Overview

G5 Communications and Engagement Business Partner - 31973

This is an opportunity to help tell the story of the Environment Agency. The Internal Communications and Engagement Business Partner roles support the Strategy, Transformation and Assurance (STA) Directorate across several high-profile areas, as the organisation evolves to respond to the environmental challenges of the future, set out in our corporate strategy, EA2030.

This is a new way of working, as the Internal Communications and Engagement (ICE) team builds cohesion across directorates. Each will oversee a portfolio of work but collaborate to share insight and provide resilience. The roles will involve planning and coordinating activity right across STA, ensuring our people receive the right information, in the right format, at the right time.

Scope: Transformation includes working with the Director for Service Transformation to understand the totality of change programmes across the EA, and help describe the narrative for change. People includes working with the People and Inclusion directorate to understand themes such as our People Plan and Health, Safety and Wellbeing. Strategy means helping colleagues understand their role in delivering our corporate strategy, business plan, and the STA Leadership Team’s role in leading the organisation.

Responsibilities

• Work across a portfolio of themes, acting as a vital link between the directorate and the wider ICE team.
• Interact widely and develop effective relationships with stakeholders and customers across the organisation.
• Plan strategy, share and drive best practice, set editorial standards, executional consistency, ensure adherence to organisational priorities and our brand.
• Align communications and engagement with the central narrative and assure corporate discipline to improve message consistency.
• Champion the highest standards and help our people engage with the things that truly matter.
• Influence the teams and departments you work with to maximise the effectiveness of our work.

The ICE Team and Collaboration

The business partner team is a small cross-functional group of communication and engagement experts. We are part of the Internal Communications and Engagement team within the Strategy, Transformation and Assurance Directorate. We collaborate with Defra Group Communications and other colleagues to enable effective communications and engagement by ensuring we have the right tools, skills and ways of working, and to plan and deliver integrated activities that continually improve how we engage with our people.

Experience and Skills Required

• Your ability to persuade, influence and reason with others will be vital in this role.
• You will bring experience and understanding of how planning and delivering excellent communications and engagement activities can bring operational improvements.
• You will need to balance a broad understanding of Environment Agency challenges in delivering EA2030 with prioritisation of individual projects and programmes.
• You will be comfortable creating and maintaining relationships at all levels of the EA and Defra. You must be able to work as part of a dispersed team.
• You will be comfortable challenging constructively and driving high standards for all communications and engagement activities.

Contact and Additional Information

This is a hybrid working role with flexibility to work from home and an Environment Agency office. Occasional travel may be required. We are committed to being an inclusive employer and welcome flexible working patterns, including job share. Responding to incidents is a central part of our work; you may be required to have an incident role and to respond or provide support during an incident, which may attract additional payment. Training and workplace adjustments will be available to support you with the incident role. Interviews will take place towards the end of October. Please contact sam.elfer@environment-agency.gov.uk for further information.

Competencies

1. Communicates Effectively – Listens and questions to understand and engage. Conveys information clearly, accurately and persuasively through speech and writing.
2. Engages others – Plans, carries out and evaluates effective engagement with internal and external stakeholders following the “Working with others” approach.
3. Influences and Persuades Others – Presenting a case in a convincing way that wins people over and encourages them to follow plans willingly.
4. Builds and Sustains Relationships – Develops and maintains effective working relationships.

Eligibility and Policies

If applying from the Civil Service, note that Environment Agency is not part of HM Civil Service and you would not be a Crown Servant if appointed. You may be eligible for continuous service for redundancy purposes depending on your prior status. We are committed to a diverse and inclusive workforce and support flexible working, including job share. We have a Guaranteed Interview Policy to support candidates with a disability who meet the minimum criteria.

The Environment Agency is a Non-Departmental Public Body and uses Central Government frameworks for external recruitment. If you wish to become a supplier on these frameworks, please visit the Crown Commercial Service information page.

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, but all examples must be truthful and taken from your own experience. Plagiarism may lead to withdrawal of the application.

Job Details

Seniority level: Associate

Employment type: Full-time

Job function: Marketing, Public Relations, and Writing/Editing