External Affairs Officer

Contents

• Location
• About the job
• Benefits
• Things you need to know
• Apply and further information

ONS operates a flexible hybrid working model across the UK, with colleagues linked to one of our contractual locations in Newport, Titchfield (Fareham) or Darlington and working between office and remote throughout the week.

As part of the hybrid working arrangement there is a 40% minimum office attendance requirement. Attendance is typically at your contractual office, with occasional travel to alternative locations. Due to estates constraints, there are currently temporary exceptions to this for colleagues based at Darlington who are required to attend the office for a minimum of 20% of their work time

About the job

Job summary

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) makes headline news almost every day. Operating impartially and free of political control, we produce the trusted numbers that matter most – on the economy, business, people, population and communities. Our work informs the decisions made by the UK governments, businesses and third-sector organisations. 

The External Affairs department is a central source for stakeholder insight, impact and engagement expertise. The External Affairs team works closely with the Outreach and Engagement team and collectively, they comprise the Communications Division Engagement Hub.

External Affairs is also the main point of contact for engaging with external stakeholders from the public and private sector, including users and producers of statistics from across the Government Statistical Service.

Job description

In the role of a External Affairs Officer, you will support the coordination of external stakeholder engagement for the ONS. This includes supporting planning and delivery, such as arranging external events and communications with external stakeholders. 

This role sits within the Engagement Hub (part of the Communications and Digital Publishing Division) of the ONS and supports the External Affairs work for the organisation. 

Key Responsibilities: 

• Support engagement with our priority external stakeholder organisations such as arranging meetings with stakeholders, sending follow-up notes and actions,
• Work with the External Affairs team to manage, promote and evaluate our formal and informal consultations,
• Support the team in organising, promoting, facilitating and evaluating corporate events and webinars,
• Provide various administrative and business support duties to the immediate team (and when required to the wider team) including mailbox monitoring, creation of presentations and materials and contributing to forward planning schedules,
• Maintain accurate records of stakeholder organisations, individual contacts and engagement activities using MS Lists,
• Support the Senior External Affairs Manager and Deputy Head of External Affairs with the delivery of their work, along with key business areas across the ONS.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Experience of using Microsoft packages including Outlook, Excel, Word, Teams, PowerPoint, Lists.
• Able to demonstrate a good level of IT literacy.
• Strong administrative skills and a good attention to detail (for example, for when arranging events, scheduling meetings).
• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively across teams and directorates.
• Ability to communicate and liaise with a wide range of stakeholders, including the coordination of external events and webinars.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment, managing and scheduling competing tasks.
• Good written and oral presentation skills.

Behaviours

We’ll assess you against these behaviours during the selection process:

• Delivering at Pace
• Communicating and Influencing
• Working Together

Benefits

Alongside your salary of £27,252, Office for National Statistics contributes £7,894 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides.

The Office for National Statistics is part of the Civil Service, and as such we share a number of key benefits with other departments, whilst also having our own unique offerings to support our 5400 valued colleagues across the business.

Whether you are hearing about us for the first time or already know a bit about our organisation, we hope that the benefits pack attached (bottom of page) will give you a great insight into the benefits and facilities available to our colleagues, and our fantastic working culture.

Inclusion & Accessibility

At ONS we are always looking to attract the very best people from the widest possible talent pool, and we are proud to be an inclusive, equal opportunities employer. As a Disability Confident Leader we’re committed to ensuring that all candidates are treated fairly throughout the recruitment process.

As part of our application process, you will be prompted to provide details of any reasonable adjustments to our recruitment process that you need. If you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments before applying, please contact the recruitment team in the first instance. 

If you would like an accessible version of any of the attachments or recruitment documents below or linked to in this advert, please contact the recruitment team who will be happy to assist.

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 :

• Name : Bethan Strange
• Email : Bethan.Strange@ons.gov.uk

Recruitment team

• Email : recruitmentoperations@ons.gov.uk

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, in the first instance, you should contact recruitment.complaints@ons.gov.uk. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the Department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission

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