Strategy and Local Communications Lead
Metropolitan Police
The starting salary is £57,301, which includes allowances totalling £2,841.
The salary is broken down as £54,460 basic salary, which will increase annually until you reach the top of the scale £66,356. Plus, a location allowance of £1,841 and a non-pensionable allowance of £1,000.
Location: Westminster
Closing date: 10 July 2024, 23.55.
The Strategy and Local Communications Lead is a brand-new role that will help the Communications and Engagement Directorate to deliver to the Met’s priorities of More Trust, Less Crime and High Standards and help our local policing teams deliver effective communication and engagement to their communities.
We’re looking for someone with the confidence, experience, and vision to make this exciting new role their own, including setting up a new function and team within a larger supportive directorate. This role is critical to the delivery of both corporate and local communication and engagement that ultimately help build trust with our communities and keep London safe.
This role will contribute to the success of the Met in two ways.
Firstly, this role will oversee the development of the Met’s overarching communications strategy, and ensure the ‘pillar’ teams across the comms directorate each have quarterly delivery plans that support the comms strategy and the priorities within it.
Secondly this role will oversee a multi-disciplinary team who support local policing teams to ensure effective local communication and engagement, including finding and promoting positive news stories at a local level to help build community trust.
The ideal candidate will be able to lead a team of strategic communication and multi-disciplinary communication advisers working with colleagues from across the department and with local policing colleagues to seamlessly deliver a daily drumbeat of communications to local communities.
The role holder will also work with the internal campaigns team to ensure local perspective informs the development of their large-scale internal campaigns to our workforce. You will be a great writer and verbal communicator who can influence and win credibility with senior colleagues and external stakeholders.
The Met’s communication team is undergoing a significant restructure and you will be part of managing this change, supporting colleagues to deliver.
The key responsibilities for this role are:
Assisting your head of unit in the writing and implementation of the Met’s overarching comms strategy.
Holding other Band B ’pillar’ team leaders to account to ensure each has a 3-month delivery plan that delivers the aims and objectives of the comms strategy.
Lead a team that designs and implements plans to enhance good news and trust across all 12 local police (BCU) areas – in collaboration with each BCU comms lead.
Supports the good news team and the channels and content team in ensuring a daily drum beat of positive visual stories across the Met’s social media channels (central and local).
Provides advice and support to local policing teams to assist them in local digital comms – e.g., neighbourhood forums, local apps where residents seek local information.
Upskill local policing teams, developing them and providing toolkits and advice to make it easy for them to succeed in their local communication and engagement.
Ensure your teams have great links with local news outlets and brief them regularly and develop and maintain relationships with other locally influential digital content creators and local platforms.
Work with key departmental and organisational leads to ensure opportunities for local communications and engagement, partnership and integration are maximised.
Ensures that corporate communication priorities and campaigns are delivered locally.
Oversee the library of images and templates that local teams can use to promote their own comms; commissioning, ensuring permissions and appropriateness, and currency of images.
Lead a team to join up all parts of the comms directorate to maximise collaboration, horizon scanning, joint planning and reduces silo working.
Operate as part of the department’s middle management team, leading on cross departmental activity and projects and representing the department as needed. Ensuring effective collaboration across the department, helping set the culture and standards across the unit and creating a professional and friendly office.
A leader who supports their team and other members of staff by providing clear line direction, management, objectives, feedback, and support, with particular attention to managing and developing their skills to build potential and ensuring that key objectives set for communication delivery are met.
Additional Information
You may be expected to work at other Met buildings across London as part of a blended working agreement. There are also some opportunities for remote working when appropriate.
You may very occasionally be required to work some weekends and other out of hours cover with appropriate notice for which time off in lieu or overtime will be available. You will be part of an on-call rota.
Benefits Package
A Civil Service pension with an average employer contribution of almost 29%.
Up to 33 days of annual leave in addition to public holidays.
Access to employee benefits, such as dental, cycle to work and savings when you shop.
Learning and development tailored to your role.
A working environment that supports a range of flexible working options to enhance your work life balance.
A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity.
Generous maternity, paternity, and parental leave.
Interest free Season Ticket Loan.
How to apply
Click the apply now button below and start your career at the Met. Applications will be via a detailed CV, Personal Statement, and online application form. Your personal statement should outline why you are interested in the role and how your skills and experience demonstrate your suitability for the role. (NB. Please do not attach 2 copies of your CV).
Completed applications must be submitted by 23:55 on 10 July 2024.