NCF Head of Communications and Engagement Ref. 3714

Job Description

Flexible working: Since you’ll be working with sensitive information, home working is not possible in this role. We also can’t accommodate part-time work, however, if you are interested in job sharing, we welcome your application. We’ll work with you to support a good work-life balance, with options like flexitime, flexible start and finish times and compressed hours. Occasional travel across the UK will be required.

About us

GCHQ is an intelligence, cyber and security agency with a mission to keep the UK safe. We use cutting-edge technology, ingenuity, and partnerships to identify, analyse and disrupt threats. Working with our intelligence partners MI5 and MI6, we protect the UK from terrorism, cyber-attacks, and espionage. At GCHQ you’ll do varied and fascinating work in a supportive and inclusive environment that puts the emphasis on teamwork.

Some of our roles are based in the National Cyber Force (NCF). This is a partnership between Defence and Intelligence. The NCF operates in and through cyberspace to counter, disrupt, degrade and contest those who would do harm to the UK and our Allies.

The role

As our NCF Head of Communications and Engagement, you’ll set the strategic direction for all communications activity across the NCF. You’ll lead ground-breaking initiatives for the global defence community, with significant impact on the reputation on both our organisation and our partners GCHQ, MI5 and MI6. It’s an exciting and rewarding opportunity to shape our growing communications department, where you’ll have a direct impact on our mission.

Working at pace in our complex environment, you’ll lead and line manage a talented team, build capability and foster an inclusive, supportive culture where everyone can thrive. You’ll act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders, providing expert counsel on reputation, stakeholder engagement and strategic communications. And, you’ll work across government, building and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders including media contacts and sector partners.

From media relations to internal messaging, you’ll oversee all communications throughout the NCF. You’ll do this while developing and delivering our overall strategy, ensuring it supports business objectives and aligns with the Government Communication Plan. Plus, you’ll provide direct input into corporate planning and decision making at board level, working collaboratively with policy, operations and corporate teams to ensure quality and consistency across everything we do.

Since you’ll be working with sensitive information, this role is office-based at our site in Samlesbury. There will be some travel across the UK required to engage with stakeholders, partners and team members at other sites within the UK’s intelligence services. Some out-of-hours working is also to be expected depending on external communication requests, with our flexitime offering allowing you to take back time when needed.

About you

You’ll have extensive experience leading a communications function at a senior level, with a track record of delivering strategic communications that achieve measurable outcomes. Your understanding of the media landscape, digital communications and emerging trends will be strong. And, you’ll be confident in your judgement skills and ability to provide clear, credible advice to senior stakeholders.

Bringing leadership, learning and development skills, you’ll know how to motivate and build a supportive and effective multi-disciplinary team. You’ll also be committed to matters of equality, diversity and inclusion, knowing how to embed these within your team. Influencing and relationship management skills are a must, since you’ll be engaging with and advising board members, building trust with external partners and navigating complex relationships.

A commitment to innovation and change is important, along with a flexible approach that will allow you to shift priorities and respond effectively in fast-moving situations. You’ll be able to distil complex issues into compelling narratives to achieve stakeholder buy-in. And, you’ll be confident in your ability to challenge constructively when needed to ensure we’re always taking the right approach when it comes to our communications.

Your experience may come from any background or sector; what’s important is a breadth of knowledge. For example, you might have worked in media relations, campaigns, digital or internal communications. You’ll also need experience managing budgets and resources, and examples of work you’ve been involved in that demonstrate your abilities. We expect you to be professionally accredited in communications in some form. This could be a related degree, a diploma, NCTJ or CIPR, for example.

Training and development

When you join, you’ll be invited to a three-day induction where we’ll give you an overview of the NCF and what we do. You’ll also get a detailed brief to introduce you to the business unit you’ll be joining.

We invest significantly in training and development. So, once you’re settled in your role, you’ll have access to a wide variety of training, courses and accreditation opportunities, along with protected time to pursue them. Your line manager will also be based on-site, and they will support you with any development opportunities you wish to access.

