Communications Business Partner - External Affairs
Join to apply for the Communications Business Partner - External Affairs role at Onward Homes
What You Can Expect From Us
- Competitive salary of £47,900 per annum
- 32 days annual leave plus bank holidays
- Opportunity to increase annual leave with service or through the holiday purchase scheme
- Immediate entry to our Pension scheme (matched contributions up to 10%)
- Flexible working environment with family‑friendly policies
- Simply Health cash plan: dental, optical, physiotherapy, 24HR private GP access, and more
- Paid leave for absence, including sickness, maternity, paternity, and adoption leave
- Learning for life scheme: up to £150 annually for development
- Access to a wide range of discounts and cash‑back offers
- Support for career development with training and qualifications
Role Overview
This is a home‑based, permanent role within the People team. While there is no daily requirement to attend an office, the successful candidate will attend site/office as and when required to perform their duties. The role involves building and managing external relationships to support Onward\'s corporate objectives, with a focus on stakeholder relationship management, influencing, and policy landscape understanding.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide strategic communications advice and support to senior colleagues, enabling effective internal and external stakeholder engagement.
- Lead the delivery of strategic communications across the business, particularly in external affairs.
- Build and nurture a network of internal and external partnerships to achieve organisational objectives.
- Develop high‑quality creative content that aligns with branding, style and values.
- Plan and implement external media strategies, responding to enquiries and building relationships with journalists.
- Design and execute social media and digital communications strategies to reach key external audiences.
Essential Skills & Experience
- Relevant experience in external affairs.
- Client‑focused approach to strategic communications, demonstrating drive, challenge and creativity.
- Excellent speaking skills, with the ability to gain trust and confidence of partners.
- Exceptional writing skills, capable of drafting and creatively editing high‑quality copy for communications materials.
- Experience designing and implementing strategic communications plans and campaigns across multiple channels.
- Experience delivering media strategies, including preparing releases and building journalist relationships.
- Experience developing social media strategies and engaging key external audiences.
- Ability to introduce creative communications solutions to achieve business or organisational objectives.
- Intermediate proficiency with Microsoft Office.
- Degree level education or equivalent.
- Full UK driving licence and access to a private car.
Desirable
Background in an agency or commercial sector.
About Onward Homes
Onward Homes is one of the largest registered providers of social housing in the Northwest, managing 35,000 properties across 52 neighbourhoods. We are committed to building 500 new homes each year and to creating a positive, progressive workspace that supports our colleagues’ potential. We embrace diversity and strive to build inclusive teams that reflect the communities we serve, making reasonable adjustments for candidates as needed.
Recruitment Information
Questions about the role may be directed to HumanResourcesTeam@onward.co.uk. We reserve the right to close the vacancy early prior to the closing date.
