Communication Officer (News)

The role will be based at our offices at 2-4 Cockspur Street, London, SW1Y 5BS, in central London. Please be aware that this role can only be worked in the UK and not overseas. Informal hybrid working arrangements apply and there is an expectation that staff will attend the office regularly. Work pattern and office attendance will be agreed with successful candidates.

We are looking for an experienced Communication Officer, with skills in press relations, to join our multidisciplinary communication team. You will be a proactive self-starter with a sharp news sense, strong relationship building skills and demonstrable experience of landing positive stories to further an organisation’s agenda.

You will understand the UK media landscape, enjoy getting to know journalists and help to shape their stories. We are also looking for someone with experience of supporting the communication handling of high profile and/or sensitive news stories. You will take part in our out-of-hours News desk rota, for which an allowance is paid, and be willing to attend court regularly.

You will also have the opportunity to support the development of our social media channels, devising relevant and engaging multimedia that speaks to our audience. Our team is responsible for press and media relations, digital and internal communications and information management.

As a Communication Officer (News) you will be responsible for:

• Developing a good understanding of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), its media profile and spotting communication opportunities that further the SFO’s agenda.
• Maintaining professional relationships with national, international, regional and specialist media outlets and building strong links with colleagues across the SFO.
• Providing timely media monitoring and recommended handling, interview advice and briefing materials to Board members and other senior staff.
• Working to short deadlines to draft press lines in response to journalist queries.
• Working with our specialist legal, investigative and intelligence teams to draft interesting, easily-consumable and news-centric press releases that demonstrate the SFO’s unique capability.
• Devising engaging digital content that enhances the SFO’s brand and speaks to our audience.
• Building excellent, professional relationships with all stakeholders both inside and outside the SFO.
• Providing wider communication support to all areas of the team where needed.

Behaviours we will assess you against during the selection process include:

• Working Together
• Communicating and Influencing
• Delivering at Pace

Technical skills we will assess you against during the selection process include:

• Government Communications Service (professional competency framework): Ideas
• Government Communications Service (professional competency framework): Implementation

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check.

This job is broadly open to UK nationals, nationals of the Republic of Ireland, nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK, and nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS).

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. We run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.