Communications Officer

NewMed School; City of Brisbane; Hybrid; AUD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

New Medical Education Pty Ltd in Brisbane, in partnership with Federation University Australia, is launching a School of Medicine. The Communications Officer will support organisational readiness, community and stakeholder engagement, and accreditation activities, translating complex information into clear communications for diverse audiences across internal teams, partners, and potential students.

You will craft internal updates, public messages, website content, and lifecycle communications,

Qualifications

• Exceptional written communication skills for internal, external, student and stakeholder audiences.
• Demonstrated experience in communications within higher education, government, healthcare or regulated environments.
• Ability to translate complex information into clear, audience appropriate communications.

Responsibilities

• Draft and coordinate communication materials across community engagement stakeholders including General Practices and First Nations health organisations.
• Prepare briefing notes, stakeholder packs, talking points, and presentation content for community engagement activity.
• Support stakeholder mapping, contact list development, and follow-up action tracking.
• Draft internal staff updates, FAQs and accreditation-related communications.

Skills

Written communication

Stakeholder management

Project coordination

Attention to detail

Cross-cultural communication

Google Workspace

HubSpot CRM

Education

Tertiary qualification in communications

Tools

HubSpot

Google Workspace

Job description

Employment fraction:Between 0.8-1.0 Full Time Equivalent (FTE)

Location:NewMed office (Level 7, 179 Turbot Street, Brisbane). Preference for Brisbane, other locations possible. Role may require ad hoc travel.

Department: Professional

About New Medical Education Pty Ltd

Federation University Australia, in partnership with NewMed, is establishing the Federation University School of Medicine to address Australia’s urgent need for more doctors, particularly in primary care. This shortage is felt most acutely in rural, regional and outer-urban communities. New Medical Education Australia Pty Ltd. is the employer for this role.

Federation and NewMed bring a shared commitment to addressing this critical gap through co‑operative workplace learning, health professional education and research, with a strong emphasis on primary healthcare and a strong commitment to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.

The School of Medicine offers a contemporary medical curriculum grounded in the latest educational evidence and designed to prepare graduates to serve communities where they are needed most.

The School of Medicine is underway with Stage 2 of the Australian Medical Council (AMC) accreditation process and anticipates welcoming its inaugural student cohort during 2027.

About the position

The Communications Officer will play a critical role in supporting NewMed’s organisational readiness, community and stakeholder engagement and School of Medicine launch activity. This role will support communications across a broad and complex stakeholder environment, including internal teams, Federation University colleagues, General Practices, First Nations Health Organisations, local government, study hubs, community organisations and prospective students.

The role will also support communications required for AMC accreditation activity, including internal updates, stakeholder briefings, public facing messages, website content, FAQs and other communication materials linked to accreditation progress. A key responsibility will include the development of student lifecycle communications. These communications will form part of the broader operational model for the School of Medicine.

The role requires a strong writer, thoughtful communicator and confident advisor who can translate complex academic, clinical, regulatory and operational information into clear, accurate and audience appropriate communications.

Key responsibilities

Supported by the GP Discipline lead, and in collaboration with other State leads the General Practice Placement Lead

responsibilities will include, but are not limited to:

Community engagement communications:

• Draft and coordinate communication materials across the community engagement stakeholder mix including General Practices, First Nations health organisations, local government, and other relevant community stakeholders.
• Prepare briefing notes, stakeholder packs, talking points, presentation content, follow up communications and supporting collateral for community engagement activity.
• Support stakeholder mapping, contact list development, communication sequencing, meeting preparation and follow up action tracking.
• Ensure community facing communications are respectful, clear, and accurate.

AMC accreditation communications:

• Draft internal staff updates, evidence request communications, meeting briefings, project updates, stakeholder notices, FAQs and other accreditation related communications.
• Prepare public facing communications relating to accreditation status, program readiness and School of Medicine updates, subject to Registrar review and CEO approval.
• Support consistent messaging across NewMed and Federation University channels where communications intersect.
• Develop and maintain student facing communications for the full student lifecycle across relevant platforms.
• Translate operational procedures, policy settings and student support models into clear student facing workflows and communications.
• Ensure communications are accessible, supportive, accurate and aligned with the intended student experience.

Website, social media and digital communications:

• Support development of copy, FAQs, downloadable resources, stakeholder information and other website materials.
• Collaborate with Federation University’s digital team on School of Medicine website content, structure and updates.
• Draft and create organic and paid social media content; including content planning, caption drafting, content calendars and message alignment for NewMed and School of Medicine activity, subject to approval by the Registrar and/or CEO.

Internal communications:

• Draft staff updates, newsletters, FAQs and internal announcements.
• Support consistent communication between project teams, academic staff, professional staff and senior leadership.
• Help ensure staff have access to approved language, key messages, talking points, resources and escalation pathways.
• Develop and support communication plans for key projects, including School of Medicine launch activity, AMC accreditation activity, community engagement and student lifecycle communications.
• Translate complex academic, regulatory, clinical and operational information into clear, accurate and audience appropriate communications.
• Identify communication risks, gaps and opportunities, and provide practical recommendations to address them.
• Maintain communication schedules, approval trackers, stakeholder message registers and version control for key communications.

Compliance and Ethical Standards :

• Ensure all communications are accurate, ethical, transparent and aligned with relevant educational, and organisational requirements.
• Maintain communication registers, approval logs, version control and content libraries.
• Exercise sound judgement in identifying when communications require escalation, legal/compliance input, review for cultural safety or senior approval.

Select Criteria

• Relevant tertiary qualification in communications, public relations, marketing, journalism, higher education, stakeholder engagement or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Demonstrated experience in communications within higher education, government, healthcare, community engagement, complex project or regulated environments.
• Exceptional written communication skills, with the ability to produce clear, accurate and audience appropriate content for internal, external, student and stakeholder audiences.
• Understanding of culturally safe communication practices and experience working with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander stakeholders, organisations or communities under appropriate cultural governance.
• Experience developing communication plans, content calendars, stakeholder communications or lifecycle communication materials.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with the ability to work collaboratively across internal teams, external partners and senior stakeholders.
• Strong attention to detail, version control and document management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to work respectfully and appropriately with diverse stakeholders and communities.
• Competence using Google Workspace, CRM/email systems (preferably HubSpot), digital tools and project coordination platforms.