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 (ICE) team supports the Strategy, Transformation and Assurance (STA) Directorate across high-profile areas as the organisation evolves to respond to environmental challenges in EA2030.

The ICE team builds cohesion across directorates. Each role oversees a portfolio of work and collaborates to share insight and provide resilience. You will plan and coordinate activity across STA, ensuring our people receive the right information, in the right format, at the right time. Transformation, People, and Strategy themes are described in the role context.

Responsibilities

• Work across portfolio 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, ensure executional consistency, and 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 team

The business partner team is a small cross-functional team of communication and engagement experts within the ICE team, which sits within the Strategy, Transformation and Assurance Directorate. We collaborate with Defra Group Communications and other colleagues to enable effective communications and engagement, plan and deliver integrated activities, and continually improve how we engage with our people.

Experience/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 wide understanding of the challenges facing the Environment Agency in delivering EA2030 with prioritisation of individual projects and programmes.
• You will be comfortable in 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 and you will work flexibly both from home and your nearest Environment Agency office. There will be a requirement for occasional travel. We are fully committed to being an inclusive employer and ensuring equal opportunities for everyone. We welcome flexible working patterns for all our vacancies, including job share. Responding to incidents is a central part of what we do; you will be required to have an incident role and may be asked to respond or provide support during an incident, which may attract additional payment. Training and workplace adjustments will be available to support you with your incident role.

Interviews will take place towards the end of October. Please contact sam.elfer@environment-agency.gov.uk for further information.

Competences

1. Communicates Effectively — Listens and explains clearly; conveys information and ideas persuasively through speech and writing.
2. Engages others — Plans, carries out and evaluates effective engagement with internal and external stakeholders.
3. Influences and Persuades Others — Presents a case in a convincing way to win support and follow plans.
4. Builds and Sustains Relationships — Develops and maintains effective working relationships.

The Environment Agency is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion. We encourage flexible working patterns, including job share. The organisation is not part of HM Civil Service and applicants should check their status with their HR team if unsure about continuous service. We also have a Guaranteed Interview Policy for applicants with disabilities who meet the minimum criteria.

Artificial intelligence may be used to support your application, but all content must be truthful and based on your own experience. Please review Civil Service guidance on the use of AI for more information.