Communications Lead (Internal/External)

Do you want a challenging and rewarding career with real opportunities to change the lives of people in Northumberland, if you are dynamic, dedicated and enthusiastic then we want to hear from you.

Who is NCC?

World renowned as a visitor destination, Northumberland is also the ideal location to strike a perfect work/life balance. What better way of enjoying the picturesque scenery and stunning coastline than to sample it on an everyday basis?

Our Vision is: “a land of great opportunities” – and this is your opportunity to join us.

We’re looking for someone that’s passionate about communications and engagement, to lead on our internal communications, whilst also having the skills and expertise to support our external communications too.

Our people are the heart of Northumberland, which is why we place such importance on ensuring staff are engaged, informed and feel valued.

The person we are looking for should be creative and innovative in their approach and places a firm focus on demonstrating how communications makes a real difference.

We are looking for someone who has extensive experience of developing and delivering communications and engagement plans in a large and complex organisation and will help deliver the Council’s key priorities and build its reputation with employees, residents and partners.

You’ll use your skills and experience to support the delivery of corporate priorities and nurture the corporate culture in line with our values.

It is essential that you can quickly build effective relationships with colleagues across the council, helping you to understand the diversity of the organisation, build trust and identify effective ways to engage staff.

You will have experience of effectively monitoring and evaluating your work, ensuring communications channels and engagement activity are engaging and make a positive difference; as part of this you’ll also be confident in reporting performance in a clear and easy to interpret way.

As one of our communications lead, you’ll join a talented team, and well-established corporate communications service to enhance our communications and engagement capacity. You will be able to take a proactive role in the service, championing new, innovative and effective ways of working. You are someone who can plan, deliver and evaluate effective, professional and high-quality internal communications and engagement activity.

Superb communication skills and the ability to influence and negotiate with people at all levels are essential, as well as being able to work on your own initiative.

You will have excellent skills and experience of writing and editing engaging copy for a wide range of internal communications channels and have proven ability to successfully manage multiple projects, and the right candidate will also have event management experience.

The successful candidate will be required to produce effective communications and have knowledge of social marketing; modern methods of digital communication and engagement

will be essential, managing a small but perfectly formed team. Excellent relationships with partner organisations will also be fundamental to the role.

For further information, please see the attached job description and person specification.

This is an exciting opportunity to help shape and deliver the successful delivery of staff communications and engagement across Northumberland County Council.

Why choose us?

We have some outstanding benefits to offer you, including:

• 26 days annual leave plus public/bank holidays, rising to 31 days after 5 years of service (pro rata for part-time employees)
• Automatic enrolment into the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Flexi scheme (if applicable) – up to 2 days flexible leave available per month (pro rata for part-time employees)
• Local government discount schemes available to all employees with offers at local businesses along with various national brands
• Commitment to work/life balance offering flexibility through various schemes including job sharing, flexible working, term-time only, and compressed hours
• A range of salary sacrifice schemes are available

- Staff networks - run by staff, for staff, providing opportunities for peer networking, mutual support, staff development e.g. Apprenticeship, Armed Forces, ASD, Enable (disability), LGBT+, Menopause, Mental Wellbeing, Racial Equality

Further information
Please note that this is a full time position but applications on a secondment or part-time basis would be considered for the right applicant.

For guidance on completing your application and for information about our Equality and Diversity principles, please see the attached guidance notes here.

We are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria. If you wish to notify us of your eligibility for this scheme, please email hrrecruitment@northumberland.gov.uk or ring 01670 623930 with your name and the job title you have applied for and one of the recruitment team will ensure this is factored into the shortlisting process and kept anonymous. If you have a disability and would prefer to apply in a different format, please see the alternative methods below. This information will be treated as confidential and will only be used to check that you meet the essential requirements of the post.

Alternative application format:

British Sign Language: northumberlandcc-cs.signvideo.net

For those with speech difficulties or hearing loss: Text relay service dial 018001 01670 623930

Although we advertise on North East Jobs, and other websites, your application process will be directed to our Tribepad system. Please note that all communication regarding your application for this post will be sent to the email address that you have registered on Tribepad, including your invite to interview if you are shortlisted. Please check your emails regularly, including Spam/Junk, after the closing dates for notifications