Overview

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 high-profile areas as the organisation evolves to respond to environmental challenges, outlined in EA2030. This is a new way of working as the Internal Communications and Engagement (ICE) team builds cohesion across directorates. Each role will oversee a portfolio of work while collaborating to share insight and provide resilience. The roles involve planning and coordinating activity across STA, ensuring our people receive the right information, in the right format, at the right time.

Transformation: 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: working with the People and Inclusion directorate to understand themes such as our People Plan and Health, Safety and Wellbeing. Strategy: working across the organisation to help 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, ensure executional consistency, adhere to organisational priorities and our brand.
• Align communications and engagement with the central narrative and assure corporate discipline to improve messaging consistency.
• Champion high standards and help people engage with what matters most.
• Influence teams and departments to maximise the effectiveness of the work.

Team context

The business partner team is a small cross-functional group of communication and engagement experts within the ICE team, part of the STA 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 and skills Required

• Ability to persuade, influence and reason with others; essential for this role.
• Experience and understanding of how planning and delivering excellent communications and engagement activities can bring operational improvements.
• Ability to balance broad understanding of the Environment Agency’s EA2030 challenges with prioritisation of individual projects and programmes.
• Comfortable creating and maintaining relationships at all levels of the EA and Defra; able to work as part of a dispersed team.
• Comfortable challenging constructively and driving high standards for all communications and engagement activities.

Contact and additional information

This is a hybrid role with flexible working from home and an Environment Agency office. Occasional travel may be required. We are committed to an inclusive workforce and flexible working patterns, including job sharing. Responding to incidents is a central part of our work and may attract additional payment. Training and workplace adjustments are available to support your incident role. Interviews are anticipated towards the end of October. For further information, contact sam.elfer@environment-agency.gov.uk.

Competencies

• Communicates Effectively
  

  Description: Listens and asks questions to understand and engage. Conveys information clearly, accurately and persuasively through speech and writing.

• Engages others
  

  Description: Plans, carries out and evaluates effective engagement with internal and external stakeholders following the “Working with others” approach.

• Influences and Persuades Others
  

  Description: Presenting a case in a convincing and attractive way to win people over and encourage them to follow plans willingly.

• Builds and Sustains Relationships
  

  Description: Develops and maintains effective working relationships with stakeholders who may have differing perspectives.