Associate Director Strategic Communications and Engagement

Job summary

Ofqual is the independent qualifications regulator for England. We currently regulate 200+ awarding organisations, and approx. 11,600 certified qualifications.

These include GCSEs, AS and A levels, and a broad range of vocational and technical qualifications.

For more information about the work we do please visit our website and our Careers Pages https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofqual and
https://www.civil-service-careers.gov.uk/ofqual-hub/

About the team

Qualifications shape lives. Ofqual exists to secure public confidence in the exams and assessments that open doors for students and apprentices across England. We're looking for an experienced strategic communicator to help us deliver on that mission, and to help strengthen the awarding organisation market that sits at the heart of the qualifications system.

This is a rare role that combines two distinct but connected challenges. You'll lead the development and delivery of strategic communications campaigns that support Ofqual's most high-profile priorities, from public-facing work that builds trust in qualifications, to campaigns that address areas of non-compliance.

Job description

You'll lead a talented team of 7, including three Civil Service Grade 7s, three SEOs and an HEO, and act as deputy to the Director of Communications, stepping in to liaise with the chair, Chief Regulator and wider leadership team when needed. You'll sit within the Communications Directorate's leadership team, working across the organisation to ensure our plans are grounded in evidence and aligned to organisational priorities.

At the same time, you'll take the lead on our strategic engagement with awarding organisations, helping to strengthen the performance, capacity and resilience of that market, and ensuring awarding organisations understand and meet regulatory expectations.

We're looking for someone who can operate confidently at pace and with authority. You'll need a strong track record across the full range of communications disciplines, with particular depth in strategic communications planning and evaluation, ideally underpinned by GCS best practice.

You'll bring established credibility with senior stakeholders, sound judgement under pressure, and the ability to horizon scan, spotting emerging issues before they become problems and shaping the right response.

Just as importantly, you'll be a people leader who builds high-performing, inclusive teams; someone who welcomes challenge, communicates with clarity and confidence, and can influence and persuade a wide range of audiences, from awarding organisation leaders to Ofqual's own Board.

If you want a role where strategic communications expertise translates directly into public trust and market resilience, we'd love to hear from you.

Person specification

Please refer to the job description attached for a full list of essential criteria to support your application.

Behaviours

We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Leadership
• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £69,524, Ofqual (Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation) contributes £20,141 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

As a Civil Servant, you will benefit from a leading, modern employment offer which includes flexible working arrangements that support people at different stages in their lives, and pensions among the best available in the UK, as well as generous annual leave entitlements.

Other benefits you can enjoy include:

• Organisational performance related bonus
• Cycle-to-work scheme
• Regular professional development
• Health and wellbeing initiatives such as mini-medicals, flu vaccinations
• Employee assistance programme and occupational health
• Free eye tests and contribution towards lenses/spectacles for VDU users, if appropriate
• Family friendly policies
• Interest free rail season ticket loan
• Access to exclusive discounts
• Free car parking

We are committed to promoting Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Wellbeing throughout the organisation. We are proud of the action we are taking to support this. We welcome applications from individuals from all backgrounds to support our ethos of creating a diverse culture that is reflective of both our employees and the learners we support.

Due to our continued commitment and focus in relation to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, our inclusion and fair treatment score based on the Civil Service 2024 annual people survey ranks us joint 5th out of 104 participating departments.

Ofqual is a rewarding, dynamic place to work. We offer employees the opportunity to develop within their role and progress through the organisation via a number of Learning and Development opportunities and activities.

Ofqual has a highly engaged workforce. Our 2024 Civil Service People Survey score on engagement was 71%, against 64% for the whole Civil Service, and was the joint 12th highest of the 104 participating CS departments.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Strengths and Experience.

Please note that Ofqual does not offer Visa sponsorship.

You will be assessed on the Behaviours shown above at interview stage.

Ofqual has adopted anonymised recruitment. This means that your name, date of birth and other personal details will not be seen by the sift panel. You’ll be asked to remove all personal details from your CV when you apply.

When you press the ‘apply now’ button, you will be asked to complete personal details (not seen by the shortlisting panel), your career history and qualifications.

You will then be asked to provide a personal statement evidencing how you meet the essential criteria shown on the job description attached to this advert. Once this job has closed, the job description will no longer be available. You may wish to save a copy for your records.

Please ensure you demonstrate clearly, within your personal statement, how you meet these requirements as this will form a key part of your evidence when the panel is scoring your application, against the requirements of the role.

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift will b