Senior Communications and Engagement Officer - Northern Ireland in Belfast

Salary: £40,031 - £42,033

Working from home allowance: A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

Contract type: Permanent

Type of role: Communications / Marketing

Working pattern: Full-time

Location: Belfast

About the job:

The Electoral Commission is the UK's independent body overseeing elections and regulating political finance. Everything we do is about ensuring trust, participation, and integrity in the democratic process. This post plays a central role in that journey.

About the role:

The Senior Communications and Engagement Officer leads the Commission's communications and engagement activity in Northern Ireland, playing a key role in ensuring our work is clearly understood and trusted by the public and stakeholders. On a day-to-day basis, you will:

• Lead media handling in Northern Ireland, including responding to enquiries and preparing press lines, releases and briefings.
• Coordinate communications-led engagement activity around electoral events and public awareness campaigns.
• Produce high-quality engagement plans, briefing papers, stakeholder updates and political briefings for senior leaders and the Northern Ireland Commissioner.
• Support the delivery of consistent, accurate and accessible public information for voters, stakeholders and the wider public.

This role is significant in ensuring that the Commission's work in Northern Ireland is understood, trusted and communicated clearly, and that stakeholders receive timely, accurate and impartial information.

About the team:

You will join the Northern Ireland External Affairs function, part of the wider Northern Ireland Team, within the Devolution and Law Directorate. The team builds and maintains strong relationships with journalists, political representatives, community and voluntary organisations, and a wide range of stakeholders across Northern Ireland, helping to ensure the Commission's work is well understood and trusted.

Who we're looking for:

This role is well suited to someone who is confident operating in a fast-paced communications environment, with strong political awareness and excellent interpersonal skills. The successful candidate will be experienced in handling media enquiries, building effective stakeholder relationships and producing clear, accessible content. To succeed in this role you will demonstrate proactivity, strong organisational skills and the ability to communicate complex information clearly and impartially. We are seeking someone with:

• Experience delivering media handling, including drafting lines and responding to enquiries from journalists.
• Experience delivering stakeholder engagement in a communications or public affairs context.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong planning, organisational and time management skills.
• The ability to build effective working relationships with journalists, political representatives and civic stakeholders.
• A good understanding of political systems and structures in Northern Ireland (desirable).

Benefits:

Alongside your salary of £40,031, The Electoral Commission contributes £11,596 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme.

Why work for us?

At the Electoral Commission, you will be part of an organisation that plays a vital role in supporting and protecting UK democracy. Our work helps ensure elections are fair, transparent and accessible, and that voters have confidence in the democratic process. In this role, you will have the opportunity to contribute to high-profile electoral events in Northern Ireland, working at the heart of public communications and stakeholder engagement during key democratic moments.

We offer a strong total reward package, including:

• Flexible working and hybrid model (40% office minimum)
• 28 rising to 30 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Civil Service pension scheme (28.97% employer contribution)
• Study support for professional qualifications
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities
• Ride2Work, eye care vouchers and more

Selection process details:

We are committed to fair and inclusive recruitment. To help reduce unconscious bias and ensure all applicants are assessed solely on their skills, knowledge and experience, we use an anonymous recruitment process.

Supporting disabled applicants:

The Electoral Commission is proud to be a Level 2 Disability Confident Employer. As part of this commitment, we aim to prioritise interviews for disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria listed in the job description.

Key dates:

Application deadline: 29th June 2026 (23:59)

Interviews (1st stage): Week commencing 4th August 2026

Anticipated start date: October 2026

Security:

Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.

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).