Director of Communications and Engagement

Manchester Royal Eye Hospital; Manchester; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job description

VSM: Leadership-Gp7

Main area Communication and Engagement Grade VSM: Leadership-Gp7 Contract Permanent Hours Full time - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 349-COR-7149860*

Site Cobbett House, Trust Headquarters Town Manchester Salary Attractive Remuneration Package Closing 14/05/2025 23:59

Job Overview

Discover Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) as we seek a visionary and inspirational Director of Communications & Engagement. This role will be instrumental in leading on communications and stakeholder engagement to support the delivery of our Trust strategy which provides the clarity we need for ourselves, our communities, and our partners about what we are trying to achieve and where we will focus our efforts over the next five years.

This is a pivotal role, providing strategic leadership, professional advice, and expertise whilst crafting, executing, and managing comprehensive communication strategies and robust stakeholder engagement, both internally and externally. In short, you will be a senior communications and engagement expert, adept at storytelling, and highly capable of building and maintaining strong relationships. What is more, you will be broadly developed in implementing effective communications and engagement strategies, including social media and be sound in crisis communications. Reporting to the Chief Strategy Officer, you will have a proven track record as an inventive, driven, and compassionate leader, with the ability to elevate our practices to unprecedented levels of excellence, innovation, and impact.

This is a rare and unique opportunity to lead our story, showcasing how we are delivering outstanding care for the people of Manchester and beyond, while working in one of the most complex and vibrant NHS Foundation Trusts in the country.

Main duties of the job

• Acting as the key advisor to the Trust Leadership Team and the Board of Directors, you will be savvy to the economic, political, and environmental landscape and use this to provide professional advice to inform key reputational decisions.
• Thinking laterally and creatively, you will develop, implement, and manage comprehensive communication strategies that align with our strategic objectives, values, and vision, ensuring inclusive, accessible, and compelling messaging to patients, the public, external bodies, and our staff.
• You will build and nurture strong, positive relationships with key stakeholders across the national and local health and care system, and with media outlets, politicians, community leaders, and key opinion leaders to maximise positive coverage to promote public confidence in MFT.
• Aligning with Chief People Officer, you will develop and implement internal communications and staff engagement strategies, delivering consistent messaging to achieve buy-in to key programmes and enhance staff engagement.
• Developing and implementing a robust evidence-based approach, you will monitor and analyse communication metrics and campaign effectiveness, using data-driven insights to refine strategies and tactics for optimal results, sharing feedback and successes.
• Finally, with a commitment to fostering a culture of transparency and collaboration, you will work with the Clinical Groups and teams across the Trust to ensure cohesive and integrated communications.
  
  

Working for our organisation

MFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England with a turnover of £2.8bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 30,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you’ll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.

We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.

We’re proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What’s more, we’re excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

On this page you will find a Role Profile which provides information about MFT and full details of the role. We recommend that you review this and refer to it as you complete your application. In order to apply, please submit a comprehensive CV along with a covering letter which sets out your interest in the role and encapsulates the aspects of your experience relevant to the required criteria.

Person specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Specialist communications qualification or equivalent experience and knowledge.
• Evidence of continued professional development
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent experience.
  
  

Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience at advising the Board in communications/media, preferably in an NHS, healthcare or related setting.
• Experience of devising and implementing effective communications and engagement strategies including social media.
• Experience of leading a team.
• Experience of crisis communications.
• Experience at a senior level of leading engagement, preferably within an NHS, healthcare or related setting.
• Experience of developing and promoting an organisation’s brand.
• Experience of working across organisations and systems working.
  
  

Desirable criteria

• Board level experience.
  
  

Skills, Ability and Knowledge

Essential criteria

• Deep understanding of the NHS landscape, policy and developments or a demonstrable ability to learn.
• Knowledge and experience of managing formal public consultation on service change.
• Knowledge and experience of high-profile media issues management.
• Clear verbal and excellent written communication skills.
• Ability to communicate and work effectively with a diverse range of people at all levels internally and externally.
• Ability to think laterally and creatively.
• Negotiating/influencing skills.
• Political astuteness.
• Highly developed organisational skills.
• Ability to handle highly sensitive and complex information IT and digital literacy and competency.
• Ability to build personal credibility.
• Ability to work under pressure and manage a varied and often challenging workload.
• Confident and positive approach to work.
• Understanding of effective patient, or similar, and public engagement practices.
  
  

Personal Attributes

Essential criteria

• Commitment to NHS and the Trust’s values
• Ability to travel as required
  
  

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Applicant requirements

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• Job Description and Person Specification (PDF, 292.9KB)
• Functional Requirements (PDF, 920.2KB)
  
  

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name Sarah Wright Job title Researcher, Healthcare at the MBS Group Email address [e-mail]