HM Treasury Careers – Economy Press Officer

About the job

Ministerial and Communications

The Ministerial and Communications Group sits at the heart of the Treasury. It provides support to Ministers, through the Ministerial offices; it acts as the external face of the Treasury, through the

Press Office and Communications teams; and it is responsible for the management of the department, through its support for the Permanent Secretary, the Treasury Board and the

Executive Management Board (EMB), and its ownership of Treasury governance structures. The Group is led by the Permanent Secretary.

About The Team

The Communications Team is responsible for all communications conducted by HM Treasury and its Ministers. It works closely with Ministers, special advisors and policy teams

to communicate the full range of the Treasury’s work, through traditional and new media channels. The team is high-performing, supportive and fun. We work highly collaboratively across the

different aspects of communications (press, digital, events). The roles are high-profile and post-holders are given a large degree of ownership for their areas. The team is a flexible

resource and the post-holder will need be ready to support colleagues during busy periods 3 as responsibilities can move around to reflect Government priorities.

Key Accountabilities

The Economy Press Officer will help shape the government’s communications on the economy – explaining how complex concepts affect people’s everyday lives. This will include explaining and

defending the government’s economic and fiscal strategy in a way people will understand, supporting the Chancellor’s response to key statistics releases and forecasts, and building

relationships with both journalists and policy teams across the Treasury.

Core Responsibilities Include

• Explaining and defending the government’s economic policy and performance. This includes shaping the government’s response to key economic indicators such as GDP statistics,

labour market statistics, inflation statistics and IMF/OECD forecasts.

• Explaining the government’s fiscal strategy and government financing arrangements, including debt, deficit, credit ratings, gilt issuances and other financing facilities.
• Leading on monetary policy related communications, including Bank of England governance, remit changes and appointments
• Supporting the communications process around fiscal events, including developing a clear narrative around the fiscal and economic position
• Building strong relationships with policy teams across the Treasury, No10 and with journalists
• Contributing to corporate workstreams on important issues. Examples of ongoing work includes wellbeing and diversity and inclusion

We are a busy and dynamic team meaning that you will have the opportunity to work beyond your remit, including by supporting and helping to set up Chancellor visits and media interviews.

The post holder will be required to join the press office duty rota, providing cover over some evenings and weekends. An additional allowance for this applies to this role.

Experience of working on economic issues and communications or media experience, and/or an understanding of presentational issues in government, is desirable but not essential.