Senior Engagement Manager; Future Farming and Countryside Programme

173454

£35,895 - £43,847

National £35,895 - £40,613 London £38,751 - £43,847. For details of our pay on appointment policy, please see below under the heading ‘Salary’.

Permanent

DEFRA - Food Farming and Biosecurity (FFaB) - Future Farming and Countryside Programme

Communications / Marketing

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

1

Bristol, London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, York

Farming affects every one of us. From the food that we eat, to the countryside we walk in, and it’s a sector that’s going through a once in a generation change as a result of the UK’s departure from the European Union. As the sector prepares to move away from the EU’s Common Agriculture Policy towards a wholly new approach for the agricultural industry, Defra are responsible for plotting the future and delivering one of the biggest industry changes anywhere across Government.

With work on this scale, impacting tens of thousands of farmers and landowners, it is essential that we bring stakeholders in to help us design the policies and schemes so that they provide maximum benefits for the industry, and for the environment. The Future Farming Engagement team are playing an integral part in helping to deliver that pathway to success.

We’re looking for a dynamic engagement professional to work within the stakeholder engagement team to ensure our engagement with stakeholders supports policy development and co-design of future delivery. This engagement is to be planned to achieve outcomes efficiently but implemented in varied and creative ways, demonstrating sophisticated segmentation of groups and their interests.

You’ll have a strong track record in stakeholder engagement, event management or external relations, coupled with excellent interpersonal and organisational skills.

Responsibilities

In this role you will:

• Develop and deliver innovative engagement plans across a variety of channels to support the goals of the Future Farming programme, ensuring that engagement is targeted, appropriate and productive.
• Identify innovative new ways to engage including using digital engagement techniques.
• Lead on the segmentation, mapping and handling strategies for key stakeholder groups and individuals, including key influencers and opinion formers.
• Account manage a number of our key stakeholders to form a positive and trusted working relationship with hat organisation.
• Manage events, consultations, workshops, meetings and other activities, ensuring the format, audience and content is appropriate to achieve the desired outcomes.
• Create and maintain internal networks with policy, delivery, communications and change teams to deliver engagement objectives.
• Lead on the management of a stakeholder group for the Programme, analysing current engagement and sentiment, developing a prioritised approach to working with key individuals, build relationships and credibility and ensure plans are aligned with other delivery.
• Develop stakeholder engagement tools and best practice across the Programme.
• Gather valuable insight and intelligence to inform robust decision making and develop how we report this.

Personal qualities and skills required:

• Ability to quickly build strong working relationships with people at all levels across boundaries, organisations and business areas.
• Excellent organisational skills and a strong attention to detail.
• Strong influencing skills and experience of working with senior leaders, stakeholders and influencers.
• Planning and implementing in multidisciplinary teams.
• Event management and facilitation skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communications skills.
• Experience in the use of different channels to engage people effectively including digitally.
• The ability to work well under pressure and manage multiple priorities and tight deadlines.

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace
• Seeing the Big Picture

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

• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Equality Diversity and Inclusion
Defra values equality and diversity in employment. We are committed to being an organisation in which fairness and equality of opportunity is central to the approach in business and working relationships and where the organisational culture reflects and supports these values. In Defra you have the right to a working environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation regardless of race, ethnic or national origin, age, religion, sex, gender identity, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, working hours, trade union membership or trade union activity.

The Civil Service as a whole is committed to providing a work environment free from discrimination, harassment, bullying and victimisation. Support available includes a Bullying and Harassment network and mediation services.

The department places significant emphasis on talent programmes that help everyone to achieve their full potential.

Pension
Your pension is a valuable part of your total reward package.
Defra contributes at a rate between 20% and 24.5%, dependent upon salary. Pension contributions you make are deducted from your salary before tax is taken.

Generous annual leave and bank holiday allowance
Defra offers 25 days’ annual leave (rising, over 5 years, to 30 days) for full time new entrants to the Civil Service. Employees receive 8 public holidays a year, plus an additional day in May to mark the Queen’s birthday.

Staff recognition
We have a Staff Recognition Scheme to reward exemplary work.

Learning and development
All new employees joining (and returning to) Defra will have an induction to the department, our work and policies. You will have access to a broad range of learning and development opportunities with world class providers.

Mentoring and coaching
Mentoring is way of developing your career and boosting your confidence that benefits both mentor and mentee. All our employees have the opportunity to work with a mentor or coach, if they wish to.

Volunteering
Defra employees are entitled to 3 days’ special leave with pay, each year, for volunteering. We encourage our employees to take this up: it can be a great way to share skills with worthy charitable causes, while developing new insights and stronger links with the civil society sector.

Reservists
We fully support reservists and offer 15 days’ special leave with pay for training.

Bicycle loan schemes
Defra offers interest-free loans towards the cost of a bike and the Cycle to Work scheme. Defra ‘lends’ you a bike for your commute as a tax-free benefit. At the end of the loan period, you have the option to buy the bike, saving 30% of the original cost.

Season ticket loan
We offer interest-free season ticket loans to all Defra employees with more than three months’ service, for purchasing train and bus season tickets, as well as station car parking.

Sick pay
We have a supportive sick pay policy. Pay progressively increases, by length of service, beginning at one month’s sick pay in your first year.

Employee discounts
Defra employees have access to a range of discounts at hundreds of top retailers via our employee discount scheme.

Give as you earn
Defra is registered with the Give as You Earn scheme, which enables you to make regular deductions directly from your salary, in support of a chosen charity. This is simple and tax efficient.

Flexible working
Defra is committed to providing a great place to work and is open to smarter ways of working that let you choose how, when and where you want to work in line with business needs. This includes the ability to work from home, work compressed hours and choose from a range of locations suited to when and where you need to be.

Our offices have fitness centres, staff canteens and many more facilities. You can discuss where you will be based and the amount of travel you will need to do at the interview with the vacancy holder.

Employee assistance programme
This is a free and confidential 24/7 telephone advice service available to all our staff.

Occupational health service
Provides a range of support services, to optimise attendance and performance at work.

Sports and social association
Promotes sports and social activities and organises our annual sports day and staff lottery.