Deputy Director Employee Engagement and Change Communications

Job description

Job summary
As Ofgem evolves, our people continue to play a critical role in how weoperate,innovateand respond to the challenges of a changing energy industry.Werenow looking for a Deputy Director of Employee Engagement and Change Communications to take on a senior communications role and shape how more than 2,000 colleagues understand and engage with our future.

Ofgem is Great Britains independent energy regulator.Wereat the forefront of change across the energy sector, driving toward Net Zero whilst protecting energy consumers, especially vulnerable people.

This is a full-time, two year fixed-term opportunity to create and shape a brand-new role at a significant moment for Ofgem. With our organisation evolving alongside a rapidly changing energy system,youllinfluence our future culture and leave a lasting mark on how we communicate,collaborateand deliver change.

Few internal communications roles offer this level of organisational reach, andyoullwork directly with Executive Committee and Board-level leaders, advising on communications and strategy whilst influencing staff engagement.

Youll also have the chance to build something new, defining our approach to employee engagement and change communications while bringing together colleagues from across Ofgem. Leading your own team alongside a wider network of change and people champions,youllturn ambitious ideas into meaningful change across the organisation.

Were looking for someone with proven experience leading large-scale change,transformationand internal communications within a complex or matrixed organisation.Youllbe an accomplished people leader and trusted adviser, with exceptional influencing, strategic and analytical skills. Experience delivering impactful communications programmes and navigating challenge, conflict and difficult conversations will also be essential.

In return,youllstep into a senior position with the scope to influence at the very highest levels of Ofgem and tackle some of the most interesting communications challenges that come with major organisational change.Youllhave the platform to bring your experience,ideasand judgement to a role you can genuinely make your own.

We have a critical purpose to build an Ofgemthatsready for the future. Join us and shape the communications, engagement and culture that will bring our people with us.

Read on and find out more.

Job description

As a senior experienced and strategic communications leader, you will oversee and deliver the design, strategy, and implementation of employee communications and engagement for Ofgem, helping to shape the culture and evolve how we engage across Ofgem to empower teams, on an initial 24-month fixed term.

This is an opportunity to shape and deliver strategic engagement and communications for Ofgems workforce, coming at a significant time when the energy system is transforming and the Ofgem Review means evolving the regulators duties, remit, and powers.

You will bring deep expertise in Change Communications and Employee Engagement, with experience of business-partnering senior leaders to achieve their strategic outcomes. You will lead an internal communications team and mentor colleagues, as well as managing multi-channel change communication programmes. You will plan, oversee and deliver a significant programme of work on time, within budget and to a high standard through using effective matrix management and collaboration across multiple teams. You will demonstrate exceptional inclusive people and enterprise leadership, a commitment to ongoing professional development, and alignment with Ofgem values.

As our Deputy Director of Employee Engagement and Change Communications, youll be the strategic voice that helps 2000+ colleagues understand, navigate, and feel confident about this evolution. Youll craft powerful executive storytelling, cocreate digital campaigns that bridge silos, and create the conditions for clarity, trust, and accountability to thrive.

This is a role for someone who can deliver influence at scale, welcomes difficult conversations and can manage contested environments constructively, with direct access to senior leaders, demonstrate strong analytical rigour and strategic thinking and can build a culture that has ideas as well as the discipline to execute through to delivery. If you want to shape how an essential public sector regulator communicates, collaborates, and leads through change this is the role for you.

This role reports to the Executive Director of Communications and Engagement, with a dotted line reporting relationship to the Director for Business Change. This role will require ongoing and sustained working from Ofgems London Office.

Key Responsibilities:

• Leading and delivering a proactive employee engagement and change communications strategy that drives understanding, engagement and adoption of change.

• Strategic employee and Internal communication planning
  
  
• Build relationships and influence across leadership teams, win support and drive large-scale organisational change
  
  
• Applying business acumen and cross-functional awareness.
  
  
• Driving innovation and creativity in the use of tech and AI for channels the function and translate this to execution and delivery.
  
  
• Upholding governance, transparency, and ethical communication standards.

Key Outputs and Deliverables

• Development and delivery of Executive messaging and organisational storytelling to help cultural change and build a high performance, high morale workforce.
  
  
• Responsive and strategic issues management through internal communications
  
  
• Analysis and measurement of communication effectiveness.
  
  
• Project management and campaign planning.

• Be an active part of Ofgems leadership community, supporting organisational success and representing Ofgems values and delivering consistently.

Key Corporate Responsibilities

• Contributing to the development of Directorate and Ofgem wide strategic programmes, partnering with senior leadership to prioritise work and resources effectively.
  
  
• Setting the strategic direction of the organisational response to the Ofgem review and providing intellectual leadership.
  
  
• Providing mentoring, development, effective performance management, leadership and guidance across the profession.

Person specification

Essential Criteria

• Proven experience leading change, transformation and internal communications at scale, including providing strategic advice to senior executives in complex or matrixed organisations. (Lead)
  
  
• Ability to lead high-performing internal communications teams and matrix-manage change professionals, with a strong understanding of audiences, channels and communication strategy.
  
  
• Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills, with experience working with senior leaders to drive employee engagement, culture change, and organisational outcomes, including navigating challenge, conflict and difficult conversations.
  
