Student Placement - Media and Communications - 2026/2027

Vacancy Reference Number

20578

Number of Vacancies

2

(B) OCU

Communication & Engagement

Location

Westminster

Building

MARLOWE HOUSE

Band

Unbanded

Part/Full Time

Full Time

Hours per Week

36 hours per week

Type of Contract

Permanent

Job Advert

Department: Comms & Engagement

Salary: £25,927

Location: Westminster

Duration: 12 months

Number of students we are looking to recruit: 2

More Challenges, More Excitement, More Opportunities - Be at the Heart of a Changing Service

The MET

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) employs more than 44,000 officers and staff, plus thousands of volunteers and provides policing to one of the most diverse capital cities in the world. The service provides policing to the 32 London Boroughs as well as a number of other local, national and international functions such as counter terrorism and organised crime prevention. As the country’s largest police service, the service is recognised internationally as a leader in fighting crime and many other policing organisations look to the MPS for best practice and guidance.

In conjunction with the City of London Police, we are looking to recruit students for a 52-week placement. All roles will give students valuable insight and experience of working for one of the largest public organisations in the UK and the largest single employer in London. The role is a substantive post and we seek to provide valuable practical experience wherever our students work.

Background

The Communications and Engagement department is the Met’s in-house comms team, operating around the clock to deliver impactful comms, keeping both our officers and the public informed with what the Met is doing to keep Londoners safe.

We are looking for talented and enthusiastic university placement students to join our team as a Media and Communication Administrator, supporting the department to help deliver the Met’s most important work to-date – from communications that help to rebuild the public’s trust and confidence, to reducing all types of violent crime, increasing professional standards across our workforce and helping to attract the right people to join us as police constables.

The Met and its people have an abundance of fascinating stories to tell and incredible content to showcase through our established internal, external and digital channels; as well as paid for advertising campaigns and our work with media organisations.

Opportunity and Support

We are an award-winning team and our staff have access to strong professional development opportunities. You will be part of a supportive team working alongside talented and experienced colleagues from across the different teams within the department, including our news, internal, campaigns, digital and stakeholder teams.

We offer a blended working approach, so while you will be based at New Scotland Yard, you will have the opportunity to regularly deploy across London as you create content and facilitate communication activity. There will also be the opportunity to work from home some of the time.

About the Role

As a Media and Communications placement, you will be working with colleagues from across the Communication and Engagement department, providing support for our proactive and reactive communications activity, both internally and externally. You will have the opportunity to work across different teams within the department, helping to plan communications activities and gather, produce and publish content across our owned channels, as well as work with external media to showcase the work of the Met and tell our story to the public.

We are looking for someone who is passionate about developing their skills in communications and media, and is eager to learn and take on new opportunities. You should be able to demonstrate how you can provide proactive support and be able to evidence some of the key skills required for this role.

The role includes many rewarding responsibilities, such as:

• Support the delivery of reactive and proactive external media engagement/internal stakeholders.
• Support the delivery of our internal and digital channels and content.
• Support the research and writing of press releases/copy, including the editing, proofreading, collating amendments and securing approvals from colleagues and stakeholders.
• Source and/or develop images, video, infographics, and other content products as required.
• Provide communications advice and spot areas where more experienced advice will need to be offered.
• Supporting our visits and events team, and assisting with local communication activity, working closely with officers across London.
• Ensure any media interactions and media statements are logged correctly.
• Be a contact point on media or internal communication, responding to any queries promptly and effectively.
• Assist in the monitoring of media or social media channels and help compile monitoring reports as required.

About You

We are looking to recruit a university placement student pursuing a degree in Media and Communications or similar-type subject. Students from other courses are welcome to apply but must be able to demonstrate their interest and relevant experience in media and communications.

You must be an undergraduate student in a sandwich year course, returning to study in Autumn 2027.

Candidates will be expected to demonstrate they hold the necessary skills and experience as outlined in the Media and Communications Administrator Job Description.

Essential for the Role

• Applicants must be working towards a communications/media-related degree.
• An understanding of different communication channels including news media, internal and digital communications.
• An understanding and some experience of how to use digital media to communicate effectively, story tell and engage with the public, as well as a workforce and internal audience.
• Good writing and evaluation skills.

Required Languages

English

Reports To

Band C

Disability Confident Statement

The Met is committed to being an equitable (fair and impartial) and inclusive employer for disabled people, striving to have a diverse and representative workforce at all levels. We encourage applications from people from the widest possible range of backgrounds, cultures and experiences. We particularly welcome applications from people with disabilities and long-term conditions, ethnic minority groups and women.

As a Disability Confident Leader, the Met has committed to making disability equality part of our everyday practice. We ensure that people with disabilities and those with long term conditions have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.

The Met is committed to making reasonable adjustments to the recruitment process to ensure disabled applicants can perform at their best. If you need any reasonable adjustments or changes to the application and recruitment process, we ask that you include this information within your application form. All matters will be treated in strict confidence.

Please note, if you are applying for a police officer role or to become a police community support officer (PCSO) or designated detention officer (DDO), there is a minimum requirement that you must pass a job-related fitness test (JRFT) at point of entry. This does not apply to police staff roles.