Job Description
Director of Communications, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
Do you have the following skills, experience and drive to succeed in this role Find out below.
Closing date: Apply before 11:55 pm on Friday 10 March 2023
Salary: £120,000pa
Existing Civil Servants on level transfer will retain their existing base salary. Candidates on promotion will have their substantive base salary increased by 10% or start on the minimum of the SCS PB2 scale of £95,000 per annum, whichever is higher. In addition, if based in London, you will be eligible for a £2,000 Location Allowance.
For further information about the position and additional details on qualifications, requirements, terms and conditions of service and how to apply, please visit: www.rraresponses.com quoting Advert Reference Number: 2301-091L
Job grade: SCS Pay Band 2
Contract type: Permanent
Type of role: Communications / Marketing
Senior leadership
Working pattern: Flexible working, Full-time
Number of jobs available: 1
You will lead the FCDO Communication function, whose purpose is to help deliver our foreign policy and development objectives by changing attitudes and behaviours amongst domestic and global audiences and engaging our workforce to enable them to be the best they can be.
If you believe in the power of words and images to improve lives, are a proven inclusive and inspiring leader, and thrive in an ever-changing communication environment then this is the role for you.
Job description
Please refer to the candidate pack attached at the bottom of the advert.
Person specification
Please refer to the candidate pack attached at the bottom of this advert.
Benefits
Please see the candidate pack at the bottom of this advert for further details or contact www.rraresponses.com quoting Advert Reference Number: 2301-091L
Things you need to know
Selection process details
Civil Service external recruitment processes at Director level are regulated by the Civil Service Commission, and we follow clear guidelines to ensure that our recruitment is fair and open. You can find further information here: Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles. We also design our recruitment processes to reflect our values-based approach to HR (using staff engagement panels, for example) and to ensure that shortlisted candidates have the opportunity to meet key stakeholders for the role, before they join us.
The recruitment process is being undertaken by Russell Reynolds Associates on behalf of the FCDO. Please submit your full application by email to responses@russellreynolds.com. Please quote the role title and assignment code 2301-091L in the subject heading of the email. All applications will be acknowledged and considered by the selection panel.
Your submission should include:
- A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements.
- A Statement of Suitability (no longer than two pages) explaining your personal skills, qualities, abilities and experience relevant to the requirements of the job in support of your application with particular reference to the essential criteria in the person specification. It should also describe your vision for the job and how you would propose to approach this if appointed.
- A completed Diversity Questionnaire. The FCDO is committed to equal opportunities. Our officers are recruited on merit, through fair and open competition. We seek our strength through diversity and appoint suitably qualified individuals regardless of ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, social backgrounds, age or disability. To help us ensure that our recruitment activity reflects the diversity of British society, we would be grateful if you could complete the diversity monitoring form. As part of the application process, you will be asked a number of diversity-related questions. If you do not wish to provide a declaration on any of the particular characteristics, you will have the option to select ‘prefer not to say’. All monitoring data will be treated in the strictest confidence and will not be provided to the selection panel. The information you provide when submitting your application will help us monitor our progress towards the Civil Service becoming the most inclusive employer. See the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy for more information.
The closing date for applications is 23:59 on Friday 10th March 2023.
If you wish to speak to a member of the team before submitting an application, please contact responses@russellreynolds.com
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
This role has a minimum assignment duration of 3 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.
As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is developed vetting (opens in a new window).
See our vetting charter (opens in a new window).
People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.
Nationality requirements
Open to UK nationals only.
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.
We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission’s recruitment principles (opens in a new window).
The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.
The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.
More information
Candidate Pack – FCDO, Director of Communications FINAL Opens in new window(docx, 834kB)