Background

The Communications team is here to increase understanding of the role and membership of the House; promote the impact and outcomes of its work; demonstrate its relevance to UK citizens; ensure that the House is open and accountable to the public; and to deliver the best possible internal communications to members and staff. It provides an enquiry service for members of the public, promotes the work of the House to the press and media, runs marketing activities and outreach events, produces publications, manages web and social media content, and communicates with the staff and members of the House. Lords staff are strictly impartial, supporting the work of the entire House, and all its members.

The role of Senior Communications Officer is part of the wider Communications team and management structure but is based primarily in the Lord Speaker’s office. The jobholder works closely with the Lord Speaker’s Private Office team to support his communications objectives on behalf of the House.

The Role

The main objective of this role is to support and deliver the Lord Speaker's communications objectives, working with the Communications team and Private Office, and acting as his communications adviser and spokesperson, including out of hours media as necessary.

The Person

The successful candidate will have the following skills/experience:

• A successful track record of proactive and reactive media planning and delivery, working with national, regional and local media, and dealing with complex issues for a high profile public figure.
• Experience of acting as a media spokesperson for a high-profile public figure dealing with challenging issues, anticipating risks and taking steps to mitigate them.
• Extensive experience of drafting media articles, online content and other written materials for a high-profile public figure.
• Experience of working in a press office in a high-pressure, complex environment.