If you are a bright, motivated, and creative individual looking to embark on an exceptional career in one of Whitehall’s busiest press offices dealing with high profile ministerial visits and events this job could be for you.

Working closely with the Home Secretary and Ministers, the visits and events team forms a key part of the communications mix that promotes our work to cut crime, reduce immigration and prevent terrorism - policies that never fail to resonate with the public.  

We are looking for an Information Officer for our Ministerial Visits and Events Team. The post-holder will be part of a busy team responsible for the planning, co-ordination and delivery of highly visible and newsworthy visits and events for the ministerial team across all Home Office responsibilities.

First-class ministerial visits and events are a key channel through which the Home Office communicates its strategic priorities and engages with partners on issues such as immigration, security, policing and crime to the public, media, delivery partners and stakeholders.  

They are vital in raising the profile of the department’s policies and in reaching communities, organisations and audiences across the UK. 

The post involves working with wide-ranging and diverse groups of people - policy and press office, ministerial offices, frontline services such as the police and border force, charities and third sector organisations - to identify ministerial visit and event opportunities to support communications plans and policy priorities.  You will then be responsible for ensuring that these are planned and delivered to the highest standards and meet Ministers’ requirements.

The team’s work is fast-moving and varied.  On any given week you could be setting up a sensitive ministerial visit around strategies to tackle counter-terrorism, organising a senior ministerial policy speech on immigration, or managing a high-profile stakeholder conference on behalf of crime policy colleagues.  

The post calls for flexibility, resilience, excellent time management and prioritisation skills. You will have a proven track record of delivering projects from start to finish, excellent relationship management and communication skills and the ability to manage multiple demands to get things done.  

This is an excellent opportunity for an experienced communications professional to join one of Whitehall’s most challenging and exciting departments and be part of setting the direction for the Ministerial team.

Job specification:

• To plan, co-ordinate and deliver UK-based visits and events across Home Office policy areas for the ministerial team and business-critical external stakeholder events on behalf of the department.
• Work closely with policy, press office and communications colleagues to ensure visits and events align with the department’s business and communications objectives and meet customer expectations.
• Proactively build peer and senior relationships with departmental and other colleagues to ensure the successful delivery of visits and events.
• Help provide proactive direction and guidance to ministers’ offices and policy officials on visits and events managed by the team.
• Draft ministerial submissions, itineraries and other materials to support visits and events; compile and co-ordinate relevant briefing to support the visit or event.
• Manage and maintain the team’s planning and business tools and ensure these are up to date and accurate.
• Flexibility to accommodate some overnight travel and early starts/late finishes.

Note:  The post-holder may be required to carry out other duties within the scope of the grade and within the limits of their skill, competence and training.

Person Specification

• Highly organised, able to juggle conflicting demands and work to deadline, often under pressure.
• Excellent planning and organisational skills and proven ability to manage multiple projects and challenges.
• Excellent drafting and oral communication skills.
• Ability to grasp complex or unfamiliar information quickly and communicate it with confidence.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship management skills, comfortable influencing at senior levels internally and externally.
• Political awareness, understanding of wider government agenda and propriety issues.
• A confident negotiator, with the ability achieve consensus while managing a range of expectations.
• An enquiring mind and ability to confidently but diplomatically challenge / question others.
• A strong customer-service ethic and understanding of the shared service concept.