Communications Planning Lead

Job Introduction

Salary: £50,281.08 per annum with yearly increments based on performance. An additional London Allowance of £4,613.61 payable to London based candidates only.

Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract (Ends April 2027)

Location: Any of our main hubs - Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Manchester, Leeds, or Glasgow

Type of Working Arrangement: Blended approach of home and office-working is available

Hours: This is a full-time role (37 hours per week) 

British Transport Police (BTP) is the national police force for the rail network throughout Great Britain. We are ‘Guardians of the Railway,’ putting passenger safety at the heart of what we do. Our values are simply: We Care, We Do the Right Thing, We Strive to Be Better Every Day, We Are One BTP, and We Are Proud to Protect. Join us and help create an environment where we can all be our best every day.

The Opportunity:

British Transport Police have an exciting opportunity for a Communications Planning Lead to join the Communications and Engagement department on a temporary basis. 

In this role, you’ll support the Chief of Staff and wider department to deliver our strategic objectives. You’ll maintain a single communications and engagement grid and work across the department to ensure it provides a rolling 12-month view of all proactive activity. The post holder will provide planning support to all teams across the department and manage the Communications Officer, ensuring they get a well-rounded experience of comms and provide tactical support to all functions. You’ll need to be able to build relationships with colleagues from across BTP/BTPA at all levels and operate with significant independence, providing excellent customer service and responding to issues brought to your attention as a first point of contact for the department.

 
What you'll be doing:  

• Lead and maintain a force‑wide 12‑month communications and engagement grid, ensuring alignment to strategy, key dates, campaigns and organisational priorities. 
• Drive continuous improvement and project delivery, including process reviews, new tools/software implementation, and departmental development activities. 
• Plan and manage the delivery of a number of public facing corporate publications including the annual report and policing plans as well as comms plans for key moments and events marked across our channels.
• Own and monitor departmental KPIS providing updates to senior leaders and disseminating actionable learnings to the wider department.

What you'll bring to the team:

• Experience working in a Communications and/or Engagement function, with a proven track record in planning and managing communication workflows. 
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands, manage multiple tasks and deliver work on time and within scope. 
• Excellent communication, relationship‑building and influencing skills, with confidence operating across all levels and responding to challenges. 
• Exceptional organisational and analytical abilities, able to turn strategy into action and produce coherent, prioritised plans.
• Knowledge and confidence with planning tools and software.

What we offer:

• 28 days annual leave plus bank holidays, increasing to 30 days after 5 years.
• Family-friendly policies, including up to 26 weeks paid maternity and adoption leave.
• Bespoke benefits platform and Blue Light Card access.
• Salary sacrifice options for cycles, home technology, gym membership, and electric vehicles.
• Access to the Transport Benevolent Fund for health, welfare, and financial support.
• Development opportunities, including fully funded apprenticeships.
• Excellent Pension scheme:  We offer the BTP GPP Police Staff Pension Scheme, administered by Royal London. This group personal pension plan is available to all police staff and is a defined contribution scheme. It provides the flexibility to vary your pension contributions from 4.4% to 12% of your salary. For more information, visit the Royal London dedicated pension page or email us at Pension-Queries@btp.police.uk. Note: If you are an existing member of Police Staff in the RPS, your pension will not be affected.

Further information about this vacancy can be found in the attached job description.

Vetting: Successful applicants will be required to pass Recruitment Vetting (3 years minimum UK residency required), including a full background and financial disclosure. For more information and Top Tips, please see attached document. 

Medical: We’ll ask for relevant health and medical history details to support employee wellbeing.  

References: We'll ask for references to cover the past 5 years.

Applications will be via an up-to-date CV and online application form, as part of this application please outline how your skills and experience demonstrate your suitability for the role.  AI can be a useful tool to spark ideas or help you organise your thoughts, but when it comes to your application, we want to hear from you, not an algorithm. What truly stands out to us are genuine stories, personal insights and the experiences that have shaped who you are. Authenticity matters - it helps us understand your motivations, your strengths and how you’ll contribute to our team. So, use AI if it helps you get started, but let your own voice lead the way.

Completed applications must be submitted by 11.59pm, 12th March 2025.

Inclusion & Diversity: 

We are committed to building a workforce where everyone feels they belong. 

We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, identities and lived experiences. Diversity strengthens our teams, improves our services and helps us better represent and support the communities we serve. 

We are proud to be an inclusive employer and strive to create a workplace that is fair, respectful and accessible to all. We actively work to challenge discrimination, remove barriers and ensure equity throughout our recruitment and employment practices. 

If you need any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment or selection process, please let us know - we are happy to support you. Your talent, your potential, and your unique perspective matter here. 

For more information on Inclusion or the Disability Confident Scheme, please click the links Inclusion & Diversity Disability Confident Scheme

Join Us:

Ready to take the next step in your career? At BTP, you’ll have the opportunity to grow, make a real impact, and be part of something extraordinary.

Find out why BTP could be the perfect fit for you - About Us - British Transport Police

Curious about what life at BTP is really like? Hear directly from our people and discover what makes working here so rewarding. Explore real stories on our blog: Our Stories - British Transport Police

For further information, please contact our Resourcing Team - RecruitmentTeam@btp.police.uk.