Job summary
At DSIT we’re all about improving people’s lives by maximising the potential of science & technology.
We accelerate innovation, investment and productivity through world-class science, research and development.
We use technology for good by ensuring new and existing technologies are safely developed and deployed across the UK, with the benefits more widely shared.
We are driving forward a modern digital government which gives citizens a more satisfying experience and their time back.
We do all this to enable the Government’s 5 national missions: kickstarting economic growth, making Britain a clean energy superpower, taking back our streets, breaking down barriers to opportunity and building an NHS fit for the future.
Above all, we focus on improving people’s lives. Whether it’s researching new treatments for disease, developing better batteries, reducing burdens through better public services, keeping children safe online, and much more, outcomes for citizens are at the heart of what we do.
Our Inclusive Environment
We offer flexible working benefits, employee well-being support and a great pension. We are enormously proud to be a Disability Confident Leader employer. We support candidates with adjustments throughout our recruitment process. Information about disability confidence and just some examples of the adjustments that you can request can be found in the reasonable adjustment section below.
Find Out More
We regularly run events where you can find out more about the department and tips for the application and interview process. You can sign up for upcoming events here: https://forms.office.com/e/Jae3B4w7xm
You can also follow our LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/dsitcareers/
Job details
We're looking for a bold, creative content producer to join DSIT's Internal Communications team on a 12-month contract. This is a fast-moving, high-impact position at the heart of how we connect with 4,000+ colleagues across the country. You'll be out and about, in our offices, at events, in conversation with people at every level of the organisation, finding and telling the stories that make DSIT tick. Through video, graphics, written features, photography and audio, your job is to make content that cuts through to a workforce that is expert, curious and inventive. DSIT works on some of the most fascinating issues in government right now: AI, quantum computing, cybersecurity, space, digital public services and more. There is no shortage of brilliant stories to tell, and we want someone with the energy, creativity and instinct to tell them brilliantly.
You'll produce and publish a wide range of internal content that informs, engages and inspires our people taking often complex material and turning it into things our people want to read, watch or listen to. You'll work across multiple formats, and you'll vary what you produce rather than defaulting to the same approach every time. You'll be a sociable and confident individual who is comfortable getting out around our teams and offices, and engaging with and interviewing a range of people, including senior leaders.
This role will best suit someone who is full of questions and genuinely excited about telling the stories of others. Some journalistic flair would go a long way. You'll feel confident being on camera as well as working behind the scenes, capturing content in the moment, and reflecting relatable stories that cut through to busy colleagues. You'll be a good listener, able to pick up what is working well (and what isn't) from our people, so we can address issues and continuously improve our communications. This role requires national travel to our multiple office locations. Regular working from London will also be required.
Key responsibilities:
- Produce and publish internal content across written, graphic, video, photography and audio formats, in support of the internal communications strategy
- Vary formats and try new approaches in a purposeful way, bringing fresh ideas for making our communications more engaging and impactful
- Get out and about across our national office locations — interviewing colleagues, capturing content in the moment, and feeding back employee insight to the wider team
- Support and run hybrid and virtual all-staff events, using Microsoft Teams and Teams Town Hall, including pre-event content and post-event follow-up
- Produce content for senior leaders, including video messages, voice notes, long reads and event material, to help build their profile and connection with colleagues
- Publish and manage content on Helix, our intranet
- Manage the team's shared communications mailbox on a rota basis and respond to queries from across the organisation
- Plan, report and evaluate activity in line with team processes
- Make sure all content you produce meets accessibility standards
Person specification
Essential criteria
- Experienced user of Adobe Creative Cloud, specifically After Effects, Illustrator, Premiere Pro and Photoshop
- Experience in video production and editing, with strong confidence working across multiple formats
- Strong graphic design and copywriting skills, with the ability to adapt tone and style for different audiences
- Able to take complex or technical subject matter and turn it into clear, engaging content for a non-specialist audience — driving understanding and building pride
- Experience planning and designing creative content in advance to drive key narratives and communications strategies
- A fast learner, able to quickly pick up new digital tools, including Microsoft 365, SharePoint, newsletter platforms and other editing software
- Well organised, able to manage several priorities at once and meet deadlines at pace
- Able to travel across our national offices and attend on- and off-site departmental events
- Good at working with others, including senior stakeholders
- Experience of evaluating communications activity and using what you find to improve future work
Desirable criteria
- Experience working in front of the camera, as well as behind the lens
- Experience using Microsoft 365 event functionality, including MS Teams and Teams Town Hall
- Experience publishing and managing content on SharePoint-based intranets or similar platforms
- Experience producing audio content, such as voice notes or podcast-style recordings
- Familiarity with accessibility standards for written, visual and digital communications
- Experience working in communications or content production role
- Aware of the wider content and media landscape, and how different formats and styles can be used effectively in an internal communications context
Behaviours
We'll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:
- Changing and Improving
- Communicating and Influencing
- Delivering at Pace
We only ask for evidence of these behaviours on your application form:
Technical skills
We'll assess you against these technical skills during the selection process:
- GCS Implementation
- GCS Impact
Benefits
Alongside your salary of £36,735, Department for Science, Innovation & Technology contributes £10,642 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology offers a competitive mix of benefits including:
- A culture of flexible working, such as job sharing, homeworking and compressed hours.
