Senior Strategic Communications and News Partner in Leeds

Division: Communications

Department: Strategic Communications & News

Salary: National (Edinburgh and Leeds) ranging from £43,300 to £54,100 and London from £46,400 to £60,000 (salary offered will be based on skills and experience)

This role is graded as: Senior Associate – Corporate

Please note this is a full time role only.

About The FCA And Team

We regulate financial services firms in the UK, to keep financial markets fair, thriving and effective. By joining us, you’ll play a key part in protecting consumers, driving economic growth, and shaping the future of UK finance services. In the Communications division at the FCA, we change opinions and behaviours to enable a fair and thriving financial services market for the good of consumers and the economy. We’ve recently changed how we do things to deliver more engaging, insight‑led, audience focused communications. If you want to be part of a supportive and fun team, work across a wide range of issues and are ready to be challenged, curious and creative then come and join us.

The Strategic Communications Partners team is at the heart of what and how the organisation communicates – working with the strategy team to help set and deliver the FCA’s external communication objectives and ensuring that our communication is clear, concise and compelling. We work closely with the editorial, speechwriting and social media teams.

Role Responsibilities

• Being a trusted communications partner for a specific area of the FCA, building relationships with business stakeholders and providing strategic guidance.
• This is a role that combines strategic thinking with hands on delivery.
• Building subject matter expertise in the area you partner with, to enable you to provide insightful, strategic communications advice across a range of issues.
• Managing media relations with journalists, including dealing with reactive press queries relevant to your area.
• Looking for proactive opportunities across the media, social media, stakeholder partnerships and other channels, to deliver a drumbeat of activity across your area.
• Preparing communication plans and content to support key announcements.
• Identifying key external stakeholders and engaging relevant media, trade bodies and consumer groups to create advocacy and reach target audiences.
• Sharing coverage updates and evaluating priority announcements.
• Taking ownership for projects, delivering high quality outcomes while strengthening your skills within a dynamic communications environment.
• Taking part in the regular out-of-hours media rota.

Minimum Skills required

• Relevant recent experience of dealing with the media, including responding to reactive press queries.
• Previous experience of managing external communication projects, including setting objectives, developing messaging, and producing engaging content for diverse audiences.
• Proven experience in a role which has required strong written and verbal communication skills and balancing proactive and reactive work.

Essential

• Strong knowledge and understanding of traditional and social media.
• Experience providing advice on external communications to senior internal stakeholders.
• Demonstrable ability to collaborate effectively within a team while maintaining the flexibility to work independently and take initiative.
• Familiar with relevant communication tools used for media and social media monitoring.
• Ability to adapt and react to changing circumstances, adjusting priorities as needed and a willingness to take on new tasks and responsibilities.
• Demonstrate an interest and understanding in the FCA’s work, its operations, and the wider financial services sector.

Benefits

• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays.
• Hybrid model where employees work a minimum of 40% in the office each month (expectation of 50% for senior leaders).
• Changing from September to a minimum of 50% in the office each month (expectation of 60% for Directors and Executive Directors).
• Non-contributory pension (8–12% depending on age) and life assurance at eight times your salary.
• Private healthcare with Bupa, income protection, and 24/7 Employee Assistance.
• 35 hours of paid volunteering annually.
• A flexible benefits scheme designed around your lifestyle.

For a full list of our benefits, and our recruitment process as a whole visit our benefits page.

Our values and culture

Our colleagues are the key to our success as a regulator. We are committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture: one that’s free from discrimination and bias, celebrates difference, and supports colleagues to deliver at their best. We believe that our differences and similarities enable us to be a better organisation – one that makes better decisions, drives innovation, and delivers better regulation. If you require any adjustments due to a disability or condition, your recruiter is here to help – reach out for tailored support. We welcome diverse working styles and aim to find flexible solutions that suit both the role and individual needs, including options like part‑time and job sharing where applicable.

Disability confident: our hiring approach

We’re proud to be a Disability Confident Employer, and therefore, people or individuals with disabilities and long‑term conditions who best meet the minimum criteria for a role will go through to the next stage of the recruitment process. In cases of high application volumes we may progress applicants whose experience most closely matches the role’s key requirements.

Useful information and timelines

Job advert close: Midnight on the 23rd of June

CV Review/Shortlist: 25th of June

First Interview: from the 01/07 moving forward

Your Recruiter will discuss the process in detail with you during screening for the role, therefore, please make them aware if you are going to be unavailable for any date during this time.