Head of Communications and Public Relations

Job introduction

About the role

Whether it’s tackling the climate crisis, supporting our work to tackle racism and inequality or campaigning for the policy changes our communities need, Brighton & Hove is always an exciting and innovative city.

This post will be pivotal in making change happen – working directly with the council Leader, Committee Chairs, and senior leadership team to help to set the council’s strategy, and design and deliver first-class communications and public relations campaigns.

Genuine and meaningful communication and engagement is central to our vision for co-production, collaboration and consultation with our residents, businesses and partners.

Research, insight and evaluation are critical to our communications.

This fast-paced role will manage a talented and committed team of 25 officers, including external, internal, digital and design experts and a newly created dedicated Consultation and Insight Officer to work alongside the council's Community Engagement Team.

Sitting within the Policy & Communications Service, the post holder will be ideally placed to influence decision-making at senior political and officer level and will be expected to help drive change throughout the organisation.

You’ll have significant experience of leading communications teams at a senior level within a major organisation, and an excellent track record of delivering effective campaigns and public affairs work.

You’ll be a natural leader and know how to build and motivate teams. And you’ll be an outstanding communicator yourself – comfortable with managing complex and critical issues, writing compelling copy, or representing the council publicly.

You’ll bring strong political acumen and experience of working with elected members, a network of industry and media contacts and will understand how communications plays a key role in ensuring that the voices of the city’s seldom heard communities are heard in decision-making.

What’s it like to work in the Communications Team at Brighton & Hove City Council?
We believe in creating an environment where everyone supports each other to develop, learn and achieve their full potential.

We’ve nurtured an open, creative and collaborative culture where all team members have a say and responsibility for how the service is shaped and evolves. We’re made up of friendly and talented people, who through our individual personalities and styles, create an exciting and ambitious working environment.

Our employees should reflect the people we’re communicating with, so bring your different views and experiences and help us make sure our messages and communications and campaigns are relevant and appealing. 

Join us in showing how we make a real difference to the lives of people living in the city and what makes Brighton & Hove the best place in the UK to live, work and visit. 

you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.

Please read our Apply for a job at the council (brighton-hove.gov.uk) pages carefully. They give you all the guidance you need to complete your application as well as information on what will happen after you’ve submitted your application and at interview.

As part of your application, you will need to upload your CV and a supporting statement. Your supporting statement is the most important part of your application as it will be used in the shortlisting process to assess whether you meet the essential requirements for the role that are set out in the person specification and to decide whether you should be offered an interview. Before you start your application, please read our guidance here (CV guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) and Supporting statement guidance (brighton-hove.gov.uk) as this gives important advice which will increase your chance of success in the shortlisting process.

This role is politically restricted.  For further information on what this means for employees in post, please click on the document attachment below.

Additional information

Your starting salary will be pro rata if the above position is less than 37 hours or term-time only.

Work Permits: We may be able to obtain a Work Permit for this post but this is subject to meeting the requirements of the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) Points-based Immigration System. Please see Gov.uk for more information on the Skilled Worker Visa.

Part office / part home – hybrid -  We are a workplace that supports flexibility and employee wellbeing in the way we work whilst providing the best service for our customers. Team and service working arrangements are designed to support both employee work life balance and team collaboration. These would be part of your individual working arrangements alongside any personal preference agreed with your manager in advance of joining.

For more information about our values and the benefits of working at the council, visit Why work for us (brighton-hove.gov.uk)

Company information

Encouraging a diverse workforce

Our city is known and loved for its diversity. Not only is the mixture of people, culture and skills vital to the economic and social development of the city, it's what makes Brighton & Hove such a great place to live, work and visit. We are committed to developing and retaining a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities we serve so we welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds. In order to achieve our aims of proportionate representation, we particularly encourage applicants from a BME or White Other background as well as those who identify as disabled, male or trans.

Find out more about our commitment to being a fair and inclusive place to work where everyone can achieve their potential by reading about our fair and inclusive actions, our anti-racism strategy and the work we are doing to encourage a diverse workforce (brighton-hove.gov.uk).