- Automatic enrolment into the Civil Service Pension Scheme, with an employer contribution of 28.97%.
- A minimum of 25 days of paid annual leave, increasing by 1 day per year up to a maximum of 30.
- An extensive range of learning & professional development opportunities, which all staff are actively encouraged to pursue.
- Access to a range of retail, travel and lifestyle employee discounts.
- A hybrid office/home based working model where staff will spend a norm of 40-60% of their time in the office (minimum of 40%) over a month with flex dependent on balancing business and individual need.
Office attendance
The Department operates a discretionary hybrid working policy, which provides for a combination of working hours from your place of work and from your home in the UK. The current expectation for staff is to attend the office or non-home-based location for 40-60% of the time over the accounting period.
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 (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.
Selection process details
This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours, Experience and Technical skills.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to complete a CV, personal statement and abehavioural statement.
Further details around what this will entail are listed on the application form.
Please use your personal statement (in no more than 500 words) to tell us why you're right for this role and what you would bring to DSIT's Internal Communications team. Give us a clear sense of your creative approach, your experience across formats, and how you work with people
Please note - the CV incorporated into the application form is for information purposes only and will not be scored.
Applications will be sifted on the behavioural statement and personal statement.
In the event of a large number of applicants, applications will be sifted on the personal statement only.
Candidates who pass the initial sift may be progressed to a full sift, or progressed straight to assessment/interview.
The interview will consist of behaviour and technical-based questions.
Interviewees will be asked to deliver a presentation and a written exercise at interview, further details will be provided nearer the time.
The link to the technical/professional competency framework that candidates will be assessed against, for their reference: https://www.communications.gov.uk/publications/competency-framework/
Sift and interview dates to be confirmed.
Reasonable Adjustment
We are proud to be a disability confident leader and we welcome applications from disabled candidates and candidates with long-term conditions.
Information about the Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) and some examples of adjustments that we offer to disabled candidates and candidates with long-term health conditions during our recruitment process can be found in our DSIT Candidate Guidance. A DSIT Plain Text Version of the guidance is also available.
We encourage candidates to discuss their adjustment needs by emailing the job contact which can be found under the contact point for applicants' section.
If you are experiencing accessibility problems with any attachments on this advert, please contact the email address in the 'Contact point for applicants' section.
Additional information
If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.
New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.
A location-based reserve list of successful candidates will be kept for 12 months. Should another role become available within that period you may be offered this position.
Candidates who meet the minimum benchmark may be placed on a Reserve List for consideration for similar roles, including those at a lower grade. Candidates who narrowly miss the benchmark and are not placed on the Reserve List may still be considered for an offer in a similar role at a lower grade.
Please note terms and conditions are attached. Please take time to read the document to determine how these may affect you.
Any move to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology from another employer will mean you can no longer access childcare vouchers. This includes moves between government departments. You may however be eligible for other government schemes, including Tax Free Childcare; for further information visit the Childcare Choices website.
DSIT does not normally offer full home working (i.e. working at home); but we do offer a variety of flexible working options (including occasionally working from home).
DSIT cannot offer Visa sponsorship to candidates through this campaign.
DSIT holds a Visa sponsorship licence but this can only be used for certain roles and this campaign does not qualify.
In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service /Disclosure Scotland on your behalf.
However, we recognise in exceptional circumstances some candidates will want to send their completed forms direct. If you will be doing this, please advise Government Recruitment Service of your intention by emailing [email protected] stating the job reference number in the subject heading.
For further information on the Disclosure Scotland confidential checking service telephone: the Disclosure Scotland Helpline on 0870 609 6006 and ask to speak to the operations manager in confidence, or email [email protected]
Applicants who are successful at interview will be, as part of pre-employment screening, subject to a check on the Internal Fraud Database (IFD). This check will provide information about employees who have been dismissed for fraud or dishonesty offences. This check also applies to employees who resign or otherwise leave before being dismissed for fraud or dishonesty had their employment continued. Any applicant’s details held on the IFD will be refused employment.
A candidate is not eligible to apply for a role within the Civil Service if the application is made within a 5-year period following a dismissal for carrying out internal fraud against government.
Feedback
Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.
Security
Successful candidates must undergo a criminal record check.
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) (opens in a new window)
- 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 (opens in a new window)
Working for the Civil Service
The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) 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 (opens in a new window).
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 (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window).
This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) 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 :
Recruitment team
Further information
Appointment to the Civil Service is governed by the Civil Service Commission’s Recruitment Principles. If you feel that your application has not been treated in accordance with the recruitment principles, and wish to make a complaint, then you should contact in the first instance [email protected] . If you are not satisfied with the response that you receive, then you can contact the Civil Service Commission. For further information on bringing a complaint to the Civil Service Commission please visit their web pages: Click here to visit Civil Service Commission/Complaints.
Attachments
DSIT T&Cs v1.2 Opens in new window (docx, 179kB)
