8797 - Senior External Affairs Manager
| Posting date: | 08 August 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £49,325 to £53,081 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 22 August 2025 |
| Location: | London, UK |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 2 days per week |
| Company: | Ministry of Justice |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 8797 |
Summary
Job Title Senior External Affairs Manager
Grade Senior Executive Officer / SIO
Department Ministry of Justice
Reports to: Grade 7 / G7
Job Outline
About the Ministry of Justice
From keeping drugs out of prisons and cutting crime, to overhauling sentencing laws and delivering justice for victims – the Ministry of Justice is doing important work to make our streets safer as part of the Government’s Plan for Change. It’s a large department, often at the forefront of the news agenda and our relationships with stakeholders across the justice system are crucial.
Our small External Affairs team plays a key role helping to build and maintain those relationships to enhance policy development and improve the delivery of our services. The team supports colleagues across the department navigate the complex landscape of agencies, charities and advocates which it interacts with.
The team provides regular updates to our stakeholders and a route into policymakers. It also has a renewed focus on collaborating with our stakeholders to communicate government policy and initiatives. This involves working with other communications colleagues in the press office, digital, visits and internal communications.
And with a diverse remit including prisons and probation, family justice, victim support and the courts system, no day is ever the same in this busy office.
About the role
Working as a Senior External Affairs Manager within this team is an exciting challenge and will certainly develop you as a professional communicator.
We are looking for a proactive and skilled individual to drive high-quality stakeholder engagement and produce plans which help mitigate criticism and boost third-party support in the media. In this role you will build, develop and maintain effective relationships with a diverse range of key stakeholders, contribute to strategic communications planning, and support senior civil servants, Ministers and the Lord Chancellor in their engagement activities.
You will work within a fast-paced environment, responding quickly to changing priorities while maintaining strategic focus. This role requires excellent judgement, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to navigate complex policy landscapes while building trusted relationships.
The Communications Team at the Ministry of Justice prides itself on its supportive, collaborative culture and diversity, and is often highlighted for its innovative, impactful work. Ensuring our colleagues have a good work-life balance is important to us and our flexible working policy helps those with caring responsibilities.
About the GCS
By joining a communications team, you will become a member of the Government Communications Service, a profession of around 6000 communicators working in government departments, agencies and arm’s length bodies. You’ll benefit from continuous professional development from our new learning and development curriculum, a network of skilled communicators sharing best practice, mentoring opportunities, and more!
For more information on how becoming a part of the Communications Profession can support your career and development please visit our careers page.
For our top tips on how to write your application, please take a look at our recruitment top tips for candidates guide.
Key Responsibilities
Your key responsibilities will be:
Identifying influential stakeholders across the justice system, monitoring their positions on key issues, and producing regular reports.
Developing and implementing comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategies that align with departmental priorities and policy goals.
Managing relationships through direct engagement, events, visits and tailored communications while building advocacy for government initiatives.
Contributing to cross-cutting communications campaigns, ensuring stakeholder perspectives are integrated into planning and delivery.
Collaborating with stakeholders to find communications activity we can link-up to build the case for changes the government is making.
Working with the press office and digital communications teams to find ways to involve our stakeholders in MoJ communications plans.
Coordinating with colleagues across government, in particular those involved in the Safer Streets mission, to ensure a joined-up approach to external engagement.
Evaluating the impact of stakeholder engagement activities to demonstrate value and inform future approaches.
Supporting the development of an External Affairs Manager (HEO grade).
With the support of an experienced network of peers and a strong focus on professional development, you will continue to develop skills in these areas. Your work with colleagues across different communications disciplines places you in a good position to build a wide-range of communications expertise.
Person Specification
Government Communications is determined to ensure that the profession is representative of the audiences we are communicating with and welcomes applications from the widest range of people of different backgrounds, cultures and experiences. You can find out more by visiting https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/
Grade Senior Executive Officer / SIO
Department Ministry of Justice
Reports to: Grade 7 / G7
Job Outline
About the Ministry of Justice
From keeping drugs out of prisons and cutting crime, to overhauling sentencing laws and delivering justice for victims – the Ministry of Justice is doing important work to make our streets safer as part of the Government’s Plan for Change. It’s a large department, often at the forefront of the news agenda and our relationships with stakeholders across the justice system are crucial.
Our small External Affairs team plays a key role helping to build and maintain those relationships to enhance policy development and improve the delivery of our services. The team supports colleagues across the department navigate the complex landscape of agencies, charities and advocates which it interacts with.
The team provides regular updates to our stakeholders and a route into policymakers. It also has a renewed focus on collaborating with our stakeholders to communicate government policy and initiatives. This involves working with other communications colleagues in the press office, digital, visits and internal communications.
And with a diverse remit including prisons and probation, family justice, victim support and the courts system, no day is ever the same in this busy office.
About the role
Working as a Senior External Affairs Manager within this team is an exciting challenge and will certainly develop you as a professional communicator.
We are looking for a proactive and skilled individual to drive high-quality stakeholder engagement and produce plans which help mitigate criticism and boost third-party support in the media. In this role you will build, develop and maintain effective relationships with a diverse range of key stakeholders, contribute to strategic communications planning, and support senior civil servants, Ministers and the Lord Chancellor in their engagement activities.
You will work within a fast-paced environment, responding quickly to changing priorities while maintaining strategic focus. This role requires excellent judgement, strong interpersonal skills, and the ability to navigate complex policy landscapes while building trusted relationships.
The Communications Team at the Ministry of Justice prides itself on its supportive, collaborative culture and diversity, and is often highlighted for its innovative, impactful work. Ensuring our colleagues have a good work-life balance is important to us and our flexible working policy helps those with caring responsibilities.
About the GCS
By joining a communications team, you will become a member of the Government Communications Service, a profession of around 6000 communicators working in government departments, agencies and arm’s length bodies. You’ll benefit from continuous professional development from our new learning and development curriculum, a network of skilled communicators sharing best practice, mentoring opportunities, and more!
For more information on how becoming a part of the Communications Profession can support your career and development please visit our careers page.
For our top tips on how to write your application, please take a look at our recruitment top tips for candidates guide.
Key Responsibilities
Your key responsibilities will be:
Identifying influential stakeholders across the justice system, monitoring their positions on key issues, and producing regular reports.
Developing and implementing comprehensive stakeholder engagement strategies that align with departmental priorities and policy goals.
Managing relationships through direct engagement, events, visits and tailored communications while building advocacy for government initiatives.
Contributing to cross-cutting communications campaigns, ensuring stakeholder perspectives are integrated into planning and delivery.
Collaborating with stakeholders to find communications activity we can link-up to build the case for changes the government is making.
Working with the press office and digital communications teams to find ways to involve our stakeholders in MoJ communications plans.
Coordinating with colleagues across government, in particular those involved in the Safer Streets mission, to ensure a joined-up approach to external engagement.
Evaluating the impact of stakeholder engagement activities to demonstrate value and inform future approaches.
Supporting the development of an External Affairs Manager (HEO grade).
With the support of an experienced network of peers and a strong focus on professional development, you will continue to develop skills in these areas. Your work with colleagues across different communications disciplines places you in a good position to build a wide-range of communications expertise.
Person Specification
Government Communications is determined to ensure that the profession is representative of the audiences we are communicating with and welcomes applications from the widest range of people of different backgrounds, cultures and experiences. You can find out more by visiting https://gcs.civilservice.gov.uk/