Stakeholder Comms & Engagement Officer
Organisation: London Borough of Waltham Forest
Salary: PO4 £46,041 - £49,083
Contract Type: Full time - Fixed term (12 Months)
Working hours per week: 36
Application Deadline: 25/07/2024
Proposed Interview Date(s): TBC
Reference:1292
About Us:
Bursting with culture, energy, and opportunity, the London Borough of Waltham Forest is a fantastic and exciting place to work.
We are a highly ambitious borough. Driven by culture and the innate creativity of our residents, we have developed new and innovative ways to build our communities. Our Council is relentlessly resident-focused, insight-led, digitally driven and commercially minded; a Council focused on meeting the needs of our existing and future residents.
London Borough of Waltham Forest is one of the Mayor of London's Good Work Standard employers. This accreditation is a proof of our commitment to creating a healthy, fair and inclusive workplace. This includes fair pay and conditions, workplace well-being, skills and progression and diversity and recruitment.
About the role:
Sitting within the Corporate Communications Team, within the Chief Executive's Department, this role offers the opportunity to lead on our Regeneration and Capital Delivery Communications. This role will be the lead communications advisor for this portfolio of work, and includes tasks such as:
Delivering a wide variety of stakeholder communications and engagement activities in support of the council's services and priorities
Supporting consultations, ensuring all targeted audiences are reached appropriately and residents are able to have their voices heard
Act as the communications advisor for the regeneration and capital delivery portfolio, advising staff, senior members and management
Input into our weekly social media programme, managing several key e-newsletters and website content
This is a fantastic opportunity to join an award-winning communications team who have high standards, and deliver innovative and creative comms to our make positive impacts on residents' lives.
>> Click here to download the Role Profile <<
Key Responsibilities:
Delivering a wide variety of stakeholder communications and engagement activities in support of the council's services and priorities
Supporting consultations, ensuring all targeted audiences are reached appropriately and residents are able to have their voices heard
Act as the communications advisor for the regeneration and capital delivery portfolio, advising staff, senior members and management
Input into our weekly social media programme, managing several key e-newsletters and website content
Act as a senior officer within the team, offering leadership and guidance to more junior colleagues
Qualifications and Requirements:
A comprehensive knowledge of communication and engagement theories and practices and understanding of how to use insight to inform communications approaches. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, including effective writing. • Highly developed understanding of audience needs and demonstrable political judgement and sensitivity • An understanding of research and consultation techniques and the analysis of data with particular understanding of current best practice and innovation. • Ability to engage effectively with different audience groups. To understand their communications needs, feelings and reactions and demonstrate constant awareness of the mood and motivation of staff, stakeholders and third parties. • Ability to translate big ideas and visions into viable long-term implementation, linking strategy to operational activity. • A good understanding of the future direction and vision for the council and local government in general. • An understanding of local government and its political/corporate environment. • Knowledge of industry policy framework, regulatory guidelines and legislation • Ability to analyse and interpret highly complex communication and engagement issues and devise the appropriate course of action. • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to process complex information and present targeted messages to different audiences. • Creative and innovative, with a strong ability to challenge and initiate ideas and solutions. Proficient in the use of general office ICT systems, as well as a comprehensive understanding of publishing (print and web), digital media, social media and video production.
Terms and conditions:
Satisfactory employment references and CIFAS identity checks;
Satisfactory declaration of interest;
As a public authority, we must ensure that members of staff in public-facing roles are able to speak fluent English. This means that they must have a command of spoken English, with confidence and accuracy, sufficient for the effective performance of their role. This requirement does not refer to any particular English language qualifications, regional or international accents, dialects, speech impediments or the tone of conversations. It does not require staff to speak only in English.
How to Apply:
Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online by pressing the 'Apply' button below. This includes a supporting statement that outlines to us how your skills and experience make you a good candidate for this vacancy.
We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.
Equal Opportunity Employer:
Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both, service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace. The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives: - Promoting equality of opportunity - Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage - Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels. - Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all. Respecting Diversity is a core Council value.
To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme. For more information, please refer to our recruitment and selection policy.
We are keen to support employees to balance their working life with other commitments. Therefore, wherever possible, we will consider working arrangements that suit an individual's personal circumstances whilst still meeting the needs of the Council. If you would like to discuss the possible flexible working options that might be applicable to this role, please contact the person named below or feel free to discuss this during your interview.
For more information on the benefits of working for the Council, please visit https://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/jobs-and-training/find-jobs-and-other-opportunities/working-us.
Contact Information:
If you have any questions about this vacancy or the application process, please contact Charlotte Goulding, Strategic Campaigns Manager, at charlotte.goulding@walthamforest.gov.uk
If you have any technical issues when trying to apply for this post, please contact our Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk. The Council's preference is for online application. However, if you have a disability and are unable to complete an online application, please email recruitment@walthamforest.gov.uk so we can arrange an alternative application method.
Click here for further information on the Human Resources recruitment privacy notice.