Rewards and benefits

You’ll receive a starting salary of £86,795 (including concessionary payment of £3,144) plus other benefits including:

• 25 Days Annual Leave automatically rising to 30 days after 5 years' service, and an additional 10.5 days public and privilege holidays
• opportunities to be recognised through our employee performance scheme
• interest-free season ticket loan
• excellent pension scheme
• cycle to work scheme
• facilities such as a gym, restaurant, and on-site coffee bars (at some locations)
• paid parental and adoption leave

Equal opportunities

At GCHQ diversity and inclusion are critical to our mission. To protect the UK, we need a truly diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. This includes diversity in every sense of the word: those with different backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, ways of thinking and those with disabilities or neurodivergent conditions. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from everyone, including those from groups that are under-represented in our workforce such as women, those from an ethnic minority background, people with disabilities and those from low socio-economic backgrounds.

Find out more about our culture, working environment and diversity on our website.

We’re Disability Confident

GCHQ are proud to have achieved Leader status within the Department for Work and Pensions Disability Confident scheme. This is aimed at encouraging employers to think differently about disability and take action to improve how they recruit, retain, and develop disabled people. Being Disability Confident, we aim to offer a fair and proportionate number of person-to-person interviews to any candidate who self-identifies as disabled and meets the essential criteria for the role. This is our ‘Offer of Interview’ (OOI). To secure an interview for this vacancy, the essential criteria (in order of application process) are:

• able to demonstrate leadership experience within a communications function at a senior level, with a track record of delivering strategic communications that achieve measurable outcomes. This will be assessed at application sift
• reaching the minimum pass mark for the Organisational Situational Judgement Test which looks at your ability to problem solve
• reaching the minimum pass mark in the application question covering your suitability for the role

There is a wide range of extra support available throughout the recruitment process to enable you to do your best, visit our how to apply page for information on reasonable adjustments we can offer.

What to expect

Our recruitment process is fair, transparent, and based on merit. Here is a brief overview of each stage, in order:

1. An initial online application form including pre-screening questions to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria
2. Online Situational Judgement Test (SJT) rating the appropriateness of your responses to a series of short scenarios. The SJT tests criteria important for all roles in our organisation
3. An application sift, looking at your motivation for the role and the organisation
4. A virtual interview, which will include competency questions and a presentation based assessment
5. If successful, you’ll receive a conditional offer of employment

Please note, you must successfully pass each stage of the process to progress to the next. Your application may take around 6 to 9 months to process including vetting, so we advise you continue any current employment until you have received your final job offer.

Before you apply

To work at GCHQ, you need to be a British citizen or hold dual British nationality. Read about our eligibility criteria.

This role requires the highest security clearance, known as Developed Vetting (DV). It’s something everyone in the UK Intelligence Community undertakes. Find out more about the vetting process.

Please note we have a strict drugs policy, so once you start your application, you can’t take any recreational drugs and you’ll need to declare your previous drug usage at the relevant stage.

Before you apply, we advise you to consider setting up a separate email address for your contact with us, to ensure your personal and application correspondence remain separate. Try to avoid having identifying features in your email address, such as your first and/or surname and date of birth. This is good practise and will help you manage your application with us more discretely.

The role is based in Samlesbury, Lancashire so you’ll need to live within a commutable distance. Please consider any financial implications and practicalities before submitting an application, as we do not offer relocation costs.

We offer reasonable reimbursement of travel costs for candidates attending in person interviews or assessments during the recruitment and vetting process. Full details will be provided with your interview or assessment invitation.

Reimbursement is discretionary and will only be made in line with the Candidate Expenses Policy, as amended from time to time. Candidates must book their own travel, using the most economical option, and provide original hardcopy receipts for reimbursement.

Please note, you should only launch your application from within the UK. If you are based overseas, you should wait until you visit the UK to launch an application. Applying from outside the UK will impact on our ability to progress your application. You should not discuss your application, other than with your partner or a close family member.

Right to withdraw statement:

Please be aware that we reserve the right to bring forward the closing date for this role from the original closing date once a certain number of applications have been received. Please be mindful of this and submit your application at your earliest convenience to avoid disappointment.