Head of Communication and Engagement

• Details
• Reference number
• 475177
• Salary
• £73,142 - £79,550
• £73,142 - £79,550 National - £77,124 - £84,724 London
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%

GBP

• Job grade
• Grade 6
• Contract type
• Permanent
• Business area
• GIAA - Central Services
• Type of role
• Communications / Marketing
• Working pattern
• Flexible working, Full-time, Job share, Part-time
• Number of jobs available
• 1
• Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

Location

Birmingham, Bootle, Bristol, Croydon, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Reading or Swansea

GIAA expects employees to maintain a regular presence at their contractual designated work location and to travel to other GIAA locations or client sites as required for critical meetings and field assignments. Consequently, the contractual location must be selected from those advertised and be within a reasonable daily commuting distance from the employee’s home address.

Existing GIAA employees appointed into this new role will be allowed to remain at their current workplace location.

About the job

Job summary

The Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) is driven by its unparalleled access across government to build ‘better insights, better outcomes’ for our clients.

This role offers a strong platform for career progression within the Agency and the wider civil service, providing opportunities to develop leadership, stakeholder engagement and strategic relationship management skills across government.

The Agency’s unique access across the public sector exposes you to different risk and control environments, allowing you to gain insights, apply experience, contribute meaningfully, and continue developing professionally.

Job description

The Communication and Engagement team manages and provides professional, authentic, trusted communication and engagement services and advice for both external and internal audiences.

The Head of Communication and Engagement will lead the Agency’s communication function, developing and delivering an integrated internal and external communications strategy aligned with the Agency’s strategic objectives. You will use best-practice communication approaches, digital channels, and emerging media to deliver high-quality messaging.

Working closely with senior leaders, you will translate organisational priorities into compelling communications, provide expert media advice in line with government standards, and serve as the principal communications adviser to the Executive Committee and Senior Leadership Team. You will also lead a small, geographically dispersed team, reporting to the Chief Operating Officer, while building strong relationships with key stakeholders across the Agency and the wider Internal Audit Function.

This role ensures consistent, accurate communication and the appropriate handling of sensitive information, reinforcing the Agency’s reputation, independence, and purpose.

The purpose of this role is to lead the delivery of high quality, internal and external communication and engagement activity, projects and campaigns for GIAA, including but not limited to the following areas of strategic activity:

• the overarching GIAA communication and engagement strategy
• the GIAA brand, brand strategy and house style
• leading the communication and engagement team
• proactive and reactive media engagement
• advising and recommending visual solutions and creative campaigns to support, enhance and raise awareness of business activity
• managing the resourcing of multiple competing demands to meet GIAA priorities
• delivering complex change communication programmes
• crisis communication
• acting as ‘trusted advisor’ for senior leaders
• the GIAA social media strategy and activity
• maintaining excellent and accurate writing standards, adhering to house style and guidelines
• the design and production of corporate/flagship documents
• adhering to data protection and GDPR guidelines including copyright and licenses
• effective financial and commercial management of resources
• liaison with the Government Communication Service (GCS) profession and function
• adherence to GCS accessibility and best practice guidelines
• the Agency SharePoint intranet site
• identifying potential risks to Agency reputation, proactively intervening and/or mitigating as required
• leading the delivery of the GIAA conference and other events
• providing communication and engagement support to the Head of Internal Audit Function and Profession
• specialist communication guidance for internal audits as requested

Person specification

• extensive senior communications leadership experience with a proven track record of delivering successful communications strategies in complex public or private sector organisations across multiple communication disciplines
• strong strategic planning and delivery skills, using insight, data and evaluation to develop effective communications, manage reputational risk, and measure impact
• proven leadership and people management experience, building, developing and leading high-performing communications teams, managing performance, workloads and fostering a culture of continuous improvement
• excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills across government, with the ability to build trusted relationships at senior levels, provide strategic advice, navigate complex governance structures and handle sensitive issues with discretion
• demonstrable expertise in crisis communications
• demonstrable experience in media and channel management, including the effective use of digital and low-cost communications to achieve organisational objectives
• strong commercial and operational management skills, including experience managing communications budgets, contracts and external suppliers to deliver value for money and business outcomes
• exceptional analytical, written, verbal and presentation skills, with the ability to interpret complex information, produce clear and compelling communications, confidently brief senior leaders
• demonstrable understanding and application of Data Protection and GDPR guidance, adhering to accessibility guidelines and maintaining the correct licenses, copyrights and permissions.

