Communications Officer

Help shape how HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) engages with colleagues, stakeholders and the wider public across Scotland.

The Communications Officer is a key role within HMIE's Communications Team, supporting an organisation that provides independent scrutiny and assurance to help improve education and services for children and young people. Our team helps build understanding of HMIE's work, strengthens relationships with stakeholders, and ensures audiences receive clear, accessible and trusted information.

Working across a diverse portfolio of activity, you will collaborate with colleagues at all levels, support stakeholder engagement, provide communications advice, and contribute to high-profile organisational priorities and corporate initiatives. The main objective of the role is to help enhance HMIE's reputation and impact by delivering effective, audience-focused communications that support strategic goals and continuous improvement.

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development, coordination and delivery of high-quality communications activity across a range of channels, ensuring content is clear, accessible and aligned with HMIE priorities and key messages.
• Support HMIE's media and public affairs activity by contributing to media handling, monitoring emerging issues, and providing timely communications insight to support organisational priorities and reputation management.
• Develop and maintain engaging digital communications across HMIE's online channels, using performance insights to enhance audience reach, engagement and impact.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with internal and external stakeholders, supporting engagement activities and promoting consistent, coordinated communication across HMIE and partner organisations.
• Prepare high-quality briefing and corporate communication materials that support senior leaders, inform staff and stakeholders, and reflect HMIE's values, priorities and statutory responsibilities.
• Support the planning, evaluation and continuous improvement of communications activity, using insight and performance data to enhance effectiveness and contribute to organisational improvement.

Success profile:

Success profiles are specific to each job and they include the mix of behaviours, experience and technical criteria (if applicable) that candidates will be assessed on.

Technical / Professional Skills:

• Insight – Use insight to identify target audiences and partners, support decision making and help inform the overall communications approach.
• Ideas – Work up ideas for stories and cases studies, and design and develop engaging, targeted content and messages suitable for use across a range of channels.
• Implementation – Draft quality press releases, press packs, and lines to take within agreed protocols.
• Impact – Analyse evidence to assess effectiveness of communications and feed into review of activity and lessons learned.

Experience:

• Experience of planning, delivering and evaluating communications activity or campaigns across multiple channels, using audience insight and stakeholder engagement to maximise reach, engagement and impact.

Behaviours:

• Making effective decisions – Level 3

You can find out more about Success Profiles Behaviours here Success Profiles

How to apply:

Apply online, providing a CV and supporting statement (of no more than 1000 words) providing evidence of how you meet the behaviours, experience and technical skills listed in the Success Profile above. Both the CV and the supporting statement provided will be assessed against the criteria for the role.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be used to support your application, but all statements and examples provided must be truthful, factually accurate and taken directly from your own experience. Where plagiarism has been identified (presenting the ideas and experiences of others, or generated by artificial intelligence, and presented as your own) applications will be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action.

Please see our candidate guidance for more information on acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in recruitment.

Skilled Worker sponsorship is not available for this role. As a result, we are unable to appoint candidates who require Skilled Worker sponsorship now or in the future. Applicants must have an existing and ongoing right to work in the UK.

If invited for further assessment, this will consist of an interview and presentation.

Assessments are scheduled for w/c 28 September 2026 however this may be subject to change.

Apply before 23:59 on 7 September 2026. This post is open to internal candidates and Common Citizenship Organisations only (external candidates and staff from UK Other Government Departments are not eligible to apply for this vacancy).

Recruitment Principles:

As a government organisation, we adhere to the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and we investigate any complaints received in relation to recruitment cases.

About us:

The Scottish Government is the devolved government for Scotland. We have responsibility for a wide range of key policy areas including: education, health, the economy, justice, housing and transport. We offer rewarding careers and employ people across Scotland in a wide range of professions and roles.

Our staff are part of the UK Civil Service, working for Ministers and senior stakeholders to deliver vital public services which improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

We offer a supportive and inclusive working environment along with a wide range of employee benefits. Find out more about what we offer.

As part of the UK Civil Service, we uphold the Civil Service Nationality Rules.

Working pattern:

Our standard hours are 35 hours per week and we offer a range of flexible working options depending on the needs of the role. From October 2025, the Scottish Government will require staff in hybrid-compatible roles to work in-person 40% of the time, either in an office or other agreed work location. If you have specific questions about the role you are applying for, please contact us.

Security checks:

Successful candidates must complete the Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS), before they can be appointed. BPSS is comprised of four main pre-employment checks – Identity, Right to work, Employment History and a Criminal Record check (unspent convictions).

You can find out more about BPSS on the UK Government website, or read about the different levels of security checks in our Candidate Guide.

Equality statement:

We are committed to equality and inclusion and we aim to recruit a diverse workforce that reflects the population of our nation.

Find out more about our commitment to diversity and how we offer and support recruitment adjustments for anyone who needs them.

Further information:

Find out more about our organisation, what we offer staff members and how to apply on our Careers Website.

Read our Candidate Guide for further information on our recruitment and application processes.