Head of Engagement and Communications, Better Futures Fund

The role we are recruiting for sits within the Impact Economy Team in the Civil Society and Youth directorate. The team has a responsibility for mobilising innovative sources of philanthropic and private capital alongside government spending. This has primarily been in support of encouraging a financially sustainable Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise sector.

The team is driven by a commitment to improving outcomes for communities, increasing the impact of the sector through innovation and championing what works, improving civil society access to funding, and unlocking and growing non-government sources of finance. It is home to a diverse set of innovative and dynamic policy areas seeking to tackle to some of society's toughest challenges.

We are firmly committed to our people, and this is reflected in our values. We work hard to build an environment that is diverse and inclusive, as well as warm, friendly and collaborative; where each member of staff can flourish, feel comfortable being themselves at work, develop their skills and move their career forward.

This is an exciting and stretching role, offering a unique opportunity to lead the engagement and communications strategy for the landmark £500 million Better Futures Fund (BFF). Over the next decade, this flagship initiative aims to leverage up to £1bn in total funding to tackle the root causes of child poverty across England, improving life chances for up to 200,000 children and families through innovative Social Outcomes Partnerships. Due to its scale, the programme holds significant visibility across Whitehall and generates wide external interest.

This role suits a collaborative and innovative individual who is keen to work on a new complex programme that is not the usual way government does business. As the Engagement and Communications Lead, you will own the cross-government narrative and external communications strategy, working alongside our core policy and delivery teams. This will involve working with internal DCMS teams on government comms moments and identifying external opportunities to promote the programme. You will coordinate all briefings and commissions relating to BFF and lead on all ministerial and parliamentary engagement. You will also be responsible for supporting cross-government engagement, managing key stakeholder relationships and co-ordinating inputs to support the design and delivery of funding rounds. You will manage one Senior Policy Advisor (SEO) to support the delivery of these objectives. The successful candidate will also need to be flexible to evolving needs of the programme as it transitions through the project life cycle and be willing to adapt roles and responsibilities as required.

Success in this post means establishing trusted relationships with Ministers, departments and senior stakeholders and translating complex policy milestones into clear briefings and compelling comms moments. This position provides significant exposure to senior HMG leadership and the opportunity to shape a major government programme from its early stages, making it an excellent platform for career progression within the civil service.

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, Strengths and Experience.

To apply for this post, please send us the following documents no later than 23:55 on 2nd September 2026 via the CS Jobs portal:

To apply for this vacancy, you will need to submit the following documents which will assessed against the experience success profile:

• A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you provide employment history that relates to the essential and desirable criteria, and that any gaps in employment history within the last 2 years are explained. The CV should not exceed more than 2 x A4 pages and you should insert your CV into the "Job History" section on the Civil Service Jobs application form.
• A Statement of Suitability (max 750 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience provide evidence of your suitability for the role in reference to the essential requirements highlighted. You may also choose to reference the desirable skills listed however these will not be considered in the assessment of your application except in circumstances where there are a high number and calibre of candidates.
• A behaviour statement of 250 words on communicating and influencing - specifically an example of when you have influenced senior stakeholders - which will be assessed against the behaviour success profile.

For the shortlist, we will select applicants demonstrating the best fit for the role by considering the evidence provided in your application.

For indicative sift and interview dates please refer to the attached Candidate Information Pack.

In the event of a large number of applicants, an initial sift will be conducted on the behaviour statement. Those who are successful in the initial sift will then be scored on all elements of the application.

For support in writing your application and interviewing, please refer to the ‘Application and Interview Guidance’ document attached to the job advert.

The interview process will assess behaviours and strengths.

The behaviours to be tested at interview are:

• Communicating and Influencing
• Seeing the Big Picture
• Delivering at Pace
• Making Effective Decisions

Prior to the interview you will be sent the behaviour questions in advance.

You will not be made aware of the strengths being assessed prior to your interview.

You will also be required to prepare and deliver a presentation. Full details of this, including the topic, length of time, and whether or not you will need to use visual aids, will be sent to you prior to your interview.

Your interview will take place remotely via Teams.

Further Information

A reserve list may be held for a period of 12 months from which further appointments can be made.

Any move to Department for Culture, Media and Sport 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. Determine your eligibility at https://www.childcarechoices.gov.uk

New entrants are expected to join on the minimum of the pay band.

DCMS has a London and a National pay scale. For more information on this, including the circumstances in which each pay scale will apply, please see the ‘Candidate Information Pack’ attached.

If successful and transferring from another Government Department a criminal record check may be carried out.

In order to process applications without delay, we will be sending a Criminal Record Check to Disclosure and Barring Service 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 Pre-EmploymentChecks.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk stating the job reference number in the subject heading.

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.

Reasonable Adjustment

We are committed to supporting candidates so they can perform at their best throughout the recruitment process. This includes making reasonable adjustments to our process.

In order to request an adjustment, please:

Complete the ‘Assistance required’ section on the ‘Additional requirements’ page of your application form to tell us what changes or help you might need further on in the recruitment process. For instance, you may need wheelchair access at interview, or a verbal test rather than a written one.

Alternatively, contact the Government Recruitment Service via dcmsrecruitment.grs@cabinetoffice.gov.uk as soon as possible before the closing date to discuss your needs.

Accessibility

If you are experiencing accessibility difficulties with any of the attachments, please contact us. Contact details can be found in the 'contact point for applicants' section of the job advert.

If the vacancy is offered as FTA/Loan, existing Civil Servants must join on a Loan basis only. Prior agreement to be released on loan must be obtained before commencing the application process. In the case of Civil Servants, the terms of the loan will be agreed between the home and host department and the Civil Servant. This includes grade on return.

For further information on National Security Vetting please visit the following page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/demystifying-vetting

Please be aware the levels of national security clearance are changing which may impact on the level needed for this role by the time of appointment. All efforts will be made to keep candidates informed of any changes and what that will mean in terms of vetting criteria. For more information please See our vetting charter

Feedback

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