Communications Team Leader - Campaigns and Media

Transformationunitgm; Plymouth; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading organization in the NHS seeks a Communications Team Leader to oversee their Communications and Engagement Team. This pivotal role requires a compassionate individual with extensive experience in media relations, crisis management, and stakeholder engagement to enhance communication strategies and effectively manage campaigns. The successful candidate will be instrumental in improving organizational communications and supporting diverse, strategic objectives.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in PR/Communications in the public sector.
• Proven track record in planning and evaluating communications campaigns.
• Membership of CIPR, CIM or PRCA is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the Trust’s operational communications and manage daily operations.
• Develop and oversee strategic communication plans for campaigns.
• Act as a trusted advisor and manage stakeholder engagement.

Skills

Crisis management

Media relations

Stakeholder engagement

Behavior change

Content creation

Social media management

Data analysis

Education

Masters level qualification in Communications

Degree level in a relevant subject

Job description

Communications Team Leader - Campaigns and Media

NHS AfC: Band 7

Job overview

The Communications and Engagement Team Leader - Campaigns and Media, is a key senior role within our Communications and Engagement Team . We are looking for someone experienced, values-driven and who brings as much compassion as they do communications skill and expertise.

The interview for this role will consist of a stakeholder panel, main interview panel and a short test.

The Communications and Engagement Team works to these strategic objectives:

• Support two-way communications with patients, families and carers.
• Support two-way communications with staff.
• Maintain mutually beneficial relationships with all other key stakeholders.
• Support charity communications

Supporting communications with patients:

• Managing patient and visitor screens.
• Managing the Trust’s website and online presence.
• Creating, reviewing and revising information aimed at patients and visitors
• Undertaking campaigns to change behaviour
• Running large events such as Open Days

Supporting communications with staff:

• Working with more than 9,000 staff and volunteers to ensure two-way communications channels are effective.
• Running specialist campaigns such as the annual flu campaign
• Training and upskilling staff to use communications, including social media

Main duties of the job

You will work with the Head of Communications to lead a professional Trust-wide communications service. This service works to establish and maintain good communications and relationships with key stakeholders including staff, patients, public, partner organisations and the media.

You will be responsible for leading on and overseeing day-to-day operational communications, supporting the strategic developments of the team’s digital communications (social media, web-based, internal comms), providing operational communications support to the trust, and developing our proactive and reactive media portfolio. You will act as a trusted advisor to colleagues, including senior leadership and the Board and make recommendations on listening to and communicating complex and sensitive information with a wide range of stakeholders.

As a skilled and qualified communications professional, you will be committed to best practice in communications and undertake CPD.

You will have specialist knowledge and be skilled in all areas of communications practice including developing relationships with stakeholders, use and development of online channels, social media and media management, storytelling using words, visuals and video, crisis and event management.

***Preference will be given to internal Trust staff, as well as ‘Priority’ and 'At Risk' status including NHS At Risk staff throughout Devon who are able to display recent relevant experience as dictated by the Person Specification.***

Working for our organisation

We are a people business – where every member of staff matters and can make a difference. Patients are at the heart of everything we do. Joining University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust means becoming part of a team of dedicated staff, who are committed to leading the way through innovation, clinical excellence and great customer care. The Trust has great opportunities for career development in a highly progressive working environment. We offer all of this in a vibrant, modern city with a historic reputation for adventure. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY. If you have any issues with applying online and need additional support including reasonable adjustments with the application process please contact the recruitment team on 01752 432100. We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants around less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. Please contact the recruiting manager to discuss this prior to your application submission. We commit to giving this full consideration in each case. We encourage people from diverse backgrounds to apply for our roles, as diversity strengthens our teams. It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Leading the Trust’s operational communications

You will be skilled in the planning and delivery of successful campaigns which drive behavioural and service change, as evaluated using frameworks such as AMEC and the Government Communications Service’s OASIS. Your responsibility will include oversight of all aspects of campaign planning, media relations, social media and internal communications. You will lead the operational communications hub, overseeing communications around the Trust’s services, including community sites and integrated care on a daily basis. You will be the lead for proactive and reactive media and social media work.

• Leading the Communications and Engagement hub on a day-to-day basis

This includes line managing staff and providing advice and support to other team members. You will be a confident and skilled people manager and competent in the areas defined by the Trust’s Manager’s Passport. You will be required to purchase new equipment and maintain stock control.

• Leading the Communications and Engagement Team work on internal and external campaigns

This includes planning and overseeing the delivery and evaluation of communication and engagement plans to support targeted campaigns focused on aspects such as wellbeing, winter, and operationally focussed work.

