The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are hiring: What it takes to work for the royals
Prince William and his wife Kate are hiring, as they search for a new senior communications officer.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expanding their team within their household, and the right candidate will need to be able to "think creatively" and have the ability to "handle sensitive information with tact and discretion at all times".
In the advertisement for the new role, William and Kate said they are looking for someone to "lead on communications plans for Their Royal Highnesses' engagements and support on the delivery and communication of projects".
The person will also respond to "media enquiries on matters related to the Duke and Duchess and their family".
The nature of the royal household means whoever lands the job will be working with the Duke and Duchess's Royal Foundation, which manages their charitable work.
Anyone who applies should be ready for out-of-hours work, as the job description warns they will have a rota for dealing with enquiries outside of office hours.
Staff also have to assist "as necessary with special media events relating to The Royal Family and to assist the work of other Households as required", which could mean an evening or weekend function.
Charlotte Davies, careers expert at LinkedIn, said the job was an "amazing opportunity" and offered her top tips including: "identifying your transferable skills. Whereas some job descriptions are very specific about the skills required, those listed for the Senior Communications Officer role are actually quite broad. This is good news for those who don’t necessarily have a communications background; strong written communication, project management and the ability to handle sensitive information with tact are skills that can be demonstrated from a wide range of work."
Watch: Kate gets into swing of things during visit to charity in Durham
She added: "Employers will most likely search for candidates online to check previous experience and get a better judge of character. It’s important that your social channels are royally up-to-scratch, particularly when applying for a communications role like this. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and ensure your other public social channels don’t contain anything that would make any of the Royals blush!
"It’s a unique role – so very few applicants will have direct experience working with royalty. If this sounds like your dream role, be confident in your abilities and put your best foot forward in the application. Someone has to get it!"
While few people have experience of being a royal employee, there are many people who get to work with the couple due to their charitable work.
One of those is Tracy Rennie, the deputy chief executive and director of care at East Anglia Children Hospices, of which Kate has been a patron since 2012.
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Rennie told Pod Save the Queen podcast back in October: "From my perspective, I've been one of the lucky few people that have met her on several occasions because of the nature of my role.
"It's been interesting because privately, she always came across extremely confident and caring, and she was able to talk to you really easily. You felt really comfortable with her.
"But seeing her grow publicly, so thinking back to that first speech, in front of the world, it was just phenomenal.
"She did brilliantly.
"Just recently she opened our Nook hospice, last November. The confidence publicly now just shines, but the private confidence and the way she is with people has been amazing since day one."
Rennie added: "We never underestimate the impact that she has when she speaks to family, and also when she speaks to staff and volunteers.
"She really recognises how hard people work, and the stresses and strains on the emotions of volunteers working with the charity as well."
The job is open to applications until 3 May.
Watch: The Queen Is Hiring a Head of Digital Engagement
