Vacancy Information

Division / Department - Media and Communications
Grade - M1
Status - Part Time
Contract Type - Fixed Term Contract
Salary Grade Range - £49,716 - £54,696
Working Hours - 20.35 Hours per Week
Shift Allowance - No
Politically Restricted - Yes
Location - Lewes 

The starting salary for this role will usually be at the bottom of the salary range and will be pro-rata if the working hours are less than full time. 

Chief Constables' Message

We really welcome your interest in joining our Police Force. It is a privilege to lead the teams in Surrey Police and Sussex Police who continuously work selflessly and tirelessly in order to keep people in our counties safe.

We are looking for talented and inspirational people who put the needs of the public at the heart of everything that they do and who want to make a difference. If you feel you are that person then we want to hear from you.

We wish you all the very best with your application.

Chief Constable Tim De Meyer & Chief Constable Jo Shiner

The Role & Key Responsibilities

We have a fantastic opportunity for an experienced communications professional to join the multi award-winning Sussex Police Media and Communications Department as our joint Head of Strategic Communications – Corporate.

You will be responsible for developing and delivering our internal communications strategy, with a particular focus on providing professional guidance and best practice to create campaigns that inform, motivate and empower our diverse workforce, ensuring employees understand and work to support the Force priorities.

You will lead a team of Communications Managers who are responsible for using communications tools and techniques to enable a range of initiatives tied to our Corporate priorities. This includes developing communications strategies for internal change programmes and campaigns for internal and external audiences. You will also be responsible for fostering a culture that upholds the Code of Ethics and standards of professional behaviour and ensuring the thousands of officers and staff working across Sussex receive the information they need to be able to fulfil their duties.

As a senior leader bringing established skills in communications planning, stakeholder engagement and demand management, you will be a crucial member of our Senior Management Team (SMT). You will be seen as a trusted communications advisor, providing expert advice to others in the Force, including Chief Officers, and will work with your colleagues to ensure the department delivers against the Force priorities – protecting communities, catching criminals and delivering an outstanding service.

With joint responsibility for the Strategic Communications Team, you will also have the leadership skills to inspire, support and develop our people.

While the role is based at Sussex Police HQ, hybrid working options including home working or from a local police station are available. However, due to the critical nature of communications in a major or critical incident, there is an expectation that all team members work from headquarters as required and agreed by the Head / Deputy Head of Department.

This position is part of a job share and is therefore being offered on a part-time basis working full days on Monday and Tuesday, and a half day on Wednesday (AM). It is being offered on a 12-month Fixed Term Contract.

Skills & Experience

• Degree-level academic or professional qualification in a communications discipline or equivalent professional experience in the discipline of PR, marketing communications, internal/change communications, strategic communications.
• Professional experience at senior level in PR and/or marketing communications.
• Experience of delivering or directing high-profile, integrated communications campaigns across PESO channels for a large or high-profile organisation.
• Experience and practical application of a range of market research techniques, insight-led segmentation and targeting.
• Experienced in nurturing team professional and personal development, motivating others and knowledge of relevant business and HR processes.
• Ability to balance and manage conflict between short and long-term priorities and reactive/proactive work while managing large portfolio of work.
• Excellent experience and confidence in influencing and negotiating with senior colleagues and external stakeholders.
• Exceptional interpersonal and formal communications skills, both verbal and written.
• Well organised with good project management skills, delivering to time, budget, brief, and managing risk.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft products including Word, Excel, and SharePoint.

Why Work With Us?

Policing is an exciting 24/7 business and we all have commitments outside work. We’re invested in supporting people to balance their life with work and we encourage flexible working. We are open to conversations about job shares and part time working. We encourage agile working, giving you the opportunity to manage your own diary and work wherever you give the best service to the public. This may include flexi-time and home working.

We take pride in looking after our people and offer a variety of benefits;

• career progression
• contributory pension scheme (LGPS)
• generous annual leave allowance
• discounts for everyday spend
• on-site gyms and a range of sports clubs
• generous and supportive parental leave
• financial and mental wellbeing guidance and support
• discounted contributory healthcare scheme

Please use the following links for more information on the benefits of working with Sussex Police

Further Information

This is a politically restricted position, to view the Political Restrictions Policy for Police Staff click here

The postholder will be required to pass and maintain Sussex Police vetting at the appropriate level – this may include enhanced vetting.

This role requires travel to meetings and locations across Sussex. The post-holder must therefore have a driving licence and access to their own transport.

Candidates will be given a presentation topic to prepare in advance and present at interview. Interviews will be held on the week commencing 9 March at Sussex Police Headquarters in Lewes.

For an informal discussion about the role, please contact Hannah Easterby, Head of Media and Communications at Sussex Police: hannah.easterby@sussex.police.uk or Maria Newstead, Deputy Head of Media and Communications: maria.newstead@sussex.police.uk

Diversity Statement

We are only as good as our people.  It's important that our officers and staff can be themselves in the workplace and we know that as an organisation we'll grow from the variety of thinking, approach, and the skills that diversity brings; all of which help us to deliver a better policing service. We strive to ensure how we deliver our services, provide information and how we recruit is open and accessible to all.

We have multiple staff support groups who help to improve our understanding of minority issues and ensure they are reflected in our work. We are proud members of Disability Confident, hold Race Equality Matters Trailblazer status, are a signatory of the Race at Work Charter and are aligned with the Armed Forces Covenant and the HeForShe movement.

We are committed to being an anti-racist police service. We promise to challenge injustice, ensure fairness and to uphold anti-racist principles in both our organisation and our communities. For more information, you can read our full anti-racism statement here.

We value the differences that people bring from all backgrounds and communities. Regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, disability, social status, or religious belief, we would love to hear from you.

Please use the following links to find out more on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion at Surrey Police and Sussex Police

Additional Information

Following submission of your application you will receive a confirmation email with a copy of your application attached. Occasionally emails from this address can fall into spam/junk folders so please ensure this is checked regularly.  You may wish to consider adding noreply@surreysussexpolice.as.recruitmail.com to your address/contact list to ensure you receive all communications.

This post is being advertised in parallel with Force redeployment processes.  Any redeployees who are identified will be given preference.  This may result in the post being withdrawn at any point during the recruitment process.

Please note that not all jobs are available for internal candidates across both Forces, the current agreed recruitment principles are;

• vacancies in collaborated units are available to all officers and staff across both Forces
• vacancies in non-collaborated units are only available to officers and staff within the Force with the vacancy unless it is advertised externally
• if the vacancy is advertised externally and an officer or member of staff from the other Force is successful it will result in a transfer of employment

Surrey Police and Sussex Police Special Constables, Volunteers and Agency Staff (excluding self employed workers) covered under the Agency Worker Regulations (AWR) are eligible to apply for internal advertised posts.