactive campaign strategy or to warn and inform the public as part of our incident response work.
+ Ensuring the content team is well supported so that they can manage a sizeable and highly varied programme of work – including appropriate briefing and work management processes.
+ Writing content to an excellent standard for any of our priority audience groups, including blogs and scripts.
+ Overseeing the development of high priority creative content, including films.
+ Developing our social media strategy to grow and expand the impact of our channels
+ Playing a visible, important role within the Directorate’s Senior Management Team and contributing towards the Directorate’s success and wellbeing, This vacancy is using Success Profiles and will assess your Behaviours.
You will be required to complete an application form. You will be assessed on the above listed essential criteria, and this will be in the form of a:
+ Application form (‘Employer/ Activity history’ section on the application)
+ 1000 word Statement of Suitability.
This should outline how your skills, experience, and knowledge, provide evidence of your suitability for the role, with reference to the essential criteria.
The Application form and Statement of Suitability will be marked separately, and you must pass both to move forward to interview.
If you are successful at this stage, you will progress to interview and assessment.
Please do not exceed 1000 words. We will not consider any words over and above this number.
Feedback will not be provided at this stage.
Stage 2: Interview (Success Profiles)
You will be invited to a face-to-face interview. In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to offer a remote interview.
Behaviours and experience will be tested at interview.
You will be asked to prepare and present a 5-minute presentation. The subject of this will be sent to you prior to interview.
The Behaviours tested during the interview stage will be:
+ Seeing the big picture
+ Changing and improving
+ Leadership
+ Communicating and influencing
+ Developing self and others
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.
Location
This role is being offered as hybrid working based at our offices in Canary Wharf. We offer great flexible working opportunities at UKHSA and operate using a hybrid working model where business needs allow. This provides us with greater flexibility about how and where we work, to get the best from our workforce. As a hybrid worker, you will be expected to spend a minimum of 60% of your contractual working hours (approximately 3 days a week pro rata, (averaged over a month).
Our core HQ offices are modern and newly refurbished with excellent city centre transport link and benefit from benefit from co-location with other government departments such as the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC).
Eligibility Criteria
This vacancy is open to all Civil Service employees and employees of accredited non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) who were appointed on merit following a fair and open competition; or were appointed to a permanent post through an exception in the Civil Service Commissioners' rules. Prior agreement to be released on a loan basis must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.
Security Clearance Level Requirement
Successful candidates must pass a disclosure and barring security check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is Basic Personnel Security Standard.
Reasonable Adjustments
The Civil Service is committed to making sure that our selection methods are fair to everyone.
To help you during the recruitment process, we will consider any reasonable adjustments that could help you.
An adjustment is a change to the recruitment process or an adjustment at work.
This is separate to the Disability Confident Scheme.
If you need an adjustment to be made at any point during the recruitment process you should:
Contact the recruitment team in confidence as soon as possible to discuss your needs.
You can find out more information about reasonable adjustments across the Civil Service here: https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/reasonable-adjustments/
International Police Checks
If you have spent more than 6 months abroad over the last 3 years you may need an International Police Check. This would not necessarily have to be in a single block, and it could be time accrued over that period.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Your application may be rejected and/or you may be subject to disciplinary action if evidence of plagiarism is detected. Examples of plagiarism can include presenting the ideas and experience of others, or generated by artificial intelligence (AI), as your own.
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)

+ Post graduate qualification in communications, public relations or journalism or equivalent level of experience
+ Excellent understanding of established, best practise approaches to communications strategy development and evaluation, including GCS standards - and the ability to train and guide others
+ Experience of working in a senior communications role in national or local government or NHS communications
+ Established credibility and authority and experience of gaining the confidence of very senior colleagues
+ Experience of working across all communications disciplines with a strong background in strategic communications
+ Excellent oral and written communication skills and ability to develop presentations and written content to an extremely high standard
+ Strong leadership and management skills and experience of achieving results through a multi-disciplinary communications team
+ The ability to quickly grasp complex issues and to be able to distil these for others is critical.
+ The ability to work at pace, under pressure and to guide your team to priorities and do the same where needed
+ An understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships

Alongside your salary of £72,739, UK Health Security Agency contributes £21,072 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
+ Learning and development tailored to your role
+ An environment with flexible working options
+ A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
+ A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%