About the job

Summary

London £33,400 to £39,977 / Glasgow £30,950 £36,882 plus £3,000 (non-contractual) pa pro rata out of hours allowance

Ofgem works on behalf of energy consumers to ensure that every household and business in Britain can rely on a safe, environmentally sustainable energy supply at a fair price.

What we do matters: making a difference to people’s lives now, and for generations to come. We offer a diverse range of flexible working career opportunities: roles that are stimulating and rewarding. And it’s important to us that we recruit from a wide range of professional and personal backgrounds – bringing different perspectives and experiences to our work.

Energy is in the news. Global gas prices are having an impact on consumers and energy companies. UK governments have committed to tackle climate change. Our role in protecting the interests of consumers by driving the green transformation while keeping costs affordable couldn’t be more important, and this comes with high levels of scrutiny. We’re looking for an experienced media professional to help present and explain our work and priorities to the media.

You will advise colleagues on media relations and provide clear guidance on communications, also writing a range of briefings and communication materials.

You’ll ensure we are responsive and proactive in our communications and that we actively manage reputational issues.

We expect you to have experience of working in a challenging external facing communications role, with a demonstrable track record in media relations. You’ll be accustomed to working on your own initiative and be keen to adopt a proactive approach, investing the required time and effort to build positive working relationships with stakeholders. You’ll be able to get to grips quickly with complex subject matter and be able to identify the key issues to explain to external audiences in a simple engaging way through written materials. You’ll have a keen eye for detail, even when working at pace. And it’s essential that you are well organised so that you can prioritise competing issues to meet tight deadlines.

Ofgem is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment is decided on the basis of open and fair competition, merit and business need.

Job description

Ofgem, the energy regulator, is in the news now more than ever.

Global gas prices are putting pressure on both consumers and energy companies. We are also supporting the government’s net zero climate agenda by helping to transform how we generate electricity, drive our cars and heat our homes.

Our work is attracting increasing scrutiny from the media, political stakeholders, consumer groups and the energy industry.

Effective external communications are critical to Ofgem’s reputation.

We are looking for two media managers to join our dynamic and busy communications team.

You will work with a great hands-on team, on stories that are often top of the broadcast and print news agenda. You’ll need to be equally at home getting to grips with key policy areas on more technical issues, understanding their impact on consumers and net zero and writing succinct and impactful external materials. Policy colleagues will depend on your advice on communications handling for critical issues.

We’re looking for people with a strong track record in media relations for high profile organisations, who aren’t fazed by working under pressure when under the spotlight.

These roles take part in an out of hours media rota during evenings and weekends, being the first port of call for media enquiries and interview requests.

Responsibilities

• Get to grips with key policy areas and their impact on consumers and net zero.

• Provide expert communications handling advice to policy colleagues especially over critical and high profile issues.

• Respond to media enquiries and interview requests effectively and quickly, using news judgement to know when the story is moving on, where it’s going and whether to stick to the line or develop the narrative.

• Media monitoring, delivering regular and insightful updates to colleagues on relevant developments from media and political stakeholders.

• Write press releases, briefing papers and Q&As.

• Prepare spokespeople for interview.

• Take part in an out of hours media on-call rota at evenings and weekends.

Behaviours

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

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

Technical skills

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

• Please refer to candidate pack for details.

Benefits

Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; up to 30 days annual leave. Excellent training and development opportunities. The opportunity to join the Civil Service pension arrangements which include a valuable range of benefits. Flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Restaurant and subsidise gym (London only). Interest free season ticket loan.