Senior Press Officer
We're looking for an all-round communications officer with media handling experience who's ready for their next challenge. This is a one-year fixed-term contract as a Senior Press Officer working as part of a team in a complex, fast paced organisation, supporting our Adult Social Care and Public Health teams.
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the job description attached.
The Opportunity
Salary: £35,411 to £38,296 per annum, plus out-of-hours additional allowance
Contract Type: 1-year Fixed term or Secondment
Working Pattern: Full time, 37 hours per week, participation on an out-of-hours rota
Location: Hybrid working from home and County Hall, Chichester
As a Senior Press Officer in the Communications and Engagement team, you will be responsible for planning and delivering a year-round programme of communications, primarily for our Adults Services and Public Health Directorate, plus providing support to the team as a whole.
It's not all about press! You'll be delivering communications through a number of different channels, including digital and social media platforms, engaging closely with local, regional and national news and other media outlets, and supporting internal communications to staff.
The job involves extensive relationship building with a variety of internal and external teams, partners and stakeholders.
Key to the role is your ability to tell a strong, compelling story of our improvement journey, especially the work we're doing across West Sussex County Council to improve outcomes for our residents in line with Our Council Plan.
Working on several challenging and inter-related projects at one time, you will provide an effective media handling and communications service, ensuring the County Council's messages are open and transparent.
You will be required to participate in an out-of-hours on-call rota, for which an additional allowance is provided.
Working for us
Angus, who works in the team as Senior Press Officer says… "I've been a Senior Press Officer for West Sussex County Council for several months and am really enjoying the role. The work is varied, interesting and challenging, with no two days the same. I enjoy the challenge of distilling complex information into clear messages and crafting effective communications that help the public understand what their County Council are doing in the local area. This is my first job in a local authority, but the friendly and supportive team here have helped me settle in quickly and easily. It feels good to be part of a progressive communications team who are open to new ideas and always looking for ways to delivery more effectively."
We offer many benefits and an opportunity to be part of a supportive and creative team, one that is keen to ensure your development and career progression.
As well as adding real value to our service users and our communities, as an employer we recognise our employees are central in being able to achieve this. To recognise this we want to help support your development and provide an great place to work ensuring you can fulfil your full potential, have access to a range of benefits including:
For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.
Further information
The reference number for this role is CRS00735.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Andy Robbins (Communications & Engagement Lead) at or Tim Feltham (Senior Communications & Engagement Lead) at . For issues or queries regarding your application please contact .
Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years referencing and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
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