Strategic Communications Manager in Bristol

The Office for Students (OfS) is the independent regulator of higher education in England. We regulate higher education on behalf of all students, ensuring that every student, regardless of their background, has a fulfilling experience that enriches their lives and careers. We have high ambitions and offer great opportunities to get involved in bringing that vision to life.

The Communications team leads the OfS's external and internal communications, including public affairs, media relations, digital communications, stakeholder engagement, student engagement and events. As a Strategic Communications Manager, you'll play a central role in helping us deliver effective regulation in the interests of students through clear and engaging communications. Working with colleagues across the OfS, you'll provide expert communications advice on some of the most important issues facing higher education, helping to ensure our work is understood by universities and colleges, students, policymakers and other stakeholders.

The role offers a varied portfolio spanning a range of policy areas. In any given week, you could be shaping communications about the financial sustainability of higher education providers, supporting new regulation to tackle harassment and sexual misconduct, or helping to engage the sector in a major consultation. You'll also contribute to our wider communications and engagement strategy and support our ambition to strengthen engagement with students and students' unions.

Key responsibilities may include:

• Working with teams across the OfS and colleagues in the communications team to provide expert advice and guidance on the design and delivery of a range of projects, announcements or regulatory activities.
• Developing strategic narratives and messaging about OfS activities and managing a range of communications products, including regular emails to university and college leaders.
• Developing and implementing communications plans.
• Helping to identify audiences and stakeholders for communications projects and shaping targeted messaging for these groups.
• Helping to drive communications and engagement with student unions and student representatives.
• Forward planning to ensure OfS communications are strategically planned and sequenced, including management of the communications grid.
• Acting as a first port of call for communications advice within OfS policy teams, and helping to embed good communications practice across the organisation, including supporting with tone of voice.
• Building trusted, effective working relationships with senior OfS leaders.
• Proactively identifying and managing reputational and delivery risks.
• Evaluating the impact and effectiveness of communications activities to ensure outcomes are met and lessons learned to inform future work.

About you:

We’re looking for an experienced, committed communications professional with a clear focus on outcomes. You’ll be an excellent influencer, able to build positive, trusted relationships with peers and senior leaders. You’ll have outstanding written and verbal communications and be able to understand and assimilate complex policy and technical information and data to inform communications advice and judgements. You’ll bring strong organisational skills, including the ability to work collaboratively and flexibly across a number of projects and respond effectively to changing demands and priorities. Knowledge of higher education and regulation is desirable, but not essential.

Working for us:

We value diversity and the wealth of perspectives, experience and ideas that it brings to our work, and we strive to embed equality of opportunity in everything we do. We recruit based on fair and open competition and welcome applications from candidates regardless of age, disability, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation. We prefer to work flexibly because we know that it helps us all to make our best contribution. We have created a set of principles to shape our approach to flexible and hybrid working, which our teams then use as guidance on how they deliver their business goals. In a typical week, we expect colleagues to spend several days working from the office, balancing business needs, team collaboration, and individual responsibilities. To attract the widest possible field of qualified applicants, flexible working, for example job share and part time working, apply to this role.

In addition, our Total Reward Framework offers a range of benefits to suit your way of life. These include comprehensive learning and development, annual leave starting at 25 days’ per year (plus public holidays), access to the highly regarded Civil Service pension scheme and a variety of health benefits.

Closing date for applications: Monday 16 November at 12:00 noon. Early applications are encouraged, as the vacancy may close early if we receive a high volume of applications. Interviews will be from 7 December.

For information: the OfS does not hold a UK Visa & Immigration (UKVI) Skilled Worker Sponsor Licence.