Senior Communications and Engagement Officer

As Senior Communications and Engagement Officer at the Housing Ombudsman Service, you’ll have an exciting opportunity to use your media relations, public affairs and / or stakeholder engagement communications skills to improve residents’ lives and landlords’ services across the social housing sector. Within this key role, you will contribute to the delivery of the Housing Ombudsman’s communications and engagement strategy with a focus on the Ombudsman’s external affairs activity, covering media, public affairs and stakeholder engagement. Using your communications expertise, and reporting to a Communications Manager, you will create and deliver a breadth of integrated communications and stakeholder activity to promote the Ombudsman’s key messages and raise the Service’s profile. This will include: developing and delivering proactive media activities; organising outreach with elected representatives, managing speaker requests and organising events; supporting engagement with our sponsor department including correspondence, parliamentary questions, enquiries and meetings; and developing engaging content (including press releases, media briefings; policy briefings; sector reports) for a range of channels including web and social media. As well as your excellent written and verbal communications skills, you’ll possess a strong news sense and will be able to demonstrate: a successful track record in media relations, public affairs and / or stakeholder engagement within a high profile national organisation; experience producing high-quality briefings in different formats for internal and external stakeholders; experience developing and implementing successful communications/external affairs campaigns; experience of managing and communicating with a range of stakeholders, including MPs, regulators and councillors; and knowledge of the policy environment and political context influencing the Ombudsman’s work, with housing policy knowledge being ideal.