Deputy Head of Digital Communications – Content Lead

The Deputy Head of Digital Communications – Content is a key leadership position at the heart of Defence Communications. Reporting to the Head of the Digital Communications you will be the chief content lead for Defence, driving our content engine and ensuring the products we capture and create are driving impact with key audiences across a variety of high-profile channels.

Leading a team of videographers, photographers, designers and editors you will ensure the content we produce – including high-quality imagery, video and animation – remains competitive and innovative in a landscape where the visual is vital to influencing audiences at pace.

The role holder will be a confident, strategic and creative communicator, with hands-on experience of leading a team of creatives able to drive innovation and impact at scale in an ever-evolving digital landscape. You will be a natural and confident advocate for the specialisms of your team, a resilient team player, comfortable working with and influencing senior leaders and ministers under pressure in delivering consistently first-class, creative multimedia content. You will develop processes that embed resilience in a highly specialised team, and have a thorough working knowledge of the technical, legal and operational requirements of producing and distributing such content at pace.

You will be a trusted leader to digital, creative and photography teams across Defence, working collaboratively across government, partners in industry and external creators to ensure our content output remains at the forefront of public sector communication globally.

The role holder will be comfortable working to time-critical deadlines, including where required working out of hours and responding to breaking news events and operations to ensure consistent and effective delivery.

Given the fast-paced nature and leadership focus of the role, there is an expectation the role-holder will be office based 60% of the time, and that you would be prepared to travel as part of the role, including overseas.

• Leadership of a team of civilian and military videographers, photographers, editors and designers, responsible for the content output of the Ministry of Defence and wider Defence organisations.
• Working closely with the Single Services (British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force), Defence organisations and government partners to ensure that the content we produce remains best in class, reaches priority audiences and meets the high standards expected of the UK Armed Forces.
• Driving content innovation and technical expertise in the digital team and wider Defence Communications.
• Developing and implementing a refreshed Digital Content strategy that ensures the content of defence continues to engage and reach new audiences on a range of platforms and channels.
• Advising Ministers, senior military leaders and other key Defence partners on best-in-class content executions.
• Maintain close relations with key suppliers, external agencies and creators to support digital production.
• Deputising for the Head of Digital Communications where required.
• Some out-of-hour working and travel is a feature of this role. The role holder will be expected to join a digital duty rota to support some out of hours working, for which you will be imbursed.

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)

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window), and will assess your Behaviours and Experience.

Sifting

The initial application consists of a CV and 750-word statement of suitability.

Your CV should consist of your career history, qualifications and previous skills/experience, including any key achievements in each role. Your CV will be scored against the experience required for the role as noted within the essential criteria.

The Personal Statement should be aligned to and demonstrate how you meet the skills and experience set out in the essential criteria, detailed in the job description.

In the event of a large number of applicants we will do the sift on the CV only, based on the essential criteria as outlined in the advert.

Interview

If successful at sift, you will be invited to interview. You will be assessed against Civil Service Success Profiles behaviours and a GCS technical skill.

At interview, candidates will be assessed against the following:

• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing
• Changing and Improving
• Working Together

Assessment

We'll assess you against the GCS Digital - Ideas competency during the selection process. Candidates invited to interview will be required to deliver a short presentation and portfolio. Further details will be provided when invited to interview. Government Communication Service (GCS)

The interview will take place in MoD Main Building, London. Please note that travel expenses to interview will not be reimbursed.

Further information:

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.

As a result of the changes to the UK immigration rules which came into effect on 1 January 2021, the Ministry of Defence will only offer sponsorship for a skilled worker visa under the points-based system, where a role has been deemed to be business critical. This role does not meet that category, and we will not sponsor a visa. It is therefore NOT open to applications from those who will require sponsorship under the points-based system.

Should you apply for this role and be found to require sponsorship, your application will be rejected and any provisional offer of employment withdrawn.

The Ministry of Defence requires all candidates who are successful at interview to declare any outside interests. These declarations will be discussed with successful candidates following the interview process and before a formal offer of employment is made, as some outside interests may not be compatible with MOD civilian roles. This will not, in the majority of cases, prevent employment in MOD, but it is a measure that must be taken to ensure that appropriate mitigations can be put in place to manage any potential, perceived or actual conflicts of interest from the first day of employment.

The Ministry of Defence adopts a zero-tolerance approach to unacceptable behaviours, which includes bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, discrimination, and victimisation. You will not be eligible and will not be considered for this post if you have been dismissed from a role for such unacceptable behaviours within the last five years. This will also apply if you resign or otherwise leave a role but, because of an adverse decision, would have been dismissed for gross misconduct had you continued in that employment. Pre-employment checks will be carried out.

Feedback will only be provided if you attend an interview or assessment.