Internal Communications Officer (Headquarters, Chelmsford)

Location of Role: Chelmsford 

Advert Closing Date: 30/06/2026 

Starting Salary: £42,612.00 (pro-rata for part-time vacancies)

Part/Full Time: Full Time 

Contract Type: Permanent 

Working Pattern: Mon-Fri 

Weekend/Evening Working: No 

This is an exciting role for a talented internal communications professional to join a complex organisation with more than 6,000 police officers, staff and volunteers spread across the county. The Internal Communications Officer plays a key role in keeping colleagues informed and engaged across the constantly evolving policing landscape, including changes to legislation, technology, systems, estate and day-to-day operations.

They will provide strategic internal communications support to internal senior leaders and colleagues across the force and play a key role during major incidents and emergencies by sharing timely and relevant information.

Day-to-day, the role involves maintaining our connEXion intranet, editing our Chief Constable’s weekly blog, driving engagement on our internal platforms including Viva Engage, and creating a range of written and creative content.

The role requires a keen eye for detail and a focus on evaluating the success of projects and communications materials.   

Our Internal Communications team also run our busy force wide reward and recognition programme recognising the achievements of our hardworking officers, staff and volunteers, including our annual awards and our Long Service & Good Conduct events. The successful candidate will take a lead role in these events. They will also support employee engagement programmes throughout the year to support, helping colleagues understand and contribute to our mission of protecting people, keeping people safe, catching criminals, and preventing and detecting crime.

In the role, you will be producing clear and concise communications, supporting senior colleagues and co-ordinating events, roadshows and briefings - ensuring colleagues across the organisation feel valued and are informed and involved in delivering Essex Police’s vision and values.

Please evidence the following essential criteria and the detail in the job description within your reason for application:   

• The post holder should be able to demonstrate professional communication skills with a broad and deep range of practical skills and experience including but not limited to content development, media relations, campaigning, filming and editing, media relations, advising senior management, crisis communications.
• The post holder will be either qualified to degree level in a relevant subject (media, communications) or a NCTJ or BJTC-qualified journalist.
• A professional with two years' experience in a similar role.
• This role requires proven communications experience with the ability to understand complex and sensitive issues, together with an appreciation of the challenges of a public sector environment.
• They must understand the principles of branding and effective internal communication and how best communication strategies may fulfil the expectations and aims of Essex Police.
• The post holder will require the skills to prepare lively and crisp copy for a variety of internal publications and possess good editorial skills.
• They will advise on the layout and design of material and be well organised and methodical in planning and managing projects. An understanding of the policing environment, policing issues and the legislation relevant to communications is essential.
• The post holder will be pro-active, innovative, creative and able to produce options, proposals and recommendations for maintaining and developing a high quality and effective internal communications networks and products for the force.
• The post holder will need to demonstrate a level of interpersonal skills necessary to interact, persuade and influence people, with the ability to hold the credibility and confidence of officers and staff at all ranks and grades.
• Excellent communication and presentational skills, with an eye for detail and a passion for plain English is essential.

The role will offer flexibility in terms of place of work, including some home working. The extent of flexibility will be agreed through individual assessment with the line manager to assess operational requirements and individual’s suitability for home working. In the event that home working is agreed for the successful candidate, there will be a requirement to regularly attend the contractual workplace at our HQ in Chelmsford.    

For more information about this role please contact Sarah Graffham, Internal Communications Manager, by email: Sarah.Graffham@essex.police.uk or Elizabeth Skeels, Internal Communications Manager, Elizabeth.Skeels@essex.police.uk. 

For the full job description please click here.

Your application for this role will be shortlisted on the content you provide within the “reason for application” question, within the application form itself. CV’s, covering letters or attachments are not included in the shortlist. Within your “reason for application” answer, please refer to any experience, skills, and abilities you feel you have that will make you suitable for this role, based on the role criteria stated in the job advert or job description. Please provide as much detail as possible as insufficient content may mean you do not meet the shortlisting criteria, however please note this question is limited to 9000 characters and this system will count spaces and blank lines as characters. This count may differ from the Microsoft Word word count function therefore you may wish to use a different online character counter to check the characters used.

All of our posts require a level of vetting and security clearance.  During the recruitment process you will be sent vetting information forms to complete. 

Kent Police and Essex Police welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage or civil partnership status, pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, sex, or employment status.

Please let us know if you require extra support at any stage of the application process, or for further information regarding this position, please email us at recruitment.business.services@ecis.police.uk stating ‘Application Support and Adjustments’ in the title of your email. Alternatively, you can call us on 01245 452833. Where appropriate we will make adjustments to the selection process, working arrangements and/or the working environment provided it is reasonable in all the circumstances to do so.

If you’re not from the UK, you must be a resident in the UK and have lived here continuously for the last three years. You must also be free from restrictions with indefinite leave to remain. If you’re from the UK you must have lived here continuously for the last three years. This doesn’t apply to those serving abroad in the British Armed Forces.

As a Disability Confident Leader we:

• have subjected our Disability Confident self-assessment to external challenge and validation
• are taking an active leadership role in encouraging and helping other employers on their journey to becoming Disability Confident.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion are central to the values of our organisation. At Essex Police we value and embrace the unique experiences, identities and abilities that each of us bring to our roles. We strive to empower everyone to bring their authentic self openly and safely to work.

Through the dedicated commitment of our support networks, DE&I team and wider HR departments, we are on a journey to embed our DE&I commitments, ensuring Essex Police is an employer of choice; where everyone feels included.

Essex Police and Kent Police are an equal opportunities employer. Communications may be recorded for monitoring purposes.