The Civil Servant Press Officer

Typical path?
You have to apply to the GICS first (there’s no use sending in speculative letters or CVs - you have to go through an assessment day). Then you apply for a specific departmental job. The assessment boards are held quite regularly.

GICS officers nearly always have some work experience before joining the civil service. To join at Information Officer (IO) grade, you need two years’ relevant experience. I’d already been working for a few years mainly in publicity for book publishing companies. Lots of my colleagues used to be journalists, or worked in PR or advertising.

Skills and personality
You need good communication skills, to stay calm under pressure, the self-confidence to deal with very senior people, and it helps to be a bit bossy (I mean assertive of course). Having a keen interest in politics is also very helpful.

Freedom and control
The level of autonomy in my job varies a lot. This being the civil service, there are often a few layers of bureaucracy to go through before anything is approved or decided. However, if you’re at home on duty, talking to a journalist who needs an answer there and then, you’re much more independent.

The hours
My contracted hours are 41 per week (including an hour’s lunch break every day) but my actual hours vary week by week. I am on the duty rota, which means working from home for a night, or a weekend day. Duties usually come round about once a fortnight.

The cash
Salaries vary according to department. In the DETR press office, an Assistant Information Officer (AIO) would start on about £19,500, and an Information Officer (IO) on about £24,500.

I fall into the £20,000 to £35,000 salary range. I think my salary is fine, especially since I’m paid overtime. Job satisfaction is the most important thing for me, but I do know that if I worked in the private sector I’d be getting paid more.

Gender split
In my office there’s a pretty equal ratio of men to women. Also, the proportion of women applying to and joining the GICS is going up and up – at AIO level, women actually outnumber men.