Interim Senior Communications Associate

Reporting to the Principal (Strategic Communications), Corporate Communications, this person will be required to support the delivery of the communications agenda for the opening of the retail market in April 2017. They will need to work closely with colleagues within the Corporate Communications pool, the Retail Market Opening programme team and across the organisation.

The key responsibilities are to:

• Support the Principal for RMO Communications on the delivery of the communications and engagement programme associated with the opening of the retail market for businesses and public bodies. This will include: • Providing support to the RMO programme group in the form of briefings, horizon scanning and media liaison. • Working with the Principal Communications, develop key messages for the RMO programme ensuring messages are tailored for the numerous stakeholders. • Provide high quality, specialist communications advice to colleagues. • Co-ordinate communications activity to ensure that it is joined-up across the programme and links with other programmes where appropriate. • Liaise with key stakeholders and audience groups to promote the delivery of key messages for RMO - to include arranging workshops and events. • Provide support and advice as needed to colleagues within the corporate communications pool. • Engage with colleagues to understand often complex, technical policy and turn this into accessible, compelling key messages in a variety of written formats.

Skills Required

Critical:

• Strong experience of working with a range of high profile often disparate stakeholder groups and audiences. • Experience of working with government bodies and working across multi-partner platforms. • Experience in media handling and promoting positive stories and opportunities to standard and trade media. • Ability to translate complex policy and technical documents for broader audiences and to write in clear and accessible language often to short timescales. • Demonstrable experience of providing media and policy/presentation briefing and guidance to a wide range of stakeholders including senior programme members. • An understanding of social and digital media to include updates to the Open Water website.

Desirable:

• Some exposure to social media. • Experience of working in a regulated industry. • Experience of working with public bodies and private industry. • Experience of helping to deliver engagement and communications on a national scale.