Press Officer – Prime Minister’s Office


Apply Now
 

Details

Reference number

306873

Salary

£38,250 – £42,250
A
Civil Service Pension with an average employer contribution of 27%

Job grade

Higher Executive Officer

Contract type

Permanent

Business area

CO – Prime Minister’s Office

Type of role

Communications / Marketing
Press Relations

Working pattern

Flexible working, Full-time, Job share

Number of jobs available

1

Contents

London

Job summary

The Prime Minister’s Office enables the Prime Minster to deliver the Government’s overall priorities and to communicate the Government’s policies to Parliament, the public and international audiences. From the Policy Unit, No.10 Communications Team, Switchboard and Custodians, to the Events & Visits team and the world class Private Office support; the diverse Downing Street team draws on varied expertise from across the Civil Service and beyond. The teams come together to deliver excellent service to the Prime Minister while also making No.10 a great place to work.

Job description

We are recruiting for a Press Officer within the No.10 Newsdesk.

You will help to shape how the No.10 Communications Team deals with the reactive news agenda, using your excellent news judgement to advise how best to respond to emerging and live communications issues.

You will be part of a high-performing team that helps to prepare and brief both the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary and Official Spokesperson for the daily lobby briefings, working closely with colleagues in No.10 and press offices across Whitehall. 

Main duties will include: 

  • Supporting the daily lobby process and briefing the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesperson
  • Providing a first class media monitoring service and responding to emerging stories with speed
  • Responding to breaking issues, working with Special Advisers and officials to develop appropriate handling strategies and rebut inaccuracies in reporting
  • Liaising closely with other departments to manage media and communications materials relating to a specific reactive brief  
  • Supporting the logistics of Downing Street press conferences and Prime Ministerial visits and events where appropriate
  • Taking an active part in providing an out-of-hours press office service as part of a duty rota system, including weekends, where you’ll act as the main point of contact for all journalists, Ministers and departments, for which you will be remunerated
  • Help to ensure the Government’s position is clearly and succinctly presented in media statements, making edits and suggestions where necessary
  • Play an influential role in the Government Newsdesk profession and work closely with other departments to ensure the prime minister’s priorities are reflected in communications

Person specification

You will:  

  • Be able to spot breaking news and issue quick and insightful monitoring reports
  • Have sharp news judgement and experience recommending and delivering media handling for high profile issues
  • Understand and prioritise complex issues and work to tight deadlines, including in crisis situations
  • Be able to influence colleagues and form strong working relationships with other departments, journalists, and special advisers
  • Be proactive about suggesting ideas to improve the ways of working on the desk and have the confidence to execute them 

The post will appeal to experienced communications professionals who enjoy working with and advising Ministers and officials on presentation of policy development; are able to understand complex issues quickly; and have highly-tuned news judgement. 

Working in the Prime Minister’s Communications Team frequently involves working under pressure and to immovable deadlines, as well as routine out of hours rota work and some travel. 

Behaviours

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

Alongside your salary of £38,250, Cabinet Office contributes
£10,327 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 which provides an attractive pension, benefits for dependants and average employer contributions of 27%.
  • A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by one day per year up to a maximum of 30.

Selection process details

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

Application process

Please include a CV and use the Personal Statement, which has a maximum of 1000 word count, to explain how you meet the Behaviours outlined in the advert and how your skills and experience make you a suitable candidate for the role.

Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.

Selection process

Candidates successful at sift will be invited to Behaviour and Strength based interview.

Expected timeline (subject to change)

Expected sift date – Early Sep
Expected interview date/s – Mid Sep
Interview location – TBC

Further information

Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Cabinet 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

Please note that this role requires SC clearance, which would normally need 5 years’ UK residency in the past 5 years. This is not an absolute requirement, but supplementary checks may be needed where individuals have not lived in the UK for that period. This may mean your security clearance (and therefore your appointment) will take longer or, in some cases, not be possible.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check on your behalf.

However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading. 

Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment. 

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5 year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.

This role is full time only. Applicants who wish to work an alternative pattern are welcome to apply however your preferred working pattern may not be available and you should discuss this with the vacancy holder before applying.

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

Reasonable adjustments

If a person with disabilities is put at a substantial disadvantage compared to a non-disabled person, we have a duty to make reasonable changes to our processes. 

If you need a change to be made so that you can make your application, you should: 

  • Contact Government Recruitment Service via cabinetofficerecruitment@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs. 
  • Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section in the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or if you’re deaf, a Language Service Professional.

If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the ‘contact point for applicants’ section.

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

      Security

      Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
      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 : No10 Recruitment
      • Email : No10Recruitment@no10.gov.uk

      Recruitment team

      • Email : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

      Further information

      Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and wish to make a complaint, then in the first instance you should contact Government Recruitment Service by email at : cabinetofficerecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

      If you are not satisfied with the response you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission at info@csc.gov.uk. For further information on the Recruitment Principles. and bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission, please visit their website at: https://civilservicecommission.independent.gov.uk.

      Attachments

      Cabinet Office Employee Offer Opens in new window (pdf, 302kB)
      Cabinet Office Terms and Conditions – External Opens in new window (pdf, 81kB)

      Share this page

       
       

      Apply Now

      Posted

      in

      ,