Job Description

Role: Communications and Engagement Specialist

Sector: Public Sector

Duration: Interim 8-12 weeks

Location: Chesterfield

Salary: Competitive

Sellick Partnership is currently recruiting for an experienced Communications and Engagement Specialist to join our client based in Chesterfield. This role is offered on a part time, hybrid basis.

The duties of the Communications and Engagement Specialist will include

Lead the development and delivery of communication and engagement strategies for sensitive, complex, and high-profile projects, ensuring clarity, consistency, and impact.

Build and maintain strong relationships with affected residents and communities, particularly in situations that are high-impact, emotive, or contentious.

Provide expert communications support to local authorities and public sector organisations, aligning messaging with policy, regulatory, and political considerations.

Manage complex stakeholder environments, engaging effectively with elected members, strategic partners, community leaders, and representative groups.

Plan and deliver proactive and reactive media engagement strategies, including preparing statements, managing press enquiries, and mitigating reputational risk, including potential national media interest.

Offer strategic communications advice to senior stakeholders while also delivering hands-on support, including drafting briefings, consultation materials, reports, and public-facing content.

Coordinate and respond to real-time communications challenges, ensuring accurate, timely, and appropriate responses across multiple channels.

Support consultation and engagement activities, ensuring inclusive and meaningful participation from diverse audiences.

Monitor public sentiment, media coverage, and stakeholder feedback, adapting approaches to manage risks and maintain trust.

Collaborate cross-functionally with project teams, policy leads, and partners to ensure communications are embedded throughout project delivery.

The Communications and Engagement Specialist will ideally have:

Previous experience in a similar role

Previous experience within the public sector

Proven ability to combine strategic thinking with hands-on delivery

Extensive experience delivering communications and engagement for sensitive and complex projects

The Communications and Engagement Specialist will need to have excellent communication skills and effectively be able to communicate to stakeholders of all levels. Furthermore, the ideal candidate will have an impeccable eye for detail and accuracy to ensure all workload is carried out effectively and efficiently. They will also need to able to prioritise their workload and be efficient and effective to meet unpredictable deadlines and deal with conflicting demands, whilst working in a high-pressured environment.

Our client is hoping to have the Communications and Engagement Specialist in the role as soon as possible, therefore if you believe your experience meets the criteria above, please contact Charlotte Broomfield by Thursday 28th May by 5pm by submitted your CV directly.

Sellick Partnership is proud to be an inclusive and accessible recruitment business and we support applications from candidates of all backgrounds and circumstances. Please note, our advertisements use years' experience, hourly rates, and salary levels purely as a guide and we assess applications based on the experience and skills evidenced on the CV. For information on how your personal details may be used by Sellick Partnership, please review our data processing notice on our website