Communications Officer

£31,424 to £32,155 per annum, 37 Hours per week PermanentWitney

Are you looking for a career in Communications or Marketing?

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Communications Officer to join our team delivering communications and marketing to residents across West Oxfordshire. We are an ambitious team always looking to deliver engaging, impactful and innovative communications that make a difference to lives of people across the district.

West Oxfordshire District Council is focused on enabling a fulfilling and meaningful quality of life for our residents with opportunities for all to flourish. We provide a range of important services including planning, housing, waste and recycling collections, leisure, community safety and environmental health.  The Council has an ambitious Council Plan focused on a range of important priorities including putting residents first, climate and ecological action, affordable housing, and helping our economy to grow.  We want to deliver excellent services whilst ensuring the financial sustainability of the Council.  We also want to continue working in close partnership with our local communities and other important partners.

About the role

You will be delivering communications for West Oxfordshire District Council, helping to communicate with residents about the great work the Council is doing to support its residents, passing on critical information and engaging residents in the many projects we deliver. The role is very varied and interesting. One day you may be planning a campaign to help tackle the climate emergency, the next you may be dealing with national media.

In this role you will gain a wide range of experience at all levels of the organisation including managing local media contacts, creating and delivering campaigns, producing social media content and supporting colleagues to best communicate their messages. You would do this as part of a wider collaborative team in the Publica partnership and you will have a real opportunity to develop new skills, push boundaries and grow as a professional communicator.

The ways we communicate are constantly evolving and we are looking for a talented individual with the drive to constantly improve and innovate so that we can deliver creative and effective communications that make a difference to the lives of the residents we serve. You will have a key role in developing new ways of communicating and engaging with residents, bringing council activity to life for local people.

This role will cover West Oxfordshire. Within the District, there are plenty of places to see and visit whether you love hiking or cycling.  With our agile working ethos: you will be spoilt for choice. 

You will need…

• Experience in a communications, marketing or other related role with required skillsets
• Demonstrable up-to-date understanding and experience of effective communications techniques and practices across a wide range of channels including digital, print, out-of-house,
• A proven track record of developing and implementing successful, innovative communications tailored to audiences
• Excellent standards of written and verbal communication with the ability to produce copy for a wide variety of audiences and communicate complex information in Plain English

Special Conditions…

• You will be expected to work reasonable additional hours in line with the needs of the service.
• There may be a requirement to work at other locations to meet the needs of the business.
• Ability to travel / access to a vehicle for work purposes.
• This post designated as politically restricted in accordance with the Local Government and Housing Act 1989. Politically restricted post holders are restricted from canvassing on behalf of a political party or for a person who is, or seeks to be, a candidate for election to a local authority, the House of Commons, or the European Parliament.

For more information about this role please see the Job Description.

What can we do for you…

• Agile working allowing a mix of home and office working
• Flexible working arrangements (depending on the role)
• 26 days paid annual leave (pro rata if you are working part time) plus bank holidays, which increases to 29 days after five years’ service and 32 days following 10 years’ continuous service
• In addition you will have an extra two volunteering days a year for you to support a charity of your choice
• Renewed again for another year there is a Health cash plan giving you cash back on health, dental and eye care
• Generous contributory local government pension scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme 24/7, providing positive, preventative and supportive advice and counselling to deal with everyday events and issues
• Cycle to work scheme
• Salary sacrifice car lease scheme with significant tax and NI savings to be made on electric cars
• Generous sickness cover above statutory entitlements

Terms and conditions apply

These are just a handful of the benefits that you can enjoy when you join us!

If you feel this is the role for you please email your CV and supporting statement detailing how you meet the criteria above by clicking on the ‘Apply for this Position’ icon within this page.

Your application will not be considered if you have not provided a supporting statement, in addition to your CV

Accredited of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the vacancy/ies - Please state this within your covering statement or in a separate email

Safer recruitment practices are applied to all job vacancies. Successful candidates will be required to complete a pre-employment medical questionnaire; provide references;  proof of identity; nationality and immigration status; three years’ employment or education history (if applicable) and, in some cases, verification of criminal record.