To apply for this role, you will need to submit your employment history, personal details and provide a statement of suitability of no more than 1,000 words, referring to the person specification.

Please note only your statement of suitability will be assessed at the sift stage.

Interviews will be held on Teams.

Candidates invited to interview will be required to undertake a technical assessment followed by questions and additionally assessed on experience and strengths.

Technical skills

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

• Technical Assessment

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £73,142, Government Internal Audit Agency contributes £21,189 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides .

Benefits

• Competitive salaries and in-year rewards
• Flexible working
• A Civil Service Pension with an employer contribution of 28.97%
• Discount on big brands
• Volunteering days
• Season Ticket Loan and Cycle to Work Schemes
• Free eyesight tests
• Family-friendly HR policies
• 25 days’ annual leave increasing by one day per year of service to 30 days after 5 years’ service
• Geographically based Agency

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 for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles , and will assess your Strengths, Experience and Technical skills.

• Recruitment Timeline
• Closing date: 02 September 2026
• Shortlisting: w/c 07 September 2026
• Interviews: 29 September & 01 October 2026

This timeline is indicative and may be subject to change. We will inform you if there is a substantial change to the recruitment timeline.

If your contact details change at any time during the selection process, please ensure you update your Civil Service Jobs profile.

Please note that only applications submitted through Civil Service Jobs will be accepted.

Eligibility Statement

A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role in the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government. Checks will be performed as part of pre-employment checks in line with this. Please refer to the Candidate FAQ document attached to the advert for more information.

Everyone working with government assets must complete Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) checks. Additionally, individuals appointed to the Treasury group will be subject to National Security Vetting. The level of security vetting required for this role is Security Check (SC)

To allow for meaningful checks to be carried out, applicants will need to have lived in the UK for at least 3 out of the past 5 years. In exceptional circumstances, for example if you have been working abroad on a government posting, a lack of residency would not be a bar to security clearance however the Department will need to consider eligibility on a case-by-case basis once the advert closing date has passed.

Please read the Vetting Charter for information on what to expect during the vetting process and what will be expected from you. Many areas of your life may be explored during your vetting journey, and it is important that every individual, regardless of their background and experiences, should feel comfortable going through this personal process, whilst having confidence that it is fair, proportionate, and inclusive.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.

Security

Successful candidates must meet the security requirements before they can be appointed. The level of security needed is security check .

See our vetting charter .

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

This job is broadly open to the following groups:

• UK nationals
• nationals of the Republic of Ireland
• nationals of Commonwealth countries who have the right to work in the UK
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities with settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• nationals of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein and family members of those nationalities who have made a valid application for settled or pre-settled status under the European Union Settlement Scheme (EUSS)
• individuals with limited leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain who were eligible to apply for EUSS on or before 31 December 2020
• Turkish nationals, and certain family members of Turkish nationals, who have accrued the right to work in the Civil Service

Further information on nationality requirements

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion

The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans initiative.

The Civil Service welcomes applications from people who have recently left prison or have an unspent conviction. Read more about prison leaver recruitment (opens in new window).

Once this job has closed, the job advert will no longer be available. You may want to save a copy for your records.

Contact point for applicants

Job contact :

• Name : Katie Woodhouse
• Email : giaarecruitment@giaa.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : giaarecruitment@giaa.gov.uk

Further information

Complaints Procedure: The law requires that selection for appointment to the Civil Service is on merit on the basis of fair and open competition as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's Recruitment Principles. If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles, and you wish to make a complaint, you should contact: GIAARecruitment@giaa.gov.uk in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission.