Senior Communications Officer Ref: 14-26

Salary: Grade 7, from £38,519 per annum
Location: Dereham, Norfolk (some remote working)
Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week
Basis: Permanent 

Would you like a job where what you do:

• Makes a difference to local people and businesses?
• Encourages you to find creative ways to deliver high-quality communications and marketing campaigns, both digital and offline, to get your message across?
• Places you in the heart of Local Government and the evolution of public services?

We are seeking a dynamic, confident and forward‑thinking Senior Communications Officer to support the delivery and promotion of key council initiatives and services.

In this important role, you will shape and deliver a range of communications and marketing activity, across internal and external channels, digital and offline, working with local media, and in crisis and change communications.

You will deputise for the Communications Manager and support junior members of the Communications Team in their day-to-day activities. In this visible role, you will be a trusted source of senior communications advice to senior officers and elected members as well as frontline services.

You will:

• Work with the Communications Manager to ensure the team's activity is aligned with agreed strategic goals and priorities
• Lead high profile and/or complex communications and marketing projects, while retaining the ability to deliver day-to-day functions. Produce and maintain plans which capture this approach, monitor the impact of activity, report progress, and provide recommendations for optimising ROI
• Support council initiatives through the hands-on production of a broad range of communications material, including writing press releases, internal messages, member communications, and producing engaging web and social media content
• Bring a creative, proactive and innovative approach to campaigns, engagement and marketing.
• Horizon scan the wider public services environment in order to provide credible and professional communications and PR advice to council teams and senior figures to ensure projects and services are communicated effectively across a range of channels.
• Have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to make rapid, well‑judged decisions under pressure.
• Identify opportunities to promote the work of the council both locally and nationally
• Respond to reactive media enquiries and social media comments/messages, including those of a high-profile or controversial nature
• Support junior members of the team with their day-to-day activities by providing advice and direction

About you

Your qualities and behaviours are just as important to us as your experience. Is this you?

• Collaborative: You build effective working relationships across teams, Members and external partners, listening to ideas and contributing constructively.
• Ambitious: You look for better ways of doing things, take ownership of change, and help others adapt and embed new ways of working.
• Results-driven: You stay focused on outcomes, are clear on priorities, and show resilience when challenges arise.
• Empowering: You are proactive in seeking opportunities, take responsibility for outcomes, and learn from experience to improve delivery.
• Supportive: You are approachable and respectful, offering help when needed and contributing to a positive team environment.

If you would like an informal chat regarding this role please contact Matthew Barnard, Communications Manager by emailing matthew.barnard@breckland.gov.uk

Please read the job description and person specification for a more comprehensive list of duties and for the qualities needed.

Closing date - 9am, Thursday 21 May 2026

Job summary

Description of duties

Primary Functional Objectives of the Role

Under direction from the Communications Manager, support delivery of communications functions for the council and ensure the team's activity is aligned with agreed strategic goals and priorities

Activities of the team include:

• Press and PR
• Social Media
• Marketing
• Internal Communications
• Design and print
• Web content management

Lead high profile and/or complex communications and marketing projects, while retaining the ability to deliver day-to-day functions. Produce and maintain plans which capture this approach, monitor the impact of activity, report progress, and provide recommendations for optimising ROI

Support council initiatives through the hands-on production of a broad range of communications material, including writing press releases, internal messages, member communications, and producing engaging web and social media content

Bring a creative, proactive and innovative approach to campaigns, engagement and marketing.

Horizon scan the wider public services environment in order to provide credible and professional communications and PR advice to council teams and senior figures to ensure projects and services are communicated effectively across a range of channels.

Have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and the ability to make rapid, well‑judged decisions under pressure.

Identify opportunities to promote the work of the council both locally and nationally

Respond to reactive media enquiries and social media comments/messages, including those of a high-profile or controversial nature

Support junior members of the team with their day-to-day activities by providing advice and direction.

Be proactive in identifying new ways of working and raise these with the Communications Manager and wider team

Develop and maintain positive relationships with local and regional media

Work to communications, engagement (internal and external), marketing and other strategies for the council

Ensure compliance to all policies, procedures, standard operating practices, with recommendations for action and continuous improvement.

