Connecting Talent to opportunity

Connecting Talent to opportunity

Press Officer

Expired

Job Description:

Location Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Croydon, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham, Portsmouth, Stratford, London.   HMRC’s press office is working towards having staff based in centres of excellence to allow better collaboration for new colleagues joining the team. To facilitate this, external candidates can only apply to work in Cardiff, Manchester, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Nottingham, but existing staff already based in other HMRC regional centres can apply without the need to move. About the job Job summary

At HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) we are committed to creating a great place to work for all our colleagues; an inclusive and respectful environment that reflects the diversity of the society we serve.

We want to maximise the potential of everyone who chooses to work for us and we offer a range of flexible working patterns and support to make a fulfilling career at HMRC accessible to you.  

Diverse perspectives and experiences are critical to our success and we welcome applications from all people from all backgrounds with the experience and skills needed to perform this role.  

HMRC is one of the UK’s largest government departments and one of the country’s biggest organisations. Almost every individual and business in the country is a direct customer of HMRC. We collect more than £500 billion a year in revenue from over 50 million customers across the UK.  

HMRC Communications delivers professional communications on behalf of HMRC and has one of the largest and busiest teams in government.  We’re recognised and respected as running one of the top communications operations in Whitehall.  

We are creative, fast-working and encourage collaboration. With a big job to do you’ll be joining a strong, motivated communications team. No other department touches the lives of so many people.

Job description

Our press team runs one of the biggest 24-hour news operations both in Government and the UK. We set, and respond to, the fast-paced news agenda on tax, stretching from tax avoidance by global corporations, and offshore evasion, to the huge operation of Self-Assessment and Tax Credits.  

We have a proactive approach to media and stakeholder engagement and are taking innovative steps into digital and social news management. No other government department so directly affects the lives of every citizen in the UK.  

The press office team is spread across the country, with most colleagues remotely managed. Because the team is dispersed across the four corners of the UK, we rely heavily on the support of our colleagues and team working is crucial.  

Much of the role is about building relationships within HMRC, other government departments and the media to ensure we can accurately promote and explain HMRC’s policies. You will need good interpersonal skills with the ability to present your ideas for compelling communications strategies to senior leaders.  

This role requires excellent written skills, and the ability to explain complex issues in an understandable way. You will be tested at interview to ensure that you have these skills. Your application form will be carefully scrutinised for grammar, punctuation and spelling as well as content and only those who demonstrate the required standard will be invited to interview.  

If you like a challenge and a job where no two days are the same, then this is the one for you. 

Person specification
  • Design, agree and deliver the implementation of proactive media plans to support HMRC’s campaigns and key business milestones across all media and stakeholder platforms. 
  • Respond to media queries in a timely manner working with communications business partners and officials to agree appropriate lines to take.
  • Work closely with press & digital comms colleagues, campaigns team and communications business partners to develop and ensure delivery of targeted strategies in line with departmental priorities. 
  • Assess the outcomes of activity and use learnings to influence future activity.
  • Anticipate and front-foot issues before they occur, devising handling solutions for them, and actively rebut inaccurate stories about HMRC.
  • Keep the Press Office Planner fully sighted on all appropriate events. 
  • Identify where stories can be pitched to specialist media and lead on implementation.
  • Proactively monitor the media for relevant coverage. 
  • Build and maintain strong relationships with journalists, appropriate stakeholders and HMRC and OGD officials to enable accurate, appropriate and timely delivery of HMRC key messages. 
  • Join the press office out of hours duty rota.  

Essential Criteria:

  • Excellent writing skills, including grammar and punctuation. 
  • The ability to collaborate across the department/Civil Service/external partners to deliver the best results for the team and HMRC. 
  • Creative and forward thinking.  
  • Able to build on insight to create external content and bring ideas to life in the media and for stakeholders. 
  • Able to make effective decisions, often under pressure.
  • Excellent organisation skills to ensure work is delivered accurately and on time. 
  • Innovative and open to new ideas to improve our work and the way we work. 
  • A real team player who can motivate, engage and support others.
  • The ability to understand complex policy information and explain it to non-expert audiences in a straightforward way. 
  • The confidence to push back on senior colleagues’ decisions or ideas should it be necessary. 
  • The ability to act as an ambassador for Press & Digital and HMRC Communications. 
  • Must have experience of working in a professional external communications role such as a press/public relations officer, or as a journalist. 
  • Must have the ability and experience of operating in a highly stressful and busy environment. 
Technical skills

We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:

  • Insight – Press & Media
  • Ideas – Press & Media
  • Implementation – Press & Media
  • Impact – Press & Media

We only ask for evidence of these technical skills on your application form:

  • Ideas – Press & Media
  • Implementation – Press & Media
Benefits
  • 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 average employer contribution of 27%
  • Job Type

    Permanent, Full Time

  • Work Authorisation

    No

  • Industry Sector Public Sector & Services
  • Years Experience

    1+ years

  • Career Level

    Experienced (Non-Manager)

  • Educational level

    'A' level/Higher or equivalent