Communications Business Partner - PR and Media Strategy in Kingston upon Thames

We’re looking for an experienced, forward-thinking Communications Business Partner – PR and Media Strategy to join our Communications team at a pivotal moment. This is a senior, high‑profile role in our Communications Team and at the heart of the council’s strategic direction, helping us communicate clearly, confidently and transparently with our residents, partners and colleagues.

As one of our senior communication leaders, you will design and deliver integrated communications that support our Strategic Framework and CARE values:

• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders and elected members, providing expert guidance on complex and sensitive matters.
• Help shape the organisation’s narrative through high‑quality, insight‑led communication.
• Lead communications that genuinely improve outcomes for residents.
• Shape a modern, digital‑first approach to engagement and public service.
• Be part of a supportive, ambitious team that values innovation, learning and professional growth.

As our Communications Business Partner for PR & Media Strategy, you will:

• Lead our media approach and our media team, balancing proactive storytelling with robust, rapid response to emerging issues.
• Deliver forward planning as well overseeing and handling real time media handling.
• Oversee reputation management, providing strategic advice during crises and contributing to our 24/7 out‑of‑hours rota.
• Develop and deliver cross‑council communication, media and digital strategies aligned to corporate outcomes.
• Act as a strategic advisor to senior officers and elected members, ensuring communications support effective decision‑making and democratic transparency.
• Support local democracy by communicating committee policy decisions.
• Mentor and develop colleagues to create a high‑performing, innovative communications function.
• Drive creative thinking, professional standards and communication excellence across the organisation.

This role includes line management responsibilities and the expectation to lead a business unit delivering against a forward communications plan.

You will be a confident, resilient communications leader with:

• Extensive experience delivering strategic communications in a complex organisational environment.
• A proven track record in media handling, crisis response and reputation management.
• Expertise in strategic planning across digital, media, campaigns and internal communications.
• Excellent writing, editing and influencing skills, with the ability to simplify complexity for diverse audiences.
• Strong financial and project management skills.
• A commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and to supporting our ambition to become a Net Zero organisation by 2030.
• CIPR/CIM or postgraduate qualifications are desirable.

We value our colleagues in Cambridgeshire County Council and have developed a number of benefits in addition to the basics like annual leave, sick pay, pension and mileage:

• Buy up to 4 weeks additional annual leave (pro-rata) through our salary sacrifice scheme.
• Take your bank holidays flexibly to better suit your personal circumstances.
• Make Additional Voluntary Contributions (Shared AVCs) to your pension with tax and National Insurance savings.
• Access to development opportunities, apprenticeships and qualified coaches to support your personal and professional growth.
• Paid volunteering hours each year so you can make a positive impact on our community during your normal working day.
• Access to Peer Support Groups through our IDEAL staff equality, diversity and inclusion network.
• Opportunities to nominate and receive Employee Recognition Awards.
• An Our Cambs Rewards account, giving you access to in-store and online discounts as well as our Car Lease and Cycle to Work schemes.

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes. We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities.

We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. Through a Guaranteed Interview Scheme, we will offer an interview to all applicants who disclose a disability and meet the essential criteria for a job vacancy. Some examples of reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.