Deputy Head Of Communications Job In Welwyn Garden City

Job Description

Here at East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust,

Our mission is:

Check out the role overview below If you are confident you have got the right skills and experience, apply today.
Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is:
To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Job overview

We are recruiting for a Deputy Head of Communications who shares our vision to be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service to our patients.

The Trust’s communications team provides a comprehensive service, leading internal and external communications; media handling; management of the trust’s websites and social media channels; events; and corporate publications.

We are committed to promoting and protecting the reputation of the trust, and providing the best possible information to the wide range of audiences we serve – our patients and the public; our staff; the media; partner organisations, supporters and collaborators. We achieve this through a range of mechanisms, working closely with staff and patients.

Our office is a busy, fast-paced environment with responsibility for ensuring that senior management and clinical staff are briefed on the trust’s key objectives and priorities, as well as any media interest in the Trust. The team also manages the Trust’s social media channels, with almost 6,000 followers on LinkedIn, 9,000 followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) and more than 21,000 on Facebook.

Members of the team work closely together, so there is always plenty of opportunity to develop new skills, and we also work closely with colleagues from our charity and research teams.

Our Values are Include, Respect and Improve. It is important that you understand and refer to our values during your recruitment process and beyond!

Main duties of the job

Responsible for supporting the Assistant Director – Communications and Engagement to lead and develop the team to deliver high-quality internal, external, digital, and stakeholder communications and engagement which support the needs of the trust.

Work with the Assistant Director – Communications and Engagement on planning, identifying and delivering strategic and tactical communications activity across all channels to support the aims and objectives of the trust.

The role will lead on providing a professional media relations and issues management service on both a proactive and reactive basis, advising senior leaders of risks to reputation and mitigations, in addition to lead responsibility for design and delivery of internal and external campaigns.

Seek opportunities to promote and enhance the Trust’s reputation with all audiences. This will involve consistency of message and supporting the Assistant Director – Communications and Engagement in close liaison with key stakeholders in the local health and care system.

This role will participate in the out-of-hours on call rota for communications.

Working for our organisation

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, are proud of the range of general & specialist services we provide & our 6,000 plus dedicated staff ensure our patients get the best care. Our ability to be flexible & innovative in the way in which we work and deliver our services to our catchment has never been more important than it is now.

We run the following hospitals:
• The Lister Hospital, Stevenage
• New Queen Elizabeth II (New QEII), Welwyn Garden City
• Hertford County, Hertford
• Mount Vernon Cancer Centre (MVCC), Northwood

We have ambitious plans to become an outstanding, patient-led Trust where dedicated staff provide high-quality, compassionate care to our patients. We continue to undergo significant transformation; our staff & patients are at the heart of delivering this ambitious agenda.

We understand that finding & starting a new job is an important life decision. If you need reasonable adjustments for a disability, or a life event, such as menopause - so that we can consider your application fairly & to get the best out of you during the selection process, please let us know.

We are committed to a positive work life balance for our employees.
Employees are entitled to seek to work flexible working patterns & we are committed to listen & consider all requests. Such requests, of course, have to be made & considered formally, & will need to be balanced against service needs, but our starting point will always be to find ways to support making them happen.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specificationPrevious Experience

• A successful track record of providing high level professional communications advice on complex or sensitive issues (including crisis communications) at a senior level
• Extensive experience using written, digital and verbal skills to present information in a variety of different formats/styles for different audiences, to meet agreed communications objectives.
• Track record of leading high-profile communications projects successfully and delivering outcomes in a challenging and demanding environment.
• Good understanding of significant issues facing ENHT and the wider system, with underpinning knowledge about how these may be tackled through development of the various areas applicable to this role.
• Experience of leading and developing marketing campaigns to build reputation and communicate with key stakeholders, which achieved outcomes
• Experience of identifying and mapping stakeholder groups, individuals and opinion formers, and building and maintaining relationships
• Experience of working with patients, service users and hard to reach groups, involving and including them in decision-making
• Knowledge and experience of leading the development of websites, video and social media as communication tools
• Experience of dealing with the media including handling media enquiries, crisis communications, briefing executive team members and gaining positive media coverage.
• Strong project management skills -with experience of effectively managing communications and engagement projects
• Experience of effectively holding direct reports and peers to account
• A clear ability to act as an inspirational leader to support the organisation and role model Trust values.
• Experience of working in health or other care environment at a senior level
• Journalistic/writing or publications experience

Skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, both verbal and written
• Well-organised, flexible and composed, able to pick up a brief and develop understanding of new topics quickly.
• Self-motivated, robust and results-orientated and able to motivate and enthuse others
• A highly-motivated self- starter who is able to manage a number of different projects at one time and develop innovative solutions to problems
• A personable, enthusiastic and a creative approach to problem solving and ability to respond to sudden, unexpected demands, working under pressure and prioritising appropriately
• Good IT skills and ability to use Microsoft Office packages, confident in using social media
• Able to build relationships and work collaboratively with staff, members and external stakeholders/partners
• Ability to build credibility with board level directors and deputise for the Assistant Director – Communications and Engagement as required
• Ability to provide and present highly complex information, tailoring the approach to the relevant audience.
• Awareness of current relevant technologies.
• Politically astute

Knowledge

• Ability to provide insight and solutions on complex communication issues
• Advanced knowledge of NHS organisational structure, culture and policies
• Understands voluntary and public sector politics.
• Awareness of relevant national guidance and legislation for the role.

Qualifications / Training

• A postgraduate marketing/strategic communications degree, professional qualification or equivalent experience of working within a senior marketing or strategic communications lead role to master’s level.
• Significant experience at a senior management level within communications
• Evidence of continuous professional development relevant to the role

Our values

We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do.

Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing resourcing.enh-tr@nhs.net

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

When you apply...

Please note that vacancies may close prior to the advertised closing date in certain circumstances. Please ensure that you make your application as soon as possible.

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

As a publicly funded employer, we need to ensure we utilise our funds responsibly, this may mean we are unable to support sponsorship required to gain the right to work for particular positions. We strongly advise you to contact the line manager or a member of the Resourcing Team before applying to confirm if we will be able to support with sponsorship for that post.

Prince's Trust Support

If you’re aged between 16 and 30 years-old, you can get FREE employability support from The Prince’s Trust. The Prince’s Trust will help build your CV and cover letter, offer advice and top tips for future interviews and support you with research about working in the NHS. Please contact Enquiries.H&SC@princes-trust.org.uk for support.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments

Employer certification / accreditation badges

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Name Eilidh Murray Job title Assistant Director - Communications and Engagement Email address eilidh.murray2@nhs.net

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