Head Of Communications

Description:

The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) is the independent body that regulates and administers MP business funding and decides the pay and pensions of the 650 elected Members of Parliament and their staff in the United Kingdom. We were created by the Parliamentary Standards Act 2009 as the world’s first independent regulator of MP financial regulation.

IPSA operates in a complex and high-profile standards landscape. We have an ambitious strategy to move to a strong but simple regulatory approach that supports trust in democracy. IPSA has a key role in helping the public understand the value of the money we provide to support democracy and we therefore need to improve awareness of, and trust in, IPSA’s work and purpose.

We are looking for a proactive, credible, and outcomes-driven strategic communications leader to help us achieve our ambitions.

This role sits within the Policy & Engagement Directorate. It reports to the Director, Policy and Engagement and the role will require the postholder to join an out of hours rota, with time off in lieu provided for any hours worked.

Job Description

• Development and implementation of IPSA’s external communications strategy and annual communications plans to deliver a compelling narrative on the value of IPSA’s work and the funding it provides to support democracy; Develop innovative approaches to communicating with the public and media through social media and other tools to reach a wide range of audiences.
• Co-creation and ownership of IPSA’s internal communications strategy, to deliver a compelling strategic narrative to IPSA’s people in support of its commitment to grow its people and build a culture of collaboration, utilising innovative approaches to internal communication.
• Building the trust and confidence of stakeholders across the public, Parliament, the media and other opinion formers to further IPSA’s strategic objective of supporting trust in democracy.
• Explaining to the media and other interested parties IPSA’s position on strategic and policy issues; matters relating to the publication of information on MP funding and general issues management.
• Ongoing assessment of the external environment to identify and manage reputational risks, display judgement and political nous, articulate a clear plan of action, and provide calm and authoritative leadership to the team.
• Provide strategic communications and reputational advice to the Executive Leadership Team and IPSA’s Board and the delivery and reporting of the Board’s communications desired outcomes.
• Leading autonomous projects and other ad-hoc pieces of work as well as contributing to wider IPSA projects, as required.
• Be an inspiring leader to the Communications team, delivering results and reflecting IPSA’s values of staying connected, seeing the bigger picture, being open, doing the right thing and making a difference through all that you do.