Website Essex County Fire and Rescue Services
Contract: Fixed Term 12 months (maternity cover)
Working Hours: 37*
Salary: Range: £48,710 to £53,780
Location: Service Headquarters – Kelvedon Park*
Closing Date: 5pm, Wednesday 21 May 2025
*We are open to discuss working arrangements including flexibility over hours and location, however the expectation is that, as a hybrid role your work will be balanced between home and Services facilities, and you will be expected to attend the Service premises for at least 3 days of a 5-day working week.
This role is a fixed-term opportunity. If the role is extended (or made permanent), the extension or permanent position may be offered to the successful applicant ahead of any further recruitment process.
The Role
We’re looking for a Corporate Communications Manager to join Essex County Fire and Rescue Service on a 12-month contract.
Our mission is to make Essex safer together and the way we communicate with our communities makes a real difference to achieving this.
We need a brilliant communicator who can manage a small team, producing engaging communications across a wide range of print and digital media for all our audiences.
If you think this role could be for you, you need to know that no two days in this role are the same.
You need to be a fast-paced thinker and confident individual who works to high standards and challenging deadlines.
Flexibility, a can-do attitude and the ability to develop excellent collaborative relationships with partners will all be second nature to you.
As part of a rota system that provides a 24/7 media service, you’ll also help report Service incidents to the press and the public via our website and social media.
What You Will Be Working On
As the Corporate Communications Manager, you will play a crucial role in supporting Essex County Fire and Rescue Service (ECFRS) by managing and delivering external communications campaigns.
Your focus will be on promoting the Service’s objectives, raising awareness of our mission, and ensuring that our communications activities are impactful and effective.
Key Responsibilities:
· Manage external communications activities to promote ECFRS’s objectives.
· Develop and implement an annual external communications plan.
· Oversee the press office function, including out-of-hours rota for 24/7 coverage.
· Produce clear, accurate, and engaging content for various channels, including media releases, digital/social media, and traditional print/broadcast.
· Ensure all communications activities are delivered on time, on-brief, and fully evaluated.
· Lead the evaluation of communications and marketing campaigns to align with corporate objectives.
· Maintain great content across the Service’s website and social media channels.
· Manage and develop a team of Marketing Communications Officers.
· Ensure compliance with copyright legislation, Data Protection, and Freedom of Information Acts.
· Contribute to weekly and monthly planning and evaluation frameworks.
· Ensure a safe work environment and compliance with Health and Safety, Risk Management, Business Continuity, and Safeguarding policies.
What Are We Looking For?
We need you to have:
· Proven experience in a similar communications or marketing role.
· Strong project management skills with the ability to deliver campaigns on time and within budget.
· Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
· Experience in managing a press office function and handling media relations.
· Ability to produce high-quality content for various channels.
· Strong leadership skills with experience in managing and developing a team.
· Knowledge of copyright legislation, Data Protection, and Freedom of Information Acts.
· Ability to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities.
· Commitment to making Essex a safer place through effective communication and marketing strategies.
Eligibility
· CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) Diploma or Certificate and/or degree or professional qualification in public relations or equivalent.
· Excellent communication and ‘people’ skills and ability to work as a team leader as well as team player.
· Proven track record in client-side, relationship management with external marketing communication agencies and internal and external stakeholders.
· Excellent writing skills and a proven track record in developing content across a range of mediums. Ability to translate complex and specialist documents into
compelling
and accessible content. Versatile writing style which can create a range of copy styles through to media releases and staff communications in plain English.
· Ability to deal with sensitive issues and brief into internal external audiences, including the media, partners, PFCC and political stakeholders as required.
· Experienced in a range of IT software packages (including Canva, In Design and website CMS and media editing software. Ability to self-learn new
technologies as required.
If you are an internal candidate, you must have discussed your application with your line manager and confirmed with them there are no outstanding issues of conduct or performance.
This will be verified prior to shortlisting.
How to apply
You will be required to submit a CV detailing a minimum of five years employment and / or education history, along with a supporting statement of no more than 1000 words that demonstrates how you meet the essential criteria detailed in the Person Specification.
You may submit this either as a word document, pdf, or an mp3 (voice note) or mp4 (video), however the word count of your supporting statement should not exceed 750 words no matter which format you choose to present your application.
You may attach separate documents (such as qualifications) should you wish. Your CV and additional documents will be referred to in shortlisting to confirm eligibility (e.g., your current role and any existing qualifications).
Assessment and selection:
The assessment and selection approach will be:
Stage 1
Application & shortlisting (assessment of your supporting statement will be made against the essential criteria)
Stage 2
Role specific panel interview
Presentation
In-tray priorities exercise
Should you wish to have an informal discussion with regards to the role, please contact Emma Thomas, Head of Communications, Marketing and Brand on 07738 262956 or emma.thomas@essex-fire.gov.uk
Our Culture and Benefits
Here at Essex County Fire and Rescue Service we are committed to prioritising and promoting the wellbeing of our employees.
You can find out more about our benefits at https://www.essex-fire.gov.uk/recruitment/benefits
Safeguarding
Essex Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Fire and Rescue Authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.
It is our policy to require all applicants for employment to disclose if you are currently being investigated by any regulatory body or have any decisions or sanctions pending or in progress in respect of your suitability to work for the Service.
You agree to inform the Service within 24 hours if you are subsequently investigated by any agency or organisation in relation to concerns about your behaviour towards children, young people or vulnerable adults.
The information you provide will be treated as strictly confidential and will be considered only in relation to the appointment for which you are applying.
This role will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.
Disability Confident
We are an equal opportunities, Disability Confident, employer who welcomes applications from everyone and values diversity in our workplace. A commitment to promoting diversity and developing a work environment where all staff are treated with dignity and respect is central to our recruitment process and all applications will be considered solely on merit.
As part of our offer to support all our candidates to perform to the best of their abilities during our recruitment and selection processes and we would like to let you know about a couple of support options you can access, should you wish to, including our employee forums, who are keen and willing to support all of our potential colleagues.
Our employee forums and partners include:
Asian Fire Services Association (AFSA), BEING (our LGBTQ+ employee support network), Christian Fellowship, Ethnic Minority Forum, Men’s Forum, and our Women’s Forum. In addition, we also have a female firefighters operational group.
Further to the above, the Service has a Digital Accessibility Inclusion Group (DAIG) that supports all colleagues to improve their digital skills and provides additional support and guidance to colleagues with neurodivergent strengths and struggles as a result of dyslexia, ADHD, Autism, dyspraxia etc. We want everyone to thrive at work, and so we encourage and enable people to access digital tools to help them perform at your best.
The DAIG is a group of colleagues from across the Service that unite to support others as a result of their lived experience and desire to make a difference. They support people with a range of visible and invisible disabilities to identify and access digital workplace adjustments and solutions and may be able to assist with your application too.
Should you wish to discuss support, or access further information, from one of these groups, please contact Equality.Diversity@essex-fire.gov.uk
You are also able to raise any queries or requests for support, including any adjustments you may require, at any stage of the process by email to recruitment@essex-fire.gov.uk
You can find out more about Essex County Fire & Rescue Service via www.essex-fire.gov.uk and about our vacancies and application processes via www.essex-fire.gov.uk/join-essex-fire
To apply for this job email your details to recruitment@essex-fire.gov.uk.