Communication Officer (Public Relations and Information)


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Details

Reference number

308746

Salary

£32,154 – £36,050
Staff applying on promotion within the Civil Service will usually be appointed to the salary minimum or receive a 10% increase on their existing salary. Individuals appointed on level transfer will retain their existing salary. Applicants from outside of the Civil Service should be aware that starting salaries will normally be at the band minimum and you should not expect to receive a higher salary.
A
Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer
Band D

Contract type

Permanent

Type of role

Communications / Marketing
Press Relations

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time, Compressed Hours

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

The role will be based at our offices at 2-4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5BS, in central London, however please note that we are due to move to Canary Wharf in 2024. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. We are operating hybrid working arrangements that require staff to be in Cockspur Street 40% of their working pattern.

Job summary

We are looking for a public information professional to join our growing, multidisciplinary communication team. You will be a proactive self-starter with outstanding organisational skills, strong judgement and written skills, and a passion for public service and communication.

We are looking for a team player with leadership skills, who can manage and support the development of two Communication Assistants. Working with the rest of the team and alongside our expert teams, you will build strong relationships across the office in order to gather the information needed to inform our audiences about our work to fight economic crime and build the SFO’s reputation as a transparent and responsible public body.

A relatively small team by Whitehall standards, we all pitch in where necessary meaning we are looking for a fast learner who is keen to become proficient in all areas of communication. Our team is responsible for media relations, digital and internal communications and public relations and information.

Job description

As a Communication Officer (Public Relations and Information) you will be responsible for:

  • Editing accurate and timely responses for Freedom of Information Act requests, Subject Access Requests and other public and key stakeholder correspondence
  • Building excellent, professional relationships across the office including with Senior Management, lawyers, case teams and an array of external partners
  • Sharing information internally in a timely way, ensuring excellent coordination and joined-up planning within the team and wider organisation
  • Managing the build and maintenance of the SAR/ FOI database and PR&I Handbook
  • Developing and maintaining an excellent understanding of the Freedom of Information Act, General Data Protection Regulation and Data Protection Act

For more information about the role and for a full list of key responsibilities, please see attached Job Pack.

Person specification

See above and attached Job Pack.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

Technical skills

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

  • Government Communications Service (professional competency framework):

    Essential:
    • Ideas
    • Implementation
    • Impact

    Desirable:
    • Insight

Alongside your salary of £32,154, Serious Fraud Office contributes
£8,682 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

Option to join the Civil Service pension scheme. For further details, click here http://www.civilservice.gov.uk/pensions 

Generous annual leave provision of 25 days which increases to 30 days after five years’ service plus an additional day in recognition of the Queen’s Birthday and the option to buy or sell up to five days’ leave per year. Different terms may apply if you are already a Civil Servant.

Discretionary performance-related bonus scheme.

Interest-free season travel ticket, bicycle loan and cycle to work scheme.

Access to the Rental Deposit Salary Advance Scheme which assists employees in meeting the costs of deposits for privately rented homes.

Opportunities for learning and development.

Flexible working arrangements and family-friendly policies.

Voucher for eye care and discounted spectacles.

Access to a range of discounts through membership of the Civil Service Sports and Social Club, CSSC Sports and Leisure. http://www.cssc.co.uk/

Maternity and paternity leave provision over and above the statutory entitlements.

Access to My CPS Rewards Gateway. My CPS Rewards offers staff a range of rewards and savings including:

  • Discounts with high street retailers
  • Savings on grocery shopping at a range of supermarkets
  • Special salary sacrifice and recognition schemes
  • Reloadable gift cards and e-cards
  • Instant vouchers

Any move to the Serious Fraud Office 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 at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.

Application stage

As part of the application process you will be required to provide:

  • A personal statement of no more than 750 words that explains how your skills and experience meet each of the essential experience criteria as per the Job Pack.
  • A supporting CV outlining your job history and qualifications. 

It will not be possible to provide feedback to applicants who are unsuccessful at the application stage.

Interview stage

Behaviours and essential and desirable criteria as outlined in the Job Pack will be tested at interview. Candidates invited to interview will also be required to complete an assessment. 

Full details of the interview process will be made available to shortlisted candidates in the invite to interview.

Sift to take place from 12th September 2023.

Interviews are expected to take place w/c 18th September 2023.

All dates are indicative and subject to change.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check (opens in a new window).See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
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.
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.
Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available.
You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

  • Name : Human Resources
  • Email : HumanResources@sfo.gov.uk
  • Telephone : 0207 239 7272

Recruitment team

  • Email : HumanResources@sfo.gov.uk

Further information

For external competitions there is no appeal against the selection decision. However, individuals have a right to appeal if they feel that the principle of appointment on merit through fair and open competition and the Civil Service Commissioners’ recruitment principles have not been met. Individuals who want to appeal should do this by setting out their grounds for appeal in an email for the attention of Head of HR Operations to HumanResources@sfo.gov.uk. If, after an internal appeal, you still believe that the Civil Service Commissioners’ Principles have not been met, then you can contact the Commission directly: Complaints should be sent in writing to: Civil Service Commission, Room G08 ,1 Horse Guards Road, London SW1A 2HQ. Email info@csc.gov.uk

Attachments

Communication Officer (PR&I) – Job Pack FINAL Opens in new window (pdf, 666kB)

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