The Opportunity
Salary: £39,862 to £42,839 per annum
Contract Type: Fixed Term/Secondment until 31/08/2028
Working Pattern: Full time 37 hours per week
Location County Hall, Chichester and hybrid working
Interview date: Week commencing 20th July 2026
Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.
Open Digital is a county-wide programme led by West Sussex County Council to build the digital foundations of a modern, connected county.
It brings together digital infrastructure, connectivity, data and partnerships into a single, coherent programme that enables innovation, a future‑ready workforce and sustainable economic growth across West Sussex.
West Sussex County Council’s (WSCC) Digital Infrastructure Team delivers Open Digital working with local and central government as well as the commercial telecommunications industry, academia and partners.
We require a motivated stakeholder engagement manager with proven communications experience to support the team to deliver a highly scrutinised and complex programme of activity at time of significant transition in local government.
About you
To be successful in the role you will need to:
- Degree or equivalent qualification and/or experience in Communications, Marketing, Social Media, or Public Relations.
- Experience in communications, with a solid understanding of branding and messaging protocols within a political environment.
- Highly developed communication and interpersonal skills, enabling effective engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders, including the ability to influence and persuade senior stakeholders.
- Excellent written communication skills, with the creativity and understanding to tailor messages to diverse audiences.
- Ability to triage correspondence and enquiries from a wide range of political, public, and industry stakeholders, identifying and mitigating communication or reputational risks to prevent escalation, unless escalation is necessary.
- Experience in financial management to ensure value for money and compliance with WSCC and local government governance standards.
For more information on the Key Skills as well as the Qualifications and/or experience required, please refer to the Job Description attached.
Working for us
West Sussex Councils recognise the importance of the county’s digital backbone in supporting its opportunities, innovation and prosperity.
WSCC’s Digital Infrastructure Team is nationally recognised as forward-thinking and innovative in developing and delivering digital infrastructure initiatives across multi-layered partnerships supporting inward investment and ensuring homes and businesses enjoy a modern, digital life.
As well as adding real value to our service users and our communities, as an employer we recognise our employees are central in being able to achieve this. To recognise this we want to help support your development and provide a great place to work ensuring you can fulfil your full potential, have access to a range of benefits including:
- an excellent local government pension scheme
- generous holiday entitlement of 27 days (plus opportunity to buy additional leave)
- a range of flexible working options, depending on your job role
- maternity, paternity, dependency and adoption leave
- volunteering opportunities
- training and development opportunities, including coaching and mentoring
- a range of discounts giving our staff access to hundreds of offers; groceries, travel, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities, high street retailers and the opportunity to save over £1,000 a year through our West Sussex Choices benefits platform (see ourStaff discounts page if you are a business looking to offer a discount)
- health and wellbeing benefits including access to our Employee Assistance Programme, Mental Health First Aiders and Voluntary Health Cash Plans
For a full list this can be found at our Rewards and Benefits page.
Further information
The reference number for this role is EIE01561.
For an informal conversation or for further information regarding the role, please contact Jo Furber (Digital Infrastructure Relationship Manager) [email protected]
For issues or queries regarding your application please contact [email protected].
Internal candidates wishing to apply for this role will be considered for a secondment position. Please can you therefore discuss and agree this with your manager before applying for this position.
To apply, please follow the links below to upload your CV and Cover Letter. In your cover letter please outline your motivations for applying and explaining the skills and experience you can bring to the role (please refer to the key skills) ensuring that any gaps in employment are covered in your CV. Please ensure you have saved the job description attached to the main advert on our website as, once the job has closed, you may not have the opportunity to download again.
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. This post is subject to 3 years referencing and a health check.
Equity, inclusion and accessibility is very important to West Sussex County Council. We welcome and encourage applications from everyone, as this helps us build a diverse and talented workforce, that reflects the communities we serve. We ensure our approach to recruitment is flexible and supportive to enable all applicants to be at their best and to ensure they have the best possible chance of success.
We operate a guaranteed interview scheme for applicants that have a disability, are a veteran or are a care leaver. More information can be found on our application help page.
Job Reference: EIE01561
