The newly-created Youth Justice Board for England and Wales is
looking for its first PR head as well as an external agency to
communicate the Government’s election promise to cut youth
offending.
The board was set up last September, under the chairmanship of Lord
Warner of Brockley, as part of the 1998 Crime and Disorder Act and is
funded by the Home Office. Its aim is to help reduce offending among
young people and ensure best practice in areas of youth justice,
including purchasing secure accomodation.
It tendered for a PR agency earlier this month to help devise a strategy
to communicate to its target audiences, including the police, teachers,
social workers and the media, on a project basis. The board expects to
shortlist up to six agencies later this month or in the new year.
The agency will work alongside the new communication director, who
reports to acting chief executive Mark Perfect. The size of the
director’s team has yet to be established.
The successful candidate will oversee the board’s entire communication
function, including newsletters, media relations, conferences and a web
site, and will support the board’s four policy advisers, currently being
appointed.
Perfect said: ’Our aim is to prevent offending by young people. We need
to influence the police, probation officers, social security officers,
teachers, the media, and government. It’s a huge communication task.’ He
added that the board would consider hiring an agency on a permanent
basis once the director was in place.
