Senior Communications Officer - Internal

Central Bedfordshire Council

Job Family: Providing - CBG11 

Salary: £41,042 - £44,296 per annum pro rata

Hours: Part-time, 30 hours per week 

Location: You will be expected to attend a CBC office location as often as needed to carry out your role, which will be no less than once per month.

Contract Type: Hybrid - Fixed Term Contract / Secondment Opportunity to the end of April 2027.

Closing Date: 8 May 2026

Interview Date: w/c 18 May 2026

About the Role:

We’re looking for a talented Senior Internal Communications Officer to provide maternity cover. This is a fantastic opportunity for an experienced communicator to make a meaningful impact, supporting colleagues across the organisation and helping us ensure staff are informed, engaged and inspired.

You’ll play a key role in planning, creating and delivering high‑quality communications across our established internal channels, including complex organisational change programmes. You will apply strong editorial judgement, excellent writing skills, and a first‑class eye for detail to ensure our messages are clear, consistent and aligned to our organisational values.

What We’re Looking For

A confident, creative communicator with exceptional writing, editing and storytelling skills.

Experience managing and developing a range of internal communication channels, including a Sharepoint intranet.

A proactive approach to finding and shaping great content that resonates with diverse audiences.

Strong analytical skills and an interest in using data to measure success, improve reach and enhance employee engagement.

The ability to quickly build positive relationships and work collaboratively with colleagues at all levels.

Demonstrable experience of designing and delivering creative and persuasive campaigns to support organisational change

Someone who thrives in a fast-paced environment and can balance multiple priorities with calm and clarity.

What You’ll Be Doing

Leading the creation of compelling content—including news stories, features, campaign messages, leadership communications and staff updates—that capture attention and bring our values to life.

Managing and developing our day-to-day internal channels, such as our sharepoint intranet, e-newsletters, manager briefings, leadership updates and staff engagement events.

Actively seeking out great stories from across the organisation to demonstrate our values, celebrate success, innovation and share learning and strengthen connection.

Planning and delivering communications that support organisational change, engagement initiatives and key corporate projects.

Tracking, analysing and evaluating channel performance, providing insight and recommendations to continually improve our communications and demonstrate impact.

Supporting colleagues across the organisation to communicate effectively, offering advice, guidance and practical support.

Our Offer

We have a number of rewards and benefits available to our staff, to view these please visit our Rewards and Benefits page

Our aspiration is to be a truly flexible employer. We welcome discussion on location, hours and working pattern as part of the application process.

You will be expected to demonstrate how you meet the key accountabilities and competencies in this Recruitment Pack.

Our Competency Framework and Qualification Guidance are to be read in conjunction with our Recruitment Pack.

For an informal discussion about this position, please contact:  Anna Copperwheat at anna.copperwheat@centralbedfordshire.gov.uk or 0300 300 7461 (Tuesday - Friday, 9am - 3pm)

To maintain a fair and consistent approach for applicants, it is Central Bedfordshire Council's policy to only consider applications made via our online application system and we therefore thank you for not submitting your application offline.

Our National Careers Service team offer a free monthly workshop covering CV writing and how to complete the statement sections of the Central Bedfordshire Council online application form. This MS Teams workshop is open to anyone from the UK and lasts around 1.5 hours. Please book your place here.

More information about this service can be found here: Support getting into work or learning | Central Bedfordshire Council

MORE INFORMATION AND APPLY

Communications Manager - Place

Sandwell Council

Salary: £55,609 - £59,025 per annum

Contract Type: Full time – Permanent

Hours: Full time – 37 hours per week

Location: Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council

Closing date: 10 May

Join us at this exciting time as we build on our rapid improvements made over the last few years and set our sights on becoming an outstanding council.

In this role you will play a key part in leading our communications team and delivering effective campaigns and guidance to support the achievement of council priorities, aims and objectives.

Deliver innovation and improvement that maximises the impact of communications

Our organisation has been on a successful journey of change over the last four years. We have made huge progress in service delivery for the residents of Sandwell, a vibrant Black Country community with a young, diverse and rapidly growing population.

We’re now telling a new story about Sandwell and a strategic communications service is critical to the next phase of our development, driving forward further internal improvements and increasing trust and confidence with our residents and partners. You will work with our Head of Communications to maximise the effectiveness and impact of our communications service provision, ensuring it is aligned with our organisational-wide commitment to modernisation and innovation.

Your role

Bringing fresh thinking and new ideas, you will play a proactive and influential role in managing our communications team and resources across the council. Key responsibilities include:
Leading on all communications activity within Place directorate – to support the delivery of council objectives and priorities.
Embedding a campaign-led approach to communications, working with the Head of Communications to deliver a strategic communications service that measures impact and learns lessons.
Taking a forward-thinking approach to planning communications to create, update and maintain an organisational narrative that can be deployed tactically to optimum effect.
Developing and maintaining a clear forward plan for communications and resident engagement.
Adopting a collaborative, supportive, challenging and hands on approach to providing advice, support and guidance to senior leaders.
Bringing an impactful approach to wide-raging aspects of communications such as stakeholder management, media relations, audience research/mapping and behavioural change.
Acting as a role model within the team for effective communications, and for the council’s values and behaviours.

Your profile

Educated to degree level and qualified to Chartered Institute of Marketing Level 4 or Chartered Institute of Public Relations Level 4 (or demonstrable relevant experience).
A proven record of working in a complex environment, including experience of advising senior leaders, negotiating with stakeholders and planning services within a political and partnership context.
Experience of leading employees, allocating workloads and developing clear content briefs.
Experience of negotiating and consulting with internal and external stakeholders.
Knowledge of campaign planning frameworks and a passion for creating meaningful narratives and delivering communications activities that make a tangible difference.
A well-developed understanding of the workings of a local authority and how it operates at a corporate and community level.
The ability to motivate, influence and inspire others through positive relationship-building, your commitment to excellence and your desire to gain the best possible outcomes for residents.
An understanding / previous experience of marketing communications is desirable.

Our hybrid working involves a minimum three days a week in the office. There will be a requirement to travel to attend meetings, including public meetings and occasional working outside normal hours.

Apply now

For more information, and to apply, please contact Osborne Thomas at sandwell@osbornethomas.org or call 020 3280 3671.

Closing date: 10th May