Communications and Engagement Officer

• This role requires offers flexible working arrangements, including hybrid working.
• 30 days' annual leave (in addition to bank holidays).
• Professional development opportunities.
• This is a unique opportunity to shape how we communicate and engage with staff, partners and communities.
• Permanent and Fixed Term Contracts available. Part Time and Full Time.

Clear and consistent communication is at the heart of everything we do. As a Communications and Engagement Officer you will be passionate about keeping our staff, partners and communities up to date with everything the council is doing. You’ll find ways to simply explain what’s happening, why it matters and how they can get involved. By creating engaging content and coordinating campaigns, you will help build trust and encourage collaboration.

There’s a lot happening in Somerset and you will be supporting strategic projects that improve lives for people across Somerset. You will lead and deliver communications and engagement activity for a range of different services and flagship projects, including the Inspiring Innovation programme.

Your day to day will include:

• Developing and delivering end to end communications and engagement plans for projects and programmes.
• Creating high quality content for newsletters, social media, press releases, and web pages.
• Coordination of events, workshops and campaigns to involve staff, partners and families.
• Monitoring and reporting on communications impact and engagement outcomes.

We offer ongoing support, training and guidance to help you be the best you can be. But it will really help if you can:

• Develop and deliver clear, engaging communications across multiple channels (digital, print, social media, events).
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders across different council services and partners, including health, education, police, providers and voluntary sector.
• Create compelling content for diverse audiences, including staff, partners and the public.
• Develop and manage communication plans and engagement activities to support project milestones.
• Use insight and feedback to improve messaging and engagement approaches.

We’re proud to be here for the people of Somerset. And that means everyone in Somerset. An important part of this is ensuring that we are as diverse and inclusive as the people and communities we serve.

We welcome applications from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences to enrich our team. You can always contact the hiring manager for a chat if there’s anything you want to talk about before you apply.

We are proud to offer an environment that is supportive and rewarding, working as part of a team who are passionate about the work they do to improve the lives of people in Somerset.

We offer great training and development opportunities, with supportive management. As well as this, we have some fantastic employee benefits available:

• We promote a healthy work-life balance and offer flexible working arrangements wherever possible, including working from home.
• Generous annual leave allowance, with the opportunity to purchase additional leave
• Staff discounts in gyms.
• Employee Assistance for the times you may need some support and a variety of employee wellbeing services.
• Auto enrolment onto our generous Pension Scheme and optional pension enhancement through our Additional Voluntary Contribution scheme.
• A Flexible Benefits Scheme via salary sacrifice to obtain a cycle for work and health screenings.
• My Staff Shop offering discounts in shops, online shopping, restaurants, cinema tickets, insurance benefits and more…

When completing your application/CV please provide your full employment history and ensure that any gaps in employment are explained. Please start with your current or most recent employment.

For an informal chat about the role, you can contact Peter Elliott, Head of Communication & Engagement at peter.elliott@somerset.gov.uk

The salary for the role is Grade 11, ranging from £32,597 to £36,363 per annum.

If you have all the information you need, just hit the apply button – we can’t wait to hear from you.