About Us:

THE EXTRAORDINARY STORY OF THE IMPOSSIBLE DREAM 

The Press and Social Media team in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. For example, they tell the stories of a Council where people use their vision and commitment to open doors for the next generations. 

Nothing beats the feeling of helping someone find their passion. At Westminster City Council, our City Lions team helps young local people engage with culture, creativity and dreams. When they came across a lonely, isolated 16-year-old who called himself a failure, they knew what to do. They worked 1-2-1 to find the thing this boy really loved. YouTube, it turned out. But it’s impossible to turn that into a career, right? Wrong. A week later, he was enrolled on the British Film Institute film-making programme. It was the ultimate light-bulb moment. And it turned him into what he is today – a budding Spielberg with a world of opportunity at his feet. 

The Role:

As Press and Social Media Manager you can make your own powerful contribution. You will lead, manage, inspire and develop the Press and Social team, which is involved in every aspect of the Council’s work. This supportive group is dedicated to protecting and boosting the Council’s reputation. 

Through proactive and reactive external communications, you’ll support the extraordinary true stories we tell the wider world about Westminster. Like all your colleagues, you’ll relish the exposure to work that is interesting, high profile and never, ever boring. You’ll be a senior point of contact on all media issues, providing strategic advice to Members and senior stakeholders. 

Handling some challenging issues across the different media, you’ll grow into an impressively well-rounded comms and media professional. From identifying risks and managing stakeholders, to spotting opportunities and generating eye-catching content, you’ll develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to take on any challenge. 

Along the way, you’ll develop good professional relationships with journalists and other media professionals, to help make sure Westminster’s viewpoint is accurately reflected. There’s nothing quite like the satisfaction of placing stories with national media. 

About You:

You’ll bring to the role proven experience of handling sensitive and high profile media and social media enquiries. A highly organised individual with excellent relationship building and project management skills, you have a track record of managing a press and social media team and building collaborative relationships. Your experience includes planning for and handling significant activities linked to complex corporate decisions. 

Naturally, we’ll expect you to have impressive communication skills both in person and in writing - from news releases to media statements and briefing material, through to social media posts. You also demonstrate excellent understanding of the news, press and social media landscape. Politically astute, you know how to spot both good and bad news stories and take necessary actions to mitigate risk. All of which means you are an ideal candidate to help us tell Westminster’s extraordinary stories, while living one for yourself. 

The Council and its partners are committed to achieving diverse shortlists for all vacancies at Band 4 or above to support our desire to increase the number of staff from underrepresented groups in our workforce. As part of this ambition, if you are from a black, Asian and minority ethnic background (BAME) you can self-declare this to the hiring manager as part of our positive action commitments. 

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. There are 250,000 diverse residents, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people working here every day. Our mission is to create a city for all. We’re an organisation that wants the very best for our residents: a supportive and safe environment, the chance to grow and learn throughout their lives, to build fantastic careers in world-leading industries, to have access to high-quality, affordable housing and to retire into the community with dignity and pride.

We want Westminster to be a place where you can make the most of your talents and thrive as an individual. That’s why we’re proud to have won Best Health & Wellbeing Initiative in the 2020/21 Business Culture Awards. By being the best you can be, you’ll help us adapt to the changing needs of our organisation and communities.  
 

At Westminster City Council, we are passionate about our aim to be an inclusive workplace for all that reflects the communities we serve, and we believe everyone is valued. We particularly welcome applicants from underrepresented backgrounds, including BAME, LGBTQ+ and those with hidden or visible disabilities. We’re committed to ensuring all our staff – regardless of gender, age, religion, sexuality, ethnicity or disability – can succeed. We value diversity and appreciate that people work in different ways. So, as a Timewise employer we work to provide flexible working arrangements and an empowering environment that enables you to be your best, that is the Westminster Way.