Vacancy for Band 3 – Senior Communications Manager

Job purpose

The Senior Communications Manager role is a senior member of the Communications team and will play an integral role within the Policy and Communications Directorate to:

• protect, manage and enhance ONR’s reputation with internal and external stakeholders
• support the development of our digital engagement channels and help continuously improve our communications service
• help deliver our Stakeholder Engagement Strategy to build on our reputation, broaden our reach, and promote accessibility and two-way engagement  

The Senior Communications Manager will work across the organisation and beyond, building relationships internally and externally to ensure effective communications that help ONR to manage its reputation and deliver its vision and strategic themes. The role-holder will provide advice and support to colleagues and senior staff across the organisation, ensuring they are supported to deliver effective communications with a wide range of stakeholders. The role will focus largely on external communications, but the post holder will be an experienced all-rounder with a recent background in a similar communications management role. The Senior Communications Manager post also includes the direct line management of a number of staff.

About the role

Principal responsibilities

The Senior Communications Manager will:

• Develop and deliver measurable communications objectives to support the delivery of campaigns to address priority areas in ONR’s Strategy 2020-25
• Support the Head and deputy head of Communications in delivering activities in the department milestone plan 
• Provide expert advice to colleagues across the organisation, working collaboratively with – and influencing – colleagues at all levels to drive corporate and communications outcomes
• Act as an ambassador for the Policy and Communications team, encouraging the early integration of strategic communication in corporate milestones
• Show initiative and leadership in reputation management, including media relations, to build greater understanding of ONR’s role with a diverse range of stakeholders
• Provide practical input and expertise to support ONR’s digital communication activity including social media, website and intranet 
• Support the development of ONR’s incident management communications arrangements, taking part in emergency exercises and remaining calm under pressure
• Ensure the delivery of high-quality publications, including quality assurance for consistency across brand, tone and content
• Be familiar with segmentation and mapping techniques to identify target audiences, key influencers
• Ensure all communications activity is effectively evaluated against objectives producing reports and feedback as required
• Keep abreast of emerging issues, internally and externally, that may impact ONR or change the way we engage with our key audiences
• Collaborate with ONR colleagues in a timely way to examine and define issues to be supported, commissioning research to gain insight where required
• Have the ability to work flexibly across the Senior Communication Manager roles to provide support and contingency