12719 - Senior communication officer (public confidence)

Ministry of Justice; Greater London; On-site; GBP 35,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A government agency is seeking a Senior Communication Officer to enhance public confidence in sentencing by developing effective communication and engagement strategies. The role involves managing media inquiries, representing the Communication team, and producing engaging content for various platforms. The ideal candidate has strong communication skills and knowledge of the criminal justice system. This position offers a unique opportunity to impact public understanding and engagement within the justice system.

Qualifications

• Experience in communication and public engagement roles.
• Ability to present complex information to non-expert audiences.
• Knowledge of the criminal justice system is advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Develop communication strategies to improve public confidence in sentencing.
• Engage with senior judiciary and other stakeholders.
• Support the press office in handling media inquiries.

Skills

Communication skills

Stakeholder engagement

Understanding of criminal justice

Job description

Senior communication officer (public confidence)

Location: Royal Courts of Justice, London

Overview

The Sentencing Council for England and Wales is an independent non‑departmental public body part of the Ministry of Justice family of arm’s‑length bodies. The Council produces guidelines that provide a sentencing framework for the judiciary throughout the courts in England and Wales. The Council also has a statutory remit to improve public confidence in the criminal justice system and sentencing in particular.

The sentencing of offenders is an issue of great public interest, with high‑profile cases frequently attracting the attention of the media and Parliament, and the context is changing. The government is implementing reforms recommended by the Independent Sentencing Review and the Independent Review of the Criminal Courts that will make fundamental changes to the structure of sentencing and how the courts work.

The Council is chaired by a Court of Appeal judge and has 14 members, including judges from every level of the criminal court jurisdiction, the Director of Public Prosecutions, a barrister, a chief constable and other senior representatives from the fields of offender rehabilitation, victim welfare and the academic study of criminal law.

Our principal stakeholders are judges and magistrates, but the guidelines are also used by a range of other criminal justice professionals and are of particular significance to victims and witnesses.

The Sentencing Council is supported by the Office of the Sentencing Council, a high‑performing, multi‑disciplinary team of policy makers, lawyers, statisticians, researchers and communication professionals.

The communication team is responsible for managing all communication and reputation issues; planning and delivering high‑quality communication activities to support the Council’s work to improve public confidence in sentencing; providing a strategic engagement function and a press office; and delivering digital reforms.

Job description

The Senior communication officer (public confidence) will take a leading role in developing and delivering communication and stakeholder engagement activities to support the Office of the Sentencing Council public confidence and communication strategy.

The post-holder will also provide support as required for the Council’s press office.

The post-holder is expected to acquire a thorough knowledge of the Council’s work and the environment within which we operate. They must be able to present complex legal information in a way that is engaging and easily understood by non‑expert audiences.

The post reports to the Head of communication and digital and involves engagement with the most senior levels of the judiciary and senior criminal justice professionals.

Key responsibilities

• Developing a thorough understanding of the Council’s guidelines, consultations, research, analysis and other work, and the context within which the Council functions, in order to communicate the Council’s work and key messages to non‑experts accurately and completely.
• Developing and delivering public confidence communication strategies and activities to improve knowledge and understanding of sentencing among criminal justice focused stakeholders and public audiences, including victims of crime, witnesses and offenders.
• Contributing to the Council’s strategic engagement work, identifying engagement opportunities, developing briefs for stakeholder meetings, compiling content for presentations and speeches and working with stakeholders and partners.
• Developing and maintaining an appropriate social media profile for the Council, planning and developing content and monitoring performance.
• Supporting the Council’s press office when required, handling media enquiries and drafting news releases, articles, bulletins, briefings and lines for external media and internal, criminal justice channels. Occasionally providing an out‑of‑hours press contact.
• Writing content for the Council’s website, blog and social media accounts.
• Representing the Communication team at meetings and public engagements, as required, and contributing to the effective running of the office.