Senior Internal Communications Advisor
Fixed Term, Full Time
£48,110 to £56,600 per annum
Location: Chelmsford
Working Style: (expectation to be office-based typically 1 day per week dependent on business need)
This is a fixed term contract or secondment opportunity for up to 24 months, with an end date of 31st March 2027.
Essex County Council (ECC) is one of the largest local authorities in the UK, with over 8000 employees working in a huge variety of roles. The council is undergoing significant change, as services transform to ensure they are fit for purpose, as well as working to the government’s agenda on devolution and local government reorganisation. During this period of change the role of internal communications is vital in ensuring that our employees are informed and engaged in what the future of local government looks like, but also ensure that we don’t lose sight of the work and services our residents need and that continue on a day to day basis.
The opportunity
We’re looking for a Senior Internal Communications Adviser who will be jointly responsible for leading the council’s internal communications strategy and delivery. You’ll work in a small team who work to inform, inspire and engage employees, both through delivery of communications and engagement plans and also providing expert advice and guidance to others.
The role requires someone with significant experience and expertise of internal communications, who is committed and passionate and can champion the need for strategic, thoughtful communications and engagement strategies.
Alongside other team members you will have a focus on development of effective communications strategies and plans as well as our overarching internal communications strategy and workplan creating engaging and relevant content and messaging through a range of methods and channels. You’ll be experienced in ensuring communications plans and approaches align to organisational goals, visions, strategies and standards. You’ll bring your internal communications and engagement experience and be able to analysis our own insight to ensure our plans are effective and measurable.
You’ll be a strong communicator, able to confidently present and engage with multiple stakeholders across the organisation, advocating for your profession. You will work with colleagues across the organisation to provide best practice communications advice and guidance, seeking to continuously improve and develop products and services. You will help to make others better at communicating and work hard to understand our employees needs.
The role requires an individual who is adaptable, adept at working in a fast-moving and complex environment. You will understand how to collaborate, working with stakeholders at every level and be comfortable navigating competing priorities, ambiguity and complex work to deliver impact.
About You
1. Significant experience working on internal communications campaigns and change communications and a proven track record in a senior internal communications role in a large complex organisation.
2. Educated to degree level or equivalent by experience
3. Evidence of a proactive approach to your own professional development, how you put this in to practice and share your learning with others.
4. Ideally have experience working in a political or public sector environment, as the expectation is the successful candidate will hit the ground running.
5. Strong record of leading teams to deliver effective communication and engagement, managing team resource and prioritisation.
6. Experience of developing overarching internal communications strategy and associated workplan, including development and measurement of KPIs
7. Experience of managing and negotiating with a variety of stakeholders of varying seniority and need to be a good networker, collaborator and comfortable presenting and sharing your plans with them.
8. Ability to understand complex language and proposals and communicate these in an accessible format to a broad range of audiences
9. Experience of managing complex and challenging communication topics with empathy, including the ability to understand audience perspectives, horizon scan and prepare responses to areas of concern.
10. Ability to plan and sequence and understand and manage the cumulative impact of issues on audiences.
11. You will have evidence of where you have used data and insight to shape your communications approaches and solid measures of the impact of your activity.
12. Excellent briefing, writing, editing, presentation and collaboration skills.
13. A strong understanding of good story telling, message creation and developing core narratives
14. Experience of using a variety of communication channels and ability to provide advice on most appropriate channels and content dependant on context and audience insight.
15. You will be adaptable, adept at working in a fast-moving environment that relies on real-time communications, with experience of delivering quality outputs to tight deadlines
About Us
At Essex County Council we have a vision to be a county where innovation brings prosperity and we are dedicated to improving the lives of our residents. With a total workforce of around 7,500, Essex County Council is one of the largest county councils in the country and we truly believe our greatest asset is our people. They are fundamentally key to our current and future success.
Benefits
Essex County Council is proud to offer an excellent benefits package to all its employees.
Apply and next steps
Why Essex?
As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.
In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about ) on our careers site
Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.
Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.
At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.
Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
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