Visits and Events Specialist

Job summary

A role supporting the planning and delivery of ministerial visits and events for Defra group Communications. Working with the Visits and Events Lead, the postholder will help to ensure ministers are supported with well-organised, high-quality activity that communicates departmental priorities and creates meaningful engagement opportunities, managing logistics and coordination from initial scoping through to on-the-day delivery.

Job description

• Support development and maintenance of the visits and events programme, working with private offices, Special Advisers (SpAds), policy teams and thematic leads to identify opportunities, scope suitable venues and participants, and define clear objectives using the OASIS framework.
• Lead end-to-end logistics for ministerial visits and events, including site reconnaissance, scheduling, travel, security coordination, venue management, catering, branding and on-the-day delivery, escalating issues to the Visits and Events Lead as needed.
• Prepare logistical briefing materials for ministers and senior officials ahead of visits and events, coordinating with press office and digital teams to maximise communications opportunities and ensure activity is integrated with wider campaigns and announcements.
• Evaluate visits and events activity against objectives, capturing learning to inform future planning and contributing to cross-functional reporting on the communications forward look.

In addition, all Senior Executive Officer (SEO) communications professionals within Defra group Communications will:

• Act as a trusted strategic communications adviser to senior leaders and stakeholders, translating business objectives into clear communications plans and providing confident, expert guidance.
• Plan, deliver and evaluate high-quality communications activity, using insight and data to inform decisions, optimise approaches and demonstrate impact and value for money.
• Build and maintain effective working relationships across internal teams, partner organisations and external stakeholders, working collaboratively to ensure communications are joined-up and aligned to wider organisational and government priorities.
• Identify and manage risks to reputation and communications objectives, reacting quickly to changes in the political or policy landscape.
• Play an active role in incident communications, helping to ensure that partners and the public receive up-to-date and accurate information at pace. The post holder may be required to participate in an out-of-hours duty rota, for which additional pay is provided.
• Line manage and provide professional development support to direct reports, fostering a positive, inclusive team culture and contributing to building capability across the wider communications function.
• Ensure all communications activity adheres to government propriety, accessibility and data protection standards, upholding the standards set out in the Civil Service Code and Government Communication Service (GCS) guidance.
• Contribute to cross-government and cross-Defra group working, sharing insight, best practice and lessons learned to continuously improve the quality and effectiveness of communications.

Person specification

• Skilled at building excellent stakeholder networks.
• Experience of working with other communications partners such as press office, digital and strategic communications to deliver high quality work, often at pace.
• Ability to work closely with senior officials and external partners.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to stay cool under pressure, work to tight deadlines and manage multiple priorities.

Behaviours

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

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together
• Seeing the Big Picture

We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing

Technical skills

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

• Government Communication Service (GCS) Competency: Implementation

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £44,052, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs contributes £12,761 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).

• Learning and development tailored to your role
• An environment with flexible working options
• A culture encouraging inclusion and diversity
• A Civil Service pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

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, Experience and Technical skills.

Application Process

As part of the application process you will be asked to submit:

• a CV. Your skills and experience should demonstrate your suitability for the role.
• a personal statement of no more than 500 words. Your personal statement should provide detailed evidence of how you meet the essential criteria in the person specification section of the job advert.
• Statements (no more than 250 words per statement) for the following Civil Service Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing and Delivering at Pace.

Sift

Should a large number of applications be received, an initial sift may be conducted using the personal statement. Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.

Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.

Interview

If successful at application stage, you will be invited to interview where you will be assessed on the following Civil Service Behaviours: Communicating and Influencing, Delivering at Pace, Seeing the Big Picture, and Working Together.

You will also be assessed on the following Government Communication Service (GCS) technical competency: Implementation. Please see the Senior Information Officer (SIO) level skills and knowledge required for the competency at