Communications and Engagement Officer

Suffolk County Council; Ipswich; Hybrid; GBP 40,000; Full time

Job summary

Suffolk County Council seeks a Communications and Engagement Officer to enhance the Local Growth Plan's profile. The role involves delivering marketing campaigns, managing communications, and engaging with local businesses and stakeholders. This fixed-term position offers flexible working options and significant exposure to senior business leaders.

Benefits

Up to 29 days annual leave entitlement

Membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme

Travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits

Performance-related annual pay progression

Training and development opportunities

Qualifications

• Proven record of delivering communications and marketing campaigns.
• Sound knowledge of economic and business issues.
• Experience of managing events and campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Develop and deliver the Communications and Marketing plan.
• Manage content and updating of the Suffolk economy website.
• Coordinate and deliver professional events.

Skills

Excellent written and verbal communications skills

Ability to convey complex information

Self-starter

Job description

Job Description

• Suffolk County Council – Endeavour House, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX - Hybrid
• £39,513 per annum (pro rata for part time)
• 37 hours per week - Flexible working options available
• Fixed term or secondment for 2 years (funding)
  
  
  

When you join the Suffolk Economy Team, we’ll support your development from the start. We’ll help you to play to your strengths, develop your skills and build an influential and impactful career. With a variety of career paths and learning opportunities to explore, if you’re motivated and passionate there’s no limit to how far your ambition could take you.

Reimagine the possibilities.

Your Role And Responsibilities

We are looking for an experienced Communications and Engagement Officer, with a proven record of delivering communications and marketing campaigns, evaluating their impact using evidence-based methods to determine clear and measurable outcomes.

This new role will be focused on growing the economy in Suffolk and will work closely with both senior council officers and the Chair of the Suffolk Business Board. The role will provide significant exposure to senior business people in Suffolk.

• develop and deliver the Communications and Marketing plan, as agreed with the Business Board, to raise the profile of the Local Growth Plan, engaging Suffolk businesses in its delivery
• work within campaign budgets, accounting for spend and delivering value for money communications activities and campaigns
• undertake evaluation of projects and campaigns, reporting key indicators on a timely basis and presenting updates to stakeholders for discussion
• work closely with key local partners, such as Norfolk Business Board, the Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, and national partners such as the Business Board Network
• work closely with the Business Board Chair to prepare for and attend key meetings and events
• manage the content and updating of the Suffolk economy website and LinkedIn accounts
• plan, coordinate and deliver professional events which includes an annual Suffolk Showcasing event, scheduled October 2025.
  
  
  

You will need

• to be a self-starter and able to organise your time
• to convey complex information to lay audiences (public/councillors etc) and professional audiences (businesses) in person and via multiple channels (websites/social media/local media), as well as ensuring contractors and consultants have clear direction
• excellent written and verbal communications skills, including presentations, reports, publicity, digital and marketing materials
• to be able to move forward numerous projects, involving project teams including resources from external parties
• to use your skills from your previous experience and be able to transfer them to a new environment
• a sound knowledge of economic and business issues, and of the Suffolk business landscape
• to be comfortable working with senior business people
• experience of managing events and campaigns to raise awareness of a particular topic, including digital (social media, websites) and liaising with news media organisations (desirable)
  
  
  

You can view a full list of requirements in the Job and Person Profile (docx) . Even if you feel you don’t have all the requirements, don’t worry! There may well be experience or skills that we know we can develop or which are exactly what is needed. You don’t have to ‘tick every box’! We would appreciate the opportunity to consider your application.

The Team

The Suffolk Economy team own the ‘Local Growth Plan’ and work with business and government to seek to leverage significant private sector investment into Suffolk and to ultimately grow our £21bn economy. The team also directly deliver and commission around £10m worth of direct economic programmes annually, including business grants, skills training for both adults and young people, careers advice, sector networking groups, inward investment attraction, and projects to develop emerging sectors of the economy such as space, financial services and life sciences.

This role reports to the Head of Economic Strategy at Suffolk County Council, and sits as part of a wider team of 40 professionals.

In addition to the officer team, this role is unique in that it also has direct line of sight to the ‘Suffolk Business Board’, who are a group of 15 senior business and education representatives who steer the Local Growth Plan.

The team works flexibly to support a healthy work life balance and embraces remote working where this improves efficiency in the delivery of our shared objectives. In general, employees are expected to be in the office 3 days a week.

Empowering Everyone

We’re big believers in potential, possibility and the power of different ideas. We’re always searching for ways to encourage, respect and enable everyone to be the best they can be. We want to represent the diverse communities we serve. We welcome applications from all individuals, especially those from groups that are currently underrepresented in the organisation, as shown in our Workforce Equality Report .

For more information

Please contact Jasmine Joolia for a casual conversation. You can reach them by calling 01473 260733 or emailing [e-mail] .

If you want to apply for a secondment, read the secondment policy first. Make sure you get permission from your current manager before submitting your application.

How To Apply

Step 1 - Read the Job and Person Profile (JPP) (docx) .

Step 2 - Click ‘Apply Now’ to start your online application.

Step 3 - Upload asupporting statementanswering the following questions below (no more than 400 words per question). You should use the Supporting Statement template

• Can you describe a time when you devised and delivered a successful high-profile communication campaign? What was the objective and the key components?
• Can you provide an example of how you working and communicating closely with key partners, such as local political leaders or business organisations, to achieve a common goal?
• How do you convey complex economic and business information to different audiences, including the public and professional groups? Can you provide an example of a successful presentation you delivered to evidence this?
  
  
  

Step 4 - Upload a CV (without name and personal details).

Please note: Without a supporting statement and CV, your interest will not be progressed. Any supporting documents must be in either PDF or MS Word format.

We value authentic applications that showcase your genuine skills and experiences. Applications suspected of being generated by AI may be rejected. We encourage you to present your own work and ideas throughout the application process.

If you require any reasonable adjustments to the application process before the next selection stage, please contact our Recruitment Team by emailing [e-mail] or calling 03456 014412.If you are invited to the next stage of selection, you will have another opportunity to request adjustments for the next stages of the process.

Closing date: 11.30pm 3 June 2025

Interview date: 18 June 2025

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts.

About Us

As a modern and effective council, we offer a wide variety of careers to suit people with a range of skills, abilities and ambitions. We offer working options that flex to reflect the way people work today and take the time to understand and support your individual needs. We’re driven to make a positive difference to the world around us and encourage everyone with drive and focus to join us and build an influential and impactful career. Reimagine the possibilities.

In return, you’ll enjoy:

• up to 29 days annual leave entitlement (pro rata), plus UK bank holidays and two paid volunteering days
• membership of a competitive Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS)
• travel, lifestyle, health and wellbeing benefits
• performance-related annual pay progression, in addition to an annual cost-of-living pay increase
• training and encouragement to expand your knowledge
• a variety of career development opportunities across our organisation
• diverse and active staff networks
• flexible working options, with the right to request flexible working from your first day
  
  
  

Plus lots more!

If you want to know more about our benefits, values and equality commitments please visit our Suffolk County Council careers website (careers.Suffolk.gov.uk) .