Communications Officer (Media) in City of Westminster

Salary: Circa £31,000 including on-call allowance.

Closing Date: Sunday 6th September, 23:59 pm

Responsible to: Deputy Head of Media

Hours: Full Time

Tenure: Permanent

Location: Westminster, London

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Liberal Democrat media team, supporting the party’s record 72 Liberal Democrat MPs. The Communications Officer will be integral to supporting the party’s spokespeople and peers in securing positive coverage promoting Liberal Democrat priorities and campaigns in the national media, using the tools at their disposal to generate impactful stories and narratives.

The candidate will be an enthusiastic, ambitious, and highly organised individual seeking an opportunity to shape mainstream politics and work in an exciting, fast-paced communications environment. You will be a multi-skilled communicator, equally comfortable pitching a story to a national newspaper, briefing spokespeople for a live television appearance or drafting a script for a social media video. You will be a self-starter with a strong interest in news and current affairs, motivated by developing and pitching news stories, and able to build effective relationships with journalists and colleagues. The ideal candidate will sympathise with the aims and values of the Liberal Democrats. You will preferably have a good understanding of UK politics and the opportunities and challenges facing the Liberal Democrats, and how the party can use its larger presence in Parliament to secure more positive media coverage across print, broadcast, and digital channels.

Key Responsibilities

• Generate and pitch stories to secure positive media coverage promoting the party’s work in Parliament and national campaign priorities across print, online, and broadcast outlets.
• Work with and build strong relationships with national broadcasters; brief spokespeople for national media appearances such as Question Time, evening news bulletins, and radio packages.
• Work closely with the digital team to ensure media outputs are aligned across social channels and generate creative ideas to translate our stories and campaigns into engaging digital content.
• Support spokespeople and their offices, as well as peers, in using Parliament to generate media coverage, and work with policy colleagues to develop lines to take.
• Spot opportunities by planning ahead and regularly updating the communications grid; plan visits and visuals for the Leader and senior spokespeople.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with a wide range of journalists across print, broadcast, and online platforms.
• Participate in the media team’s out-of-hours duty system, ensuring the party is equipped to respond to the 24-hour news cycle.
• Undertake other ad hoc duties as required to contribute to the team’s goals and responsibilities.

We will review applications as they come in and reserve the right to make an appointment prior to the closing date. Please note: We will not be able to employ you if you are not eligible to work in the UK. We will not be able to obtain a work permit on your behalf. Applicants are encouraged to inform us if any reasonable adjustments are needed at any stage of the recruitment process. We will not notify applicants if their applications are unsuccessful at the shortlisting stage. The Party believes it is essential to foster equity, equality, diversity, and inclusion within our workforce. We want our employees to thrive in an environment where everyone is welcome and supported to achieve their potential. It is important to celebrate what makes us unique, and that you feel valued, appreciated and free to be who you are.