Communications Officer

Job Title: Communications Officer
Starting Salary: £35,570 - £38,510 per annum (pro rata for part time)
Hours: 37
Location: Stevenage, Hybrid - countywide travel
Contract Type: Permanent
Directorate: Resources

About the team

The Corporate Communications team helps Hertfordshire County Council communicate clearly, consistently and effectively with colleagues, residents, partners and stakeholders. We support services across the organisation to engage audiences, manage reputation and tell the stories that showcase the difference we make to communities across Hertfordshire.

You'll join a collaborative and supportive team of communications professionals, working alongside colleagues across media, campaigns, digital and internal communications. Together, we deliver strategic communications that inform, engage and inspire.

About the role

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who can thrive in a fast-paced environment, build strong relationships with colleagues, journalists, people who use our services and other stakeholders, and help us communicate the council's priorities with clarity, confidence and impact.

Working as part of a busy communications team, you will develop compelling stories, manage media enquiries, deal with incidents and crises, create content for our social media channels, as well as supporting the delivery of high-profile campaigns that make a difference to residents' lives.

About you

Essential:

• Experience of creating engaging, accessible content tailored to different audiences and communication channels.
• Experience of identifying and developing stories and case studies
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to write clearly in plain English and adapt messages for different audiences.
• Experience of building and maintaining effective relationships.
• Ability to manage multiple projects, monitor progress and deliver communications activity to agreed deadlines.

Desirable:

• Demonstrable experience of developing and delivering communications activity across a range of channels, including digital, print and media.
• Proven ability to gather, analyse and interpret information, audience insight and performance data to inform communications plans and campaigns.
• Awareness of the media landscape, news agenda and the role of communications in supporting organisational priorities.
• Experience of evaluating communications activity and using insights to improve future performance.
• Experience of working in local government, the public sector or a large, complex organisation.
• Knowledge of media relations and responding to media enquiries.

Qualifications:

• Relevant qualification in communications, public relations, marketing, journalism or a related discipline, or equivalent relevant experience.

Other Requirements:

• Ability to travel across Hertfordshire to attend events, gather content and build relationships with stakeholders and communities as required.
• You will be required to be part of an on-call out of hours rota. You will be on-call roughly once a quarter and will be paid. Full training will be provided.

We welcome applications from candidates who currently reside in the UK with established proof of right to work documentation. We are not able to offer sponsorship at this time for this role.

This job role is Level 9. Please locate the job profile here:

Job profiles - Corporate services

To hear more about this opportunity please contact Nick Pearce, Senior Communications Manager -Nicholas.Pearce@hertfordshire.gov.uk for an informal discussion about the role.

Interview Date: w/c 16/11/2026

Benefits of working for us

How to apply

As part of your application, please upload your most recent CV. Ensure your CV is up to date with your employment history (including any employment gaps), and including any training/qualifications. We encourage you to include examples of where you have demonstrated the requirements/criteria in the advert / job profile to allow the panel to fully recognise your skills and abilities. You will have the opportunity to include a short covering paragraph within your application to give us a little more information about your skills, knowledge, and experiences.

Additional information

We are changing
Hertfordshire County Councilis undergoing Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). If you are employed by Hertfordshire County on 1 April 2028, it is expected that most roles will transfer to the newly-created unitary councils on existing terms and conditions under TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings – Protection of Employment) principles.

LGR is one of the biggest changes we will face in a generation. It will reshape how we work and how services are organised and gives us a real opportunity to build something better. To find out more, visit https://www.hertfordshire-lgr.co.uk/

Disability Confident
We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and guarantee an interview to anyone disclosing a disability whose application meets the minimum criteria for the post.

English Fluency
The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice in accurate spoken English is essential for the post (for those whose language is a signed language the provision of a sign language interpreter who speaks English to the necessary standard of fluency will be required). Further information about the legal requirement can be found here.