National Police Chiefs' Council - Digital Communications Officer – Hydrant Programme

Job Title: Digital Communications Officer – Hydrant Programme 

Salary: Band D. The starting salary is £35,998. 

The salary is broken down as £35,998 basic salary, which will increase annually until you reach the top of the scale £38,523. 

Location: Remote working nationally within UK. The Hydrant Programme is currently based at Moss Way Police Station, Moss Way, Sheffield, S20 7XX. As such, occasional travel to this location will be required. In addition, travel may be necessary to the NPCC office, currently situated near St James's Park Underground Station in London, as well as to other police premises across the UK. 

We encourage applications from candidates living across the UK. Further details on flexible arrangements will be discussed at interview stage. 

Contract – Maternity Cover until 31/03/2026 with the potential for extension, subject to funding and performance, until approximately August 2026. 

THE NATIONAL POLICE CHIEFS’ COUNCIL (NPCC) 

Policing is operating in a time of global change and uncertainty, the public and our staff need a service which is responsive, able to tackle future challenges and embrace opportunity.  

The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) brings UK police leaders together to set direction in policing and drive progress for the public.  

We achieve this through: 

• Coordination – by joining up the operational response to critical national policing issues to deliver policing today and shape the future. 

• Collaboration – by working in partnership as part of the whole policing system and beyond to improve public safety. 

• Communication – by sharing the collective expertise, views and action of UK police chiefs. 

NPCC HYDRANT PROGRAMME  
The Hydrant Programme is a national policing programme supporting the work of the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) Child Protection and Abuse Investigation Working Group. Originally established in 2014 to coordinate the response to non-recent child sexual abuse but now supporting forces across all child protection and abuse investigation issues. Hydrant develops policy and strategy on behalf of the NPCC, develops and delivers best practice advice including a learning, review and improvement function, provides a strategic analysis capability and partnership engagement with key stakeholders and partners.  

THE ROLE 

The purpose of the role is to generate, coordinate, maintain, and update the content on the Hydrant Programme and Child Protection Abuse Investigations (CPAI) digital platforms, and deliver evidenced, effective, and accessible digital content on behalf of the Programme/Portfolio. 

There is also a requirement to work holistically and collaboratively across the two sister Programmes of Tackling Organised Exploitation (TOEX) and Vulnerability Knowledge & Practice Programme (VKPP) in line with identified strategic priorities. 

The successful candidate would need to have the following experiences and skills: 

• A degree qualification in a relevant discipline, and / or qualifications or demonstrable experience of using Adobe Master Collection including photoshop, InDesign, and PremierPro. 

• Evidenced knowledge and experience of using different social media networks, platforms, and social media management tools to effectively reach, inform and engage a variety of audiences. Working Knowledge of social Media Marketing and the ability to manage and grow social media presence across platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. 

• Proficiency in Content Management Systems (CMS) platforms like WordPress or Drupal for managing website content. 

• Knowledge and understanding of target audiences and tailored communications to meet their needs. Brand Management: Ensuring consistency in brand messaging across all digital platforms. 

• Understanding and significant experience of video editing and production for creating engaging video content. 

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS - If you join and work for us, you will get access to: 

• A competitive salary with yearly increments. 

• Support networks, free Employees' Assistance Programme, Occupational Health and wellbeing services. 

• Flexitime, with the ability to undertake your hours flexibly and in line with business need. 

• Hybrid working, with the ability to work remotely dependent on role. 

• Competitive pension scheme. 

• Company sick pay. 

• Job related equipment supplied  

• Specialist equipment supplied, under Occupational Health referral 

• Access to the Blue Light Card Scheme for discounts and services (requires a one-off payment of £5). 

• Development, coaching and mentoring opportunities available. 

• Supportive and flexible onboarding plan, including regular check-ins throughout your initial period of joining us to ensure you are up to speed with the role and getting the support you need. 

VETTING  
Applicants must hold or be prepared to undergo RV & CTC level before taking up the post. 

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS 
Please provide a CV and evidence against the following competencies, (350 words maximum per competency) which are based on the knowledge, skills and experience set out in the job description and the competencies in the Competency and Values Framework (CVF).  Please note, CV’s will not be assessed within the initial application, answers to the CVF questions alone determine next steps. Once candidates identified for interview has been confirmed, CV’s will then be shared with the appropriate Hiring Manager.   

• We are collaborative, Level 2 – Tell us about a time when you worked with colleagues from different departments or teams to deliver a digital communications project. What was your role, how did you ensure effective collaboration, and what was the outcome? 

• We take ownership, Level 2 – In this role, you may be responsible for managing sensitive and high-impact digital communications. Can you provide an example of a time when you took personal responsibility for delivering a piece of work or resolving an issue, in a challenging situation? What actions did you take, and what was the outcome 

• We are innovative and openminded, Level 2 - Can you describe a time when you introduced a new idea or approach to improve digital communications? What challenges did you face, how did you gain support for your idea, and what was the result 

Should you want to know more about the role, we would strongly encourage you contact Claire.Stanley@npcc.police.uk  to arrange an informal conversation. 

1. Please do not attach 2 copies of your CV.

IMPORTANT NOTICE FAIR RECRUITMENT COMMITMENT / INTERVIEW CONDUCT 

 We also support the need for reasonable adjustments. If you require assistive technology as part of a reasonable adjustment (e.g. transcription software), please let us know in advance so we can support you appropriately. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 
Occasional national travel may be required. Travel expenses will be paid if location allowance is not being received, or when travel falls outside of the home to work journey. NPCC will pay for overnight accommodation if required. 

The Metropolitan Police manage HR for NPCC recruitment. 

Completed applications must be submitted by 23:55 on 21 September 2025. 

Once received, your application will be reviewed against eligibility criteria, following this, your application will be reviewed by the hiring manager. The application review for this vacancy will commence 23 September 2025. 

Following application review, successful candidates will be invited to interview. Interview dates will commence 29 September 2025. 

Please note that if you are applying as a secondee from another national police force or government organisation, please contact HR-Recruitment@npcc.police.uk, do not apply online via Oleeo. Online applications will only be accepted for external candidates, or existing Met employees.

The Met is committed to being an inclusive employer with a diverse and representative workforce at all levels. We encourage applications from people from the widest possible range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. We particularly welcome applications from ethnic minority groups and females. 
 
As a Disability Confident employer, the Met has committed to making disability equality part of our everyday practice. We ensure that people with disabilities and those with long term health conditions have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.  
 
If you consider yourself to have access, workplace or reasonable adjustment requirements that need to be accommodated, we ask that you include this information within your application form. All matters will be treated in strict confidence and will not affect any recruitment decisions. 

 

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