Be committed to Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all those that we serve, as well as complying to best practice in the application of Safeguarding.

Undertake other duties appropriate to the role, as required by management.

Primary Line/Performance Management Objectives of the Role

No direct line management responsibilities.

However, as a senior member of the team, this postholder will provide day to day guidance to junior team members and support their prioritisation

Responsibilities for:

Assets: Responsible for proper use of council-provided kit (eg. laptop)

Finance: No budget holder responsibilities. May be responsible for allocating small funds within a project, with support from Communications Manager

Decision Making: Have a strong sense of political awareness; Analyse and interpret complex internal and stakeholder communication issues and advise on, plan, and implement solutions; Be able to assess situations quickly and calmly before making informed decisions and providing advice which protects the reputation of the council to officers at all levels and members; Recognise when issues need to be escalated to the Communications Manager.

Communications: Clear and considered communications to internal audiences at all levels of the organisation and a range of external stakeholders; Will direct junior members of the team; Influence and advise others - including those in other teams and those more senior (members and officers, partners)
 

This job description is not exhaustive.

The job description outlines the current position and will be subject to review in the light of development within the service. This will be in consultation with the post holder, as detailed in your Contract of Employment.

Experience and Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent interpersonal skills. Proven ability to negotiate and persuade and build and maintain effective working relationships at all levels. Ability to communicate with, engage and influence team members, customers, partners and stakeholders, in complex situations.
• Outstanding planning and organisational skills, with experience of working within general professional guidelines or organisational policy, to achieve service requirements. Considerable experience of planning projects / campaigns incorporating a range of channels, on and offline
• Significant experience of working in a communications environment, backed by evidence of appropriate level of expertise.
• The ability to cope with conflicting and changing demands through good time management and the ability to work under pressure.
• Proven initiative and judgement to identify opportunities and resolve problems
• Production of corporate communication and community information material (eg. magazines, leaflets)
• Experience of working with internal and external partners to plan successful campaigns/projects and measure success
• Good ICT skills - both standard Microsoft applications and specialist systems.
• Excellent proof reading skills.

Desirable

• Demonstrate experience of local government and political context
• Networking with similar professionals from other organisation/groups
• Experience of supporting partnership working to deliver service improvements
• Experience of commissioning suppliers, such as photographers, web designers
• Experience of handling relatively small, project budgets
• Experience in the development of digital streams to aid customer engagement and interaction
• Experience of website content management systems
• Organisation of public and media events and publicity

Qualifications

Essential

• Relevant communications, marketing or journalism qualifications or demonstrable equivalent experience

Desirable

• Driving licence
• Membership of CIM/CIPR
• Qualified journalist

Behaviours

Collaborative

• I look for ways to work in partnership and listen supportively to the ideas of others, building on their ideas, while sharing my views and knowledge
• I recognise the skills, talent and experience of others and reach out to them for their contribution and input
• I recognise, appreciate and praise others for their contribution

Ambitious

• I always ask myself 'How could we do this better?', taking ownership of change and helping others to understand, adapt, implement, and embed it
• I have an open mindset, take risks and explore new ways of doing things - my approach to work is filled with positivity and optimism
• I am a proud ambassador, taking pride and responsibility for the work we do and encouraging others to do the same

Results-driven

• I review my own performance and ask for feedback to learn and improve
• I make sure I am clear on what I need to achieve, keeping a focus on results and solutions; I am driven, showing courage and resilience even when things don't go to plan
• I keep to my promises and challenge myself and others to deliver high-quality services

Empowering

• I show energy and drive to explore new opportunities and challenge the status quo - acting on opportunities to generate income or reduce costs, embracing new technology and promoting digitalisation
• I ask for help and support when needed, and take responsibility if things don't go well, learning from it for my own and for the organisation's development
• I appropriately challenge unacceptable behaviour

Supportive

• I treat others as I would want to be treated myself ensuring I am welcoming, friendly and approachable
• I care for my colleagues, taking an interest in them, showing support for their personal identities and what's important to them
• I understand and take care of my own well-being and of that of those around me, and give time to colleagues who need help or support

Mental Demands

• Will need to be able to manage a highly varied and changing workload and regularly reprioritise demands
• Ability to respond in sometimes high-pressure, time-sensitive situations
• Will need to be able to deal tactfully with sometimes confrontational situations, including with the media
• Will cope with frequent interruptions.

