Head of Strategic Communications

Are you an experienced communications professional looking for an exciting new leadership role? Do you want to work on a range of high-profile cases and projects? Join us at the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and play a pivotal role in the delivery and decision-making of our Strategic Communications function.

About the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)

We help people, businesses, and the UK economy by promoting competitive markets and tackling unfair behaviour. Our work is wide-ranging, ambitious and often new and challenging.

The Strategy, Communications and Advocacy (SCA) Directorate is at the heart of the CMA, working across the organisation on a wide range of high-profile cases and projects, to make sure the important content the CMA generates is communicated clearly and effectively to everyone in the UK.

The Role

As our Head of Strategic Communications, you will help establish a strong central Strategic Communications function, based on planning, channel expertise, content development and insight and evaluation.

You will lead a new team of four working across a busy and varied brief, ranging from merger control and tackling cost of living issues, to regulating the world’s biggest digital firms. 

Your key responsibilities will include:

• Programming: Lead external communications programming, which may include case announcements, speeches, events, campaigns and more
• Building and leading a new team: Establish and run a new, high-performing Strategic Communications team with a strong emphasis on cross-functional collaboration working
• Planning: Produce and manage a co-ordinated long-term forward plan for communications and external engagement activities
• Communications Horizon Scanning: Pro-actively identify themes or events which impact the CMA from a communications perspective
• Insights and evaluation: Develop and enhance our comms Insight and Evaluation function
• Content development and activation: Identify, create and deliver proactive strategic comms content
• Speech writing: Lead a speechwriting function that will flex between ‘self-serve’ speechwriting by frontline teams, through to full-service delivery for some senior staff members

About you

You will be an outstanding all-round communicator, comfortable in high pressure environments and adept at working collaboratively with press, digital, strategy, advocacy and external affairs teams. You will have exceptional writing skills, strong organisational skills and will help grow a positive culture of delivery and good decision-making across content and engagement at the CMA.

You will possess Strategic Communications expertise, pairing this with a strong track record of performance and delivery, as well as substantial experience of planning and delivering communications strategies.

A proven aptitude for leadership is essential, with the authority and credibility to lead teams and to influence and engage senior leadership colleagues and external partners in complex situations.

What we can offer you

The CMA is a hugely diverse, rewarding and stimulating place to work – an opportunity to work for the public good and to stretch and develop yourself in doing so while also having considerable flexibility when it comes to how and when you work.

We offer generous benefits, including an excellent pension scheme with an average employer contribution of 27%, at least 25 days leave (increasing to 30 over five years), and generous maternity/paternity leave provision. You can also take advantage of interest-free season ticket loans, a cycle to work scheme.

Please note that the minimum salary will increase upon appointment, as the current advertised salary reflects the 2022/23 salary scales rather than the 2023/24 scales, which are due to be updated shortly

To find out more about this opportunity and about working for the CMA, please click on the APPLY button.

Closing date for applications: 11:55 pm on Monday 4th March 2024.

Like many other organisations, we operate a hybrid working model with a mix of office and home working. We believe this supports us to deliver our best work while allowing the flexibility to maintain balanced and healthy lives.

The CMA are an accredited Disability Confident Employer, and we are an equal opportunities employer, welcoming suitably qualified applicants from all backgrounds. We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles.