Location
Elgin Ave., London

Hours
37 hours per week, with occasional out of hours work required due to the parliamentary cycle

Salary
£61,630 per annum

About the Role
The position of Chief Ministerial Speechwriter is a high-profile and influential role within one of Whitehall’s busiest government departments, the Ministry of Defence. You will be responsible for delivering high quality, personalised speeches, parliamentary statements, articles and other content for the Ministerial team. Your work will showcase the activities of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces, conveying UK Defence policy to internal audiences, the wider public, and the UK’s allies and partners.

Content will cover a wide range of subjects including national security priorities, global operations, the UK’s nuclear deterrent, assistance to Ukraine, commemorations, and the defence industry.

You will provide strategic advice to help shape the editorial programme as a strategic communications tool. Reporting directly to the Speechwriter to the Secretary of State, you will also have line management responsibilities for a Senior Ministerial Speechwriter.

This role is based within the Directorate of Defence Communications (DDC), which is responsible for communicating the activities of the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces both internally and externally, helping people understand what Defence is about.

Key responsibilities include delivering outstanding speeches and editorial products for Ministers, explaining policy positions with strong, creative arguments, taking a strategic perspective on MOD issues, building strong relationships with Ministers and their offices, contributing to a first-class editorial team, and enhancing speechwriting skills across the Communications Directorate and wider MOD.

You will have an ear for how Ministers express themselves and the ability to translate this into compelling speeches and other communications.

Experience
- Proven experience of speechwriting
- Comfortable working with Ministers and senior Defence personnel, both military and civilian
- Ability to work under pressure and meet tight deadlines
- Experience of working in fast-paced environments requiring excellent judgement

About you
- Confident, self-starting and imaginative
- Very strong written and spoken communication skills
- Resilient and able to assimilate key facts from large volumes of information
- Flexible with the ability to capture distinctive Ministerial voices and translate them into compelling prose
- Strategic thinker with an understanding of how communications support organisational objectives
- Strong leadership skills with the ability to motivate, direct and support junior colleagues

Qualifications
- No specific qualifications required, but outstanding writing skills will be assessed via a written assignment
- An interest in the work of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces is desirable