• Leading the Communications and Engagement Team on proactive and reactive media work

The trust receives regular complex media enquiries from local and national titles. You will be skilled at leading the response on behalf of the trust, and be adept at landscape scanning for any potential enquiries that may arise and preparing for them e.g. Inquests. You will also be able to develop proactive media plans to help promote the work of the trust and look for ways to use your contacts with media partners to tell stories.

• Using communication skills to support the organisation in delivering its strategic objectives

You will support the organisation to achieve its objectives using your skills in all areas of communications practice, including:

• developing relationships with stakeholders
• data analysis to understand audiences
• research to gain and interpret insight
• social media and media management
• the theory and practice of behaviour change
• storytelling using words, visuals and video to create great content
• crisis and event management
• using and developing online channels
• Interpersonal skills in one-to-one communications and presenting
• You will manage your own portfolio of specialist work in one or more of the above areas

As a skilled and qualified communications professional, you will be committed to best practice in communications and undertake Continuous Professional Development in the field. You will ensure your specialist field of knowledge is used to continually drive forward the Trust’s use of communications.

• You will act as a trusted advisor to senior colleagues

You will act as a trusted advisor to colleagues, including senior leadership, and make recommendations on listening to and communicating complex, sensitive and often contentious information with a wide range of stakeholders. You will provide highly specialist and highly complex advice, including crisis communications advice and guidance to all staff, in particular to Directors and senior management. In a complex, large and specialist Trust this happens on a daily basis and involves working in pressured, complex and sensitive situations. Often this involves making sense of complex information where expert opinions may differ and using judgement to influence decisions and outcomes. You will also provide guidance and support to on-call managers and on-call Executive Directors on untoward or crisis communications.

You will assist in planning and preparing for major incidents and participate in them as needed or as directed by the Head of Communications.

Person specification

Qualifications or equivalent

• Masters level qualification in Communications or a related field (such as marketing) or post graduate diploma plus relevant demonstrable experience or highly specialist proven knowledge in PR/Communications equivalent to Master’s Level.
• Educated to degree level in a relevant subject, giving rise to critical thinking capability in this area or equivalent demonstrable experience to demonstrate required knowledge and capability
• • Membership of CIPR, CIM or PRCA

Knowledge and experience

• Significant demonstrable experience in PR/Communications, including in the public sector, giving rise to a thorough and highly developed specialist knowledge of communications, public relations and marketing techniques, theory and practice
• Significant demonstrable experience of planning, implementing and evaluating successful communications campaigns and projects
• A track record in media and social management and can demonstrate innovative use of social media, including analytics across campaigns

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL COMMUNICATION WILL BE ELECTRONIC, PLEASE CHECK YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT REGULARLY INCLUDING YOUR JUNK FOLDER.

If you need support with the online application process or require reasonable adjustments with the application and/or interview process please contact the Recruiting Manager for this post.

We recognise that work life balance is important for our colleagues and so we invite requests from applicants about less than full time/flexible working for our advertised roles. We recommend contacting the manager of the role prior to applying and we commit to giving requests full consideration.

We welcome and encourage applicants who identify with all protected characteristics to apply for our roles. We believe that diversity strengthens our teams and improves our patients' experience. At UHP we aim to create an inclusive workplace and hospital where everyone feels they belong and included .

It is sometimes necessary to close vacancies before the closing date. If you have not heard from us within 4 weeks of the closing date, please assume that you have not been shortlisted.

Providing false information is an offence & could result in the application being rejected or summary dismissal/police action if an applicant is successful.

Please note that if you are successful in your application & accept the position you agree that the Staff Health and Wellbeing Department can access your health records from your current/previous employer in order to check the status of your inoculations & screening tests. This is an automated process & the information will only be used for these purposes prior to your taking up the position with us.

For Doctors Roles:

Unsolicited CVs and Candidate Profiles/Details
University Hospitals Plymouth has a commitment to sourcing candidates directly and as such we do not accept speculative CVs from agencies.

We do, however, work with a defined list of preferred HTE Framework suppliers who may be invited to support us in sourcing candidates for particular roles.

In line with our preferred supplier list, we only pay agency fees where we have a signed agreement in place and an agency has been instructed by a member of the Trust’s Medical Workforce team.

We do not pay agency fees where speculative and unsolicited CVs are submitted to the Trust or Trust employees by any other means than the official route above. Where this is not observed the Trust reserves the right to contact these candidates directly and initiate discussions without payment of any agency fee.

Any candidate details (whether written or spoken) or CVs that are referred directly will not constitute an introduction. The Trust will under no circumstances be responsible for any recruitment fees in relation to these contacts.

Submission of any unsolicited CVs, candidate’s details and/or proposals to the Trust will not be considered further and will be deemed evidence of full and unlimited acceptance of this Agency Protocol.

In order to establish and maintain good working relationships with the Trust’s agency suppliers, we ask that this Protocol is adhered to and thank you for your co-operation.

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