THE FOREIGN, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is calling on comms experts from Scotland to seize an opportunity to take on a major role at its joint HQ in East Kilbride.
The UK Government is advertising the role of Deputy Director Internal Communication and Engagement as part of a recruitment drive at its Scottish base Abercrombie House.
The FCDO has announced it is re-deploying 500 civil service roles to East Kilbride by December 2025 as part of the UK Government’s levelling-up agenda. Over 800 staff <check stat> already based at the site are at the heart of shaping and delivering UK foreign policy under Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.
The job, which can be based either in East Kilbride or London, comes with a salary of £73,000-£100,000, and involves leading FCDO’s Internal Comms team to ensure its global workforce of 17,000 people understand the organisation’s mission.
The deadline for online applications is 23:55 on Monday June 26.
FCDO’s Director of Communication Janine Lloyd-Jones said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for someone from Scotland to play an integral part in delivering UK foreign policy as a force for good in the world.
“I’m looking for someone with a track record in boosting employee engagement and morale, as a seasoned internal communication leader.
“This is a senior and critical role that will help shape the culture of the organisation. You will have experience of working in a large, dynamic, global organisation, acting as a strategic advisor at Board level.”
Abercrombie House celebrated its 40th anniversary in November 2021 and the site reportedly generates an estimated £30million annually to the Lanarkshire economy. Rangers and Scotland footballer Ally McCoist was amongst the first intake of staff working there.
The advertised role spans across FCDO’s joint headquarters in Westminster and East Kilbride and involves showcasing the organisation’s international work.
Edinburgh-born Ms Lloyd-Jones added: “As a born and bred Scot, and someone who started their own communication career in Scotland, I am determined that we create more UK Government comms roles in Scotland, right up to senior level.
“An opportunity like this doesn’t come up very often in Government, and it is the first time we have advertised this role externally.
“As well as informing our staff around the world, you need to excite them: to bolster pride, inclusion and advocacy. You will need to be able to listen, to gauge the mood of the organisation, and feed that back into the senior management team.
“You will have experience of using a range of channels, tools and tactics to enable conversation and feedback loops in a large organisation.
“This is one of the most challenging and exciting employee engagement leadership roles around. The work is interesting, the organisation is fastpaced. You will build a newly-expanded team into a high-performing one. If this sounds like the job for you, then we’d love to hear from you.”
