Communications Officer
South Ribble Borough Council and Chorley Council
Location: South Ribble Borough Council and Chorley Council locations (hybrid)
Contract: Full time (36.25 hours per week) / Permanent
Salary: £31,537 to £33,699
Closing Date: 11 January 2026
Are you a creative storyteller who can deliver high-quality communications?
We’re looking for someone to join the creative and talented communications team to help shape the organisations’ internal culture through effective communication of the councils’ core values and to spot opportunities for external communications from our staff stories, bringing these to life through updates, news stories, imagery and video.
In a role that works across two organisations, your work will ensure colleagues and elected members are fully informed about what is happening at each organisation and you will be able to also support the team on external campaigns and projects.
What you’ll be getting up to:
Lead on the councils’ internal communications strategy aiming to ensure colleagues and members are fully informed of what each council is doing and why.
Coordinate content on the intranet platform for both South Ribble and Chorley Councils and update the channel on an ongoing basis, keeping it relevant and up to date.
Create and deliver the monthly all staff email.
Support in the communication and organisation of internal events.
Produce high quality content for use internally and externally though the creation of imagery and video.
Build relationships with people within the organisation including the Senior Leadership Team and elected members.
Have an oversight of the council’s strategic plans and key priorities, horizon scanning to spot opportunities to relay key information to staff.
Work with the HR team on recruitment campaigns and support the Communications and Marketing Team on external communications as necessary to boost the profile of the organisations.
Support the delivery of external communications campaigns as required.
Who we’re looking for
Is imaginative with excellent creative communications skills
Have a keen news sense – being able to sniff out great stories to showcase the work of both councils
Is able to create and maintain excellent relationships with external and internal colleagues
Can be innovative and creative in their approach
Our Benefits
25 days annual leave plus bank holidays (and Christmas shutdown)
Hybrid/agile working from day one
Local Government pension
Healthcare Cash Plan for cash back on health treatments
Cashback website access for savings on brands you love
Volunteering days
Free parking
Many of our colleagues work flexibly for us. We’re always open to conversations around different working arrangements. If you’re interested in part-time, compressed hours or any other working arrangement, please get in touch with us through the “Contact Us” form on our careers website.
About Us
At South Ribble Council, our mission is to provide a first-class service and improve the quality of life for our communities. Our staff are our greatest resource in helping us achieve this. They’re at the heart of everything we do and are crucial to the delivery of excellent services.
Working Together
We share a number of our services with Chorley Council. This allows for improved resilience across both councils and provides numerous benefits to our operations. Whilst some staff and back-end processes are shared between the Councils, both Councils still retain sovereignty and have separate strategies and corporate plans.
Additional information
Applicants are advised to apply early. We reserve the right to close a vacancy prior to the closing date.
Equal Opportunities
We believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect. We are committed to the elimination of unfair and unlawful discrimination and prejudice in all our policies, procedures, and practices.
We’re committed to making our recruitment practices barrier-free and accessible to everyone. This includes making adjustments for disabled people, neurodiverse people or people with long-term health conditions. If you would like us to do anything differently during the recruitment process, please contact us via the "Contact Us" page on our website.
If you are disabled or your last employer was the armed forces, and you meet all the essential criteria of a post, you will be guaranteed an interview.
