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Senior Press Officer

Employer
NAO(National Audit Office)
Location
London (Central), London (Greater)
Salary
Salary Range is £40,396 to £47,961 per annum
Closing date
3 Mar 2023

Senior Press Officer
Location- Victoria, London
Contract type- Permanent
Salary Range: £40,396 to £47,961 per annum
WFH Pattern- 3 days from the office and 2 days at home.



Nationality Requirements:
• UK nationals
• Nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• Nationals from the EU, EEA or Switzerland with (or eligible for) status under the European Union Settlement Scheme
(EUSS)
Please note, we are not able to sponsor work visas. Please contact us at [email protected] should you have any questions on your nationality eligibility.

The impact you’ll make
The NAO scrutinises public spending for Parliament to help the government in its drive to improve public services, nationally and locally. Our recommendations and reports help government make better use of public money to improve people’s lives. This position in the press office will allow you to play an important role in that process, communicating our work to key stakeholders including government, Parliamentarians, the media and the public, helping to drive positive change.

Main purpose of the role
Play an important role within the Press Office publicising the work of the NAO to the media to protect and enhance our reputation. The post-holder will need to be able to quickly understand complex, technical information and turn this into simple and engaging messages for our audiences. They will need to be capable of managing proactive, planned press work but have the ability to react to events and enquiries as well. They should also be politically and digitally aware, and experienced at using a range of communication tools and channels.

Responsibilities

Promote the NAO’s reports and work to external audiences via traditional and social media
• Write press notices, pitches to journalists, placed articles and blog posts to explain our work
• Draft social media posts to promote our work via twitter and LinkedIn
• Work with the design team to develop content for multimedia posts such as videos, gifs and infographics
• Brief journalists and producers on NAO reports to help secure in-depth, accurate and positive media coverage
• Organise and manage press briefings and media interviews
• Engage with stakeholders, including Parliament, government departments and audited bodies’ press offices
Support audit teams and NAO spokespeople to communicate our work externally
• Develop communications plans which help achieve audit teams’ impact and influence objectives with our key stakeholders
• Help prepare spokespeople for media interviews by conducting practice interviews and developing support materials
• Provide expert advice to colleagues on traditional and social media activity
• Work closely with Private Office and the Parliamentary Relations team to ensure our work is aligned and coordinated
• Evaluate coverage and comms objectives for reports

Respond to enquiries from journalists and on our social media channels
• Deal with a diverse range of ad hoc media enquiries in a timely and accurate manner
• Manage high-profile and sensitive media issues by drafting lines to take and briefing the media to help protect and enhance the NAO’s reputation
• Respond appropriately to questions and comments on social media about our work
• Build relationships with national, local and trade press journalists across all sectors our work covers
• Take part in a press office 24/7 phone rota with other team members

Work with press team colleagues to help deliver a range of tasks, including:
• Deputise for the Chief Press Officer when required
• Task manage a part-time press assistant and help them develop
• Media monitoring and analysis of press coverage
• Media training for colleagues
• Projects to improve our communications capability
• Maintain our media databases compliantly
• Manage relationships with our media service providers

 

Skills required

The successful candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

Essential:

• Excellent communication skills and the ability to convey messages to a range of audiences using various techniques
• Strong diplomacy skills and confident when speaking to journalists on a proactive and reactive basis
• Possessing strong writing skills, and able to deliver accurate information effectively and on time
• Confident and capable of translating complex and sensitive information and data into simple language
• A good grasp of digital and print media and able to pick up new tools quickly
• Able to work well under pressure and respond to issues at short notice and sometimes out of hours
• Ability to prioritise work and strategically think ahead
• Good team player
• Proficiency in traditional and social media monitoring
• Previous experience working in a press office or communications team

Desired:

• Interest in and understanding of the political landscape and how government works
• Familiarity with the Government Communication Service's communications guidance
• Experience working with creative design teams to make videos and multimedia content

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