Physical Demands

• Predominantly office role, typing etc.
• Occasional events with associated set up and transportation of equipment
• Occasional requirements to work outside of normal office hours - eg. events, elections

Health & Safety (exposure to risk)

• Predominantly office role
• Will need to comply with all health and safety training

What's it like to work for us?

We are passionate about our people and pride ourselves on being a great place to work, we genuinely care and know that a happy workforce is a productive and motivated one! If you're still not sure, here are some stats from our 2025 staff survey to convince you..

• 96% said they feel trusted and empowered
• 88% of staff recommend Breckland as a great place to work
• 86% said they have had opportunities to learn and grow in the last 12 months
• 91% think Breckland provide positive action on health and wellbeing
• 86% said they feel supported

If you STILL need convincing, here's what some of our staff say...

• "Breckland is a fantastic employer, lots of opportunities and support"
• "Having only just started, it is a great place to work, everyone says hello, is smiley and chatty. I like the groups that are on, like carers shed and neurodiversity"
• "We are encouraged to take regular breaks and there are mental health first aiders and a wide range of good promotional aspects of healthy living and wellbeing."
• "In times of need the council offers excellent support."
• "BDC really does seem to care about the wellbeing and happiness of their staff."

At Breckland Council we have embraced the Government's agenda to modernise local government. Our approach is to lead change rather than follow it, and to add the best value we can to our communities. We achieve this by developing our employees to their full potential, providing them with the relevant knowledge, equipment, and authority to carry out their duties.

We are a dynamic and innovative organisation that is always testing and learning as we seek to continually improve. We have never stood still in response to the emergence of new opportunities, changing customer demands, and ongoing funding challenges. We have exciting plans for how to deliver the best possible services to our residents and businesses.

Breckland as a district is a special place nestled in the heart of rural Norfolk, spanning over 500 square miles of beautiful countryside and forest, with five Market Towns and over 140,000 residents. We care, we listen, and we support people and businesses within our district. We have big ideas and we are innovative in our approach, coming up with ways to meet the needs of the local communities that we serve. Through our actions, we want to make things better.

But we know that we can't do it alone. We are a collaborative organisation and we work together with others to make a greater impact. We are also an organisation where our employees can grow and develop and are empowered to achieve and succeed. We are proud of our area, and by driving investment and enabling opportunities, we can maximise its full potential. We want to inspire aspiration to live, work, visit, or do business here: we want our district to be one of choice.

We will support and enable growth and change in our thriving, welcoming places where people and businesses choose to be, knowing their ambitions can be not just fulfilled but exceeded. By listening to people, by understanding what they need and by working together, we can shape what we have to offer. By doing so, we can benefit those who are already here and those who choose to come to live, work, visit, or do business.

We offer excellent conditions of service, including:

• Free parking at our newly refurbished office. 
• Excellent training opportunities.
• 25 days annual leave, increasing after three years' continuous Local Authority service by one day per year up to the maximum of 28 days, plus bank holidays.
• Local Government Pension Scheme (generous employers pension contributions).
• Family friendly policies.
• Cyclesheme and assisted car purchase.

Our commitment to talent development, on the job learning and upskilling, training and professional memberships, will keep your knowledge and skills up to date.

Closing date - 09:00 Thursday 21 May 2026

If you would like an informal chat regarding this role please contact Matthew Barnard, Communications Manager by emailing matthew.barnard@breckland.gov.uk

Full details of the role and required qualities can be found in the job description and person specification. Please use your application to evidence how you meet the criteria.

Apply Online

Equal Opportunities

We are committed to being an Equal Opportunities employer, recognising the benefits of sustaining a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community we serve. We welcome applications from anyone who feels they meet the requirements of our vacancies. These are listed as essential requirements on the person specification.