Location: Flexible, the role will be contracted to our Wilmslow or London Office,  Our priority is to enable all our people to work productively and effectively from any location. Through hybrid working we offer great home and office-based working opportunities and more general flexibility over where you work to be productive. There will be times when you will be expected to attend the office to collaborate with colleagues or travel due to business need. 

Salary: £49,549 – £56,129 plus excellent benefits

About the Communications Department:

The ICO’s work affects every single person in the UK. Our regulatory role impacts how healthcare can innovate to help you live longer, how social media firms select the content you see and how police can use technology to reduce crime. We oversee how you can access information about how your taxes are spent, or about how a company is using your data.

It is our communications department’s role to tell those stories.

We work to support the office’s work in explaining the law and influencing the behaviour of organisations. We help people to understand their information rights, and support public trust and confidence in the responsible use of data. And we increase public and stakeholder awareness of the benefits of what we do, protecting and enhancing our reputation.

What does that mean in practice? Working with national print and broadcast media, placing stories, building a contacts book and spotting opportunities. Growing our social media following, finding new ways to engage audiences in our work and creating content people want to see. And ensuring our website reflects the breadth of work and level of detailed guidance that characterise the ICO.

Further information about our Communications Department can be found on our website.

About the role:

Our News Manager will drive forward our media work, securing the coverage that engages people in what the ICO does.

We want an experienced media professional who can communicate, explain and raise awareness of the ICO’s work to our key audiences. You will be comfortable working across the full range of channels including print, broadcast, regional, consumer and trade publications and social media channels.

We want someone who can lead our press office team, encouraging creativity and proactivity, and making sure our work is prioritised, focused on strategic outcomes and having an impact. In doing so, you will help equip your communications colleagues with the skills they need to adopt new and innovative approaches to communicating. You will be responsible for leading and managing a team of six.

We want someone who can be a key member of the Senior Management Team, playing an active role in the continued improvement and evolution of our communications function, and helping to deputise for the Head of Media. You will help further embed a culture of proactivity, flexibility and collaboration in teams across the directorate to make sure we are delivering the very best communications.

This is an exciting and challenging opportunity for a candidate who is able to demonstrate excellent news judgment, political nous, strong leadership, and creativity and strategic thinking - with a keen eye on detail, delivery, impact and the bigger picture. Crucially, the role requires an ability to form good, productive, effective and professional working relationships with people across the organization, including at the most senior levels.

Further details of the role, responsibilities and person specification are set out in the attached copy of the Job Description and Person Specification.

Why work for us?

We are proud to provide our people with a premium benefits package. We are continually improving the rewards we offer. Here are a few of the valuable rewards that you will enjoy:

Flexible working hours, including flexi leave.

Civil Service Pension arrangements.

25 days' paid holiday a year with options to buy, sell, and bank days.

Extra "privilege" days in addition to normal public holidays.

Compressed working hours options.

Excellent learning and development opportunities.

Health cash plan.

Colleague assistance scheme.

Access to many discounted products and services.

Welfare and family-friendly policies.

Staff medical scheme and eyesight testing.

If appointed, you will be required to complete security clearance processes including qualification checks and a Basic Disclosure  check of unspent criminal convictions. 

Equality, diversity and inclusion 

The ICO is committed to promoting and enhancing equality, diversity and inclusion. We are focused on developing a workforce that is representative of the communities we serve and together we are building an inclusive workplace where all of our colleagues have the opportunity to make a real difference. 

We are championing this through our Equality Diversity together with a number of staff networks. 

If you are disabled and have difficulty using our online application system please email the HR team at [email protected] who can arrange for you to submit an application via an alternative method.

How to apply

Please complete our online application form and submit prior to the closing date of: 23:59, 14 August 2022.

Interviews are expected to be held via Microsoft Teams week commencing 5 September 2022