  
• Strong strategic and analytical capability, with the ability to translate insight into impactful communications and deliver high-quality outputs through a hands-on approach.
  
  
• Track record of delivering and evaluating effective internal communication campaigns, demonstrating measurable impact, supported by excellent written and verbal communication skills and strong programme/project management expertise.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience in Data led impact and a solid understanding of data and AI landscape in a Change and Internal engagement environment.

Behaviours

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

• Changing and Improving
• Making Effective Decisions
• Leadership
• Communicating and Influencing

Benefits

Alongside your salary of 81,000, OFGEM contributes 23,465 towards you being a member of the Civil Service Defined Benefit Pension scheme. Find out what benefits a Civil Service Pension provides (opens in a new window).

Ofgem can offer you a comprehensive and competitive benefits package which includes; SCS1 holiday entitlement; Excellent training and development opportunities; The opportunity to join the generous Civil Service pension which also includes a valuable range of benefits; hybrid working, flexible working hours and family friendly policies. Plus, lots of other benefits including clean and bright offices based centrally, engaged networks and teams and an opportunity to contribute to our ambitious and important targets of establishing a Net Zero energy system by 2050. This exciting blend of professional challenge and personal reward identifies career opportunities at Ofgem as something to get excited about.

Things you need to know

Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence can be a useful tool to support your application, however, all examples and statements 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, as your own) applications may be withdrawn and internal candidates may be subject to disciplinary action. Please see our candidate guidance (opens in a new window) for more information on appropriate and inappropriate use.

Selection process details

This vacancy is using Success Profiles (opens in a new window) , and will assess your Behaviours, Ability and Experience.

A CV setting out your career history, with key responsibilities and achievements. Please ensure you have provided reasons for any gaps within the last two years.

A Statement of Suitability (up to 1000 words) explaining how you consider your personal skills, qualities and experience evidence your suitability for the role, with particular reference to the criteria in the person specification.

Failure to submit both documents (CV and Statement of Suitability) will mean the panel has only limited information on which to assess your application against the criteria in the person specification.

Should you encounter any issues with submitting your application, please get in touch with Ellwood & Atfield ([email protected])

Timeline for the process is:

Shortlist meeting w/c 28th September 2026
Assessments w/c 5th October 2026 w/c 12th October 2026
Interviews w/c 19th October 2026 onwards, where two candidates are closely matched there may be a requirement for a further interview with the Hiring Manager and CEO

Please refer to Civil Service candidate advice on the acceptable use of Artificial intelligence within the recruitment and selection process - Artificial intelligence and recruitment , Civil Service Careers

The personal information we have collected from you will be shared with Cifas who will use it to prevent fraud, other unlawful or dishonest conduct, malpractice, and other seriously improper conduct. If any of these are detected, you could be refused certain services or employment. Your personal information will also be used to verify your identity. Further details of how your information will be used by us and Cifas, and your data protection rights, can be found by [ https://www.cifas.org.uk/fpn ].

Please see candidate pack for full details of selection requirements and process

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

This role has a minimum assignment duration of 2 years. An assignment duration is the period of time a Senior Civil Servant is expected to remain in the same post to enable them to deliver on the agreed key business outcomes. The assignment duration also supports your career through building your depth of expertise.

As part of accepting this role you will be agreeing to the expected assignment duration set out above. This will not result in a contractual change to your terms and conditions. Please note this is an expectation only, it is not something which is written into your terms and conditions or indeed which the employing organisation or you are bound by. It will depend on your personal circumstances at a particular time and business needs, for example, would not preclude any absence like family friendly leave. It is nonetheless an important expectation, which is why we ask you to confirm you agree to the assignment duration set out above.

Security

Successful candidates must undergo a basic (or equivalent) criminal record check.

People working with government assets must complete baseline personnel security standard (opens in new window) checks.

Nationality requirements

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)

Working for the Civil Service

The Civil Service Code (opens in a new window) sets out the standards of behaviour expected of civil servants.

We recruit by merit on the basis of fair and open competition, as outlined in the Civil Service Commission's recruitment principles (opens in a new window) .

The Civil Service embraces diversity and promotes equal opportunities. As such, we run a Disability Confident Scheme (DCS) for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

The Civil Service also offers a Redeployment Interview Scheme to civil servants who are at risk of redundancy, and who meet the minimum requirements for the advertised vacancy.

Diversity and Inclusion
The Civil Service is committed to attract, retain and invest in talent wherever it is found. To learn more please see the Civil Service People Plan (opens in a new window) and the Civil Service Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (opens in a new window) .

Apply and further information

This vacancy is part of the Great Place to Work for Veterans (opens in a new window) initiative.

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 : Olivia Grant
• Email : [email protected]

Recruitment team

• Email : [email protected]

Further information

If you feel your application has not been treated in accordance with the Civil Service Commission Recruitment Principles and you wish to make a complaint, you should email The Head of Talent Acquisition at: [email protected] in the first instance. If you are not satisfied with the response you receive from the department, you can contact the Civil Service Commission. More detailed information can be found on the Civil Service Commission website.

Follow link to apply
[email protected]

Attachments DD Emp Eng Change Comms Final RP Sep 26 Opens in new window (pdf, 148kB) Deputy Director Employee Engagement Change Communications Candidate Pack 480309 Opens in new window (pdf, 840kB)