City of Westminster – Senior Strategic Communications Officer

About Us:

The extraordinary story of the impossible dream

Innovation and Change in Westminster City Council is a world of extraordinary stories. Where people use their vision and commitment to open doors for the next generations. 

Nothing beats the feeling of helping someone find their passion. At Westminster City Council, our City Lions team helps young local people engage with culture, creativity and dreams. When they came across a lonely, isolated 16-year-old who called himself a failure, they knew what to do. They worked 1-2-1 to find the thing this boy really loved. YouTube, it turned out. But it’s impossible to turn that into a career, right? Wrong. A week later, he was enrolled on the British Film Institute film-making programme. It was the ultimate light-bulb moment. And it turned him into what he is today – a budding Spielberg with a world of opportunity at his feet. 

Please view the extraordinary story of the Impossible Dream here.

The Role:

As our Senior Strategic Communications Officer you can make your own powerful contribution to the lives of residents, businesses and visitors. By developing and delivering strategic communications, you’ll protect and enhance our reputation and support our vision of A Fairer Westminster. This inclusive approach puts communities at the heart of our decision-making and is based on building trusted relationships with voluntary and community sector organisations and individuals.

This is a chance to work on high-profile campaigns, projects and events within a flagship local authority. From delivering campaigns to change behaviour to offering strategic advice to Cabinet Members and senior council officers, this is a fully rounded and challenging communications role. Your contribution to scoping communications priorities and setting campaign metrics will be vital. You’ll have the opportunity to conduct polls and surveys to test and refine approaches. Combining insights drawn from our audiences with an in-depth understanding of our business model, business context and KPIs, you’ll help us develop an over-arching narrative and coherent messaging.  

Please refer to the Job Description for more information.

About You:

An experienced communications professional, you’ll have a strong track-record of creating effective multimedia communications plans. You’ll be committed to ensuring the different communities of Westminster have a chance to have their say. You’ll also know how to manage stakeholders to minimise reputational risk and build credibility in a political environment. With evident passion for your discipline, you’ll bring in-depth knowledge of recent innovations and industry issues. 

What We Offer:

Westminster is an amazing place. We are home to more than 200,000 residents from all backgrounds, over 50,000 vibrant and vital businesses and three-quarters-of-a-million people work in Westminster. 

Westminster City Council’s strategy is to work towards a Fairer Westminster. A Fairer Westminster is one in which our communities are at the heart of our decision-making and help to determine the city’s future. By working directly with our communities and other partners, we can build a more inclusive city that celebrates our diverse communities, and where residents, workers and visitors from all backgrounds will feel welcome and safe.

At Westminster City Council, we pride ourselves on being an inclusive workplace and employer of choice. We encourage and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and aim to have a workforce that, at all levels, represents the communities we serve. We champion equality, diversity, inclusion and wellbeing and aim to create a workplace where everyone feels valued, has a sense of belonging and is empowered to be their best, that is the Westminster Way. To find out more about how we do this, please click here.

As a forward thinking Council we appreciate that people work in different ways, therefore our staff benefit from working a range of flexible working patterns as well as Agile working.

The Council is a Disability Confident Employer. If you have declared a disability in your application, we guarantee an interview if you meet the essential criteria of the job. If you are invited for interview, you will be asked if you need any reasonable adjustments in order to attend, and we will make these wherever possible.

How to Apply:

To apply for this position, please complete the application form HERE. If you would like to have an informal discussion regarding the role, please contact Melissa Bocks, Strategic Communications Manager via email at MBOCKS@WESTMINSTER.GOV.UK

• Application Deadline: July 22nd 2024

When submitting your application, please specify that you heard about the role through the Taylor Bennett Foundation.