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Role Description – Head of Communications and Engagement

Role:Head of Communications & Engagement (Pensions Dashboards)
Salary: £100,000 + benefits
Location: Bedford / Hybrid 
Contract: Permanent
Reporting to: Executive Director for Strategy, Policy & Governance (SPG), Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)
Dotted line to: Corporate Director, Customer Engagement, MaPS (ensuring coherence with MaPS and MoneyHelper brand, channels, content standards, and communications governance)

 

About the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)

The Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) exists to improve financial wellbeing across the UK. We are a government Arms-Length Body, sponsored by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with a shared commitment to ensuring people can access the guidance and information they need to make effective financial decisions across their lives.

A flagship priority for MaPS is to deliver and run the Pensions Dashboards Service – a major national digital transformation that will enable people to find and view their UK pensions securely, online and in one place. Dashboards will help reconnect individuals with lost pensions, strengthen understanding and ownership, and support better retirement planning.

MaPS is delivering three connected pillars:

  • Making dashboards possible – establishing governance and delivering the technical architecture and services that connect pension providers and schemes to dashboards.
  • Delivering a free, government-backed pensions dashboard via MoneyHelper.
  • Establishing the long‑term service model to run, evolve and improve dashboards sustainably.

This work is undertaken in close partnership with DWP, The Pensions Regulator (TPR), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), industry bodies, market participants, and delivery partners. It is high-profile, high-scrutiny work with material operational, political, and reputational exposure.

 

Purpose of the role

A senior leadership role accountable for end-to-end communications, engagement and reputation management for Pensions Dashboards – spanning programme delivery, launch readiness, launch and early live operation.

The successful candidate will ensure the right audiences have the right information at the right time to:

  • enable safe, confident launch decisions
  • drive real-world readiness across the pensions ecosystem
  • protect and build public, partner and sponsor confidence
  • support MaPS’ transition from programme delivery into a service-led operating model

The postholder will provide direct strategic advice to the Executive SRO and the Chief Executive, including in high‑pressure or politically sensitive situations, acting as a trusted adviser across senior leadership. They will work in close partnership with MaPS’ Customer Engagement function to ensure governance discipline, alignment of brand and messaging, and high-quality delivery across channels.

 

Scope and authority

Accountable for:

  • the dashboards communications and engagement strategy across pre-launch, launch and early live
  • senior stakeholder engagement across DWP (including Ministers), regulators and industry leadership
  • issues management and rapid response across a multi‑organisation environment
  • dashboards’ external narrative and reputation (public, media, industry)
  • leadership of the dashboards Communications & Engagement team (see note on capability mix below)
  • commissioning, prioritisation, and budget ownership within MaPS governance

 

Key accountabilities

  1. Own the end-to-end dashboards communications and engagement strategy
  • Develop and maintain a single, coherent strategy aligned to delivery plans, readiness evidence, and regulatory/sponsor expectations.
  • Set a clear, evidence-led narrative: what is true now, what will be true at launch, and what will evolve post-launch.
  • Translate technical and service progress into crisp, accessible communications for senior stakeholders.
  • Coordinate closely with DWP Communications, including:
    • agreed cadence of planning and alignment meetings
    • joint approvals pathways for sensitive or ministerial communications
    • alignment of ministerial briefing lines and proactive/reactive handling
  1. Deliver readiness communications that drive measurable action
  • Design and deliver targeted engagement that supports behavioural outcomes across the ecosystem, including measurable improvements in readiness, onboarding, operational preparedness, and confidence. Audiences include:
    • ministers and senior officials in DWP
    • TPR and FCA
    • industry bodies, major providers, administrators, and suppliers
    • consumer organisations, influencers, and commentators
  1. Strategic advice, issues management and reputation leadership
  • Act as the trusted strategic adviser to the Chief Executive, Executive SROs, and senior leaders.
  • Lead issues management, ensuring disciplined lines, cross-organisational coordination, single source of truth and rapid response.
  • Maintain a forward look of likely issues and risks; advise on mitigations and leadership preparation.
  1. Partner leadership across the dashboard’s ecosystem
  • Operate credibly at senior levels across a multi‑organisation environment.
  • Build and sustain senior relationships with DWP, TPR, FCA, industry leadership and delivery partners.
  • Convene senior forums to align narrative, engagement approaches, and crisis response.
  1. Media, digital and content leadership
  • Oversee dashboards external communications, including industry channels, digital content, thought leadership and reactive handling.
  • Ensure content meets brand standards, is accurate, accessible, and compliant with legal, privacy, security, and assurance constraints.
  • Bring strong digital communications expertise, including:
    • behavioural insight
    • understanding of user journeys and service design alignment
    • familiarity with funnel metrics, adoption levers, and digital launch sequencing
  1. Events and engagement products that land outcomes
  • Own and deliver high‑impact engagement moments (e.g., webinars, industry briefings), ensuring clarity of objectives, audience prioritisation, calls to action and follow‑through.
  1. Measurement, insight, and continuous improvement
  • Implement proportionate measurement and reporting of communications effectiveness (reach, engagement, sentiment, behavioural outcomes). Use insight to refine strategy and support leadership decisions.
  1. Leadership, resources, and budget
  • Lead, develop and performance-manage the dashboards Communications & Engagement team.
  • Team (approx. eleven people) capability mix likely to include: stakeholder engagement, strategic communications, digital/content, issues, and media handling.
  • Set priorities, ways of working and resilience, including matrix arrangements.
  • Own budgets and commissioning activity.
  1. Brand, legacy, and transition planning
  • Work with MaPS’ Customer Engagement Team to lead dashboards brand and asset integration, including transition of PDP legacy branding, content, and narrative into a coherent MaPS/MoneyHelper identity.
  • Ensure clarity and continuity for industry and partners as the service moves into steady state.

What success looks like (12–18 months)

  • A single, trusted communications and engagement plan underpinning launch decisions and building confidence across MaPS, PDP, and DWP.
  • Stakeholders consistently understand the service, its readiness, launch timeline and their required actions.
  • Disciplined issues management reduces avoidable reputational risk.
  • Engagement activity demonstrably improves readiness behaviours.
  • A stable, effective team that partners well with MaPS’ Customer Engagement function while maintaining dashboards pace and credibility.