Head of Communications and Engagement

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust; Oxford; On-site; GBP 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

A healthcare organization in Oxford is seeking a Head of Communications and Engagement. This role involves leading a talented team to foster staff engagement and public confidence. The ideal candidate will have extensive leadership experience and a thorough understanding of NHS communication needs. We offer competitive benefits including flexible working, career progression, and professional development opportunities.

Benefits

Excellent opportunities for career progression

27 days annual leave plus bank holidays

NHS Discount across various retailers

Competitive pension scheme

Cycle to work scheme

Employee Assistance Programme

Qualifications

• Extensive experience in a leadership role.
• In-depth understanding of communication strategies.
• Ability to collaborate with diverse teams and stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Lead a dynamic communications function.
• Oversee staff engagement strategies including surveys.
• Develop communication plans to enhance public involvement.

Skills

Leadership skills

Strategic communication

Team management

Public relations

Staff engagement

Education

Experience in NHS or similar healthcare organizations

Management qualification

Job description

You'll set the direction for a dynamic communications function, strengthening our reputation and bringing our vision to life. Leading a talented team, you'll ensure our people feel informed, involved, and motivated, while also driving public confidence in our services.

From internal staff engagement to media relations, you'll bring creativity, insight, and authority to every aspect of communications. You'll be key in driving internal strategies that promote staff engagement, including overseeing staff surveys and pulse surveys, ensuring high participation and access for all Trust staff.

Internal Communications and Engagement

• Lead and deliver strategies to build an informed, motivated workforce.
• Oversee staff surveys, driving response rates and ensuring all staff can participate.
• Provide strategic advice to support Trust objectives by developing opportunities for feedback, involvement, and contribution to decision-making, including senior leadership events, listening sessions, staff networks, and inclusion activities.
• Promote staff engagement with surveys, ensuring all Trust staff have access and opportunity for participation, driving up response rate.

Engagement and Media Relations

• Lead communication strategies for patients, service users, and carers, working with the Experience and Involvement team to enhance engagement and healthcare experiences.
• Develop and implement communications and engagement plans to support the Trust's vision and priorities, strengthening public and membership involvement.
• Create key messages to promote a positive Trust image while managing adverse publicity across all channels.
• Oversee the development and maintenance of media relations, events, corporate identity, and web-based communications procedures, ensuring consistency and quality.

We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the supporting statement element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.

The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.

All new starters have a thorough induction process, both local and Trust wide, which aims to create a positive supportive working environment allowing new employees to learn key elements of their role over a reasonable timescale.

Appointment to this post is subject to the trust receiving satisfactory references covering 3 years of employment or study. Please ask your referees to respond promptly to reference requests.

We're advocates of flexible working and many of our roles offer a range of employment options to help you balance your work and personal life.

Employees are expected to undertake mandatory and statutory training related to their role.

We are ambitious in our pursuit of excellence, driven by the belief that a fair, just and fully inclusive organisational culture enables our teams to deliver the best quality of care and services possible and we work hard to ensure that our diverse workforce reflects the communities that we serve.

We welcome applications from all sections of the community, are an Equal Opportunities employer with a number of internal networking groups to support our employees and where possible will always look to make reasonable adjustments in order that you can fulfil the role to recognise your full potential.

All our employees are committed to demonstrating through their behaviour our core values - safe, caring and excellent.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Oxford is a world-renowned centre of excellence for research. Oxford Health works closely with the University of Oxford department of Psychiatry and the Department of Primary care, has a Biomedical Research Centre dedicated to improving mental health and the NIHR Clinical Research Facility at the Warneford site.

We're looking for an experienced, visionary leader with a solid understanding of the NHS landscape, exceptional leadership skills, and the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment. If you're passionate about making a real difference for staff, patients, and communities, we'd love to hear from you.

Are you ready to lead the voice of Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust? We are seeking an exceptional Head of Communications and Engagement to shape and deliver a modern, strategic approach to how we connect with staff, patients, partners, and the public.

Band 8c Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We are a responsive and innovative Foundation Trust that places our values of Caring, Safe and Excellent at the heart of everything we do.

We take great pride in our staff and believe that investing in you is key to us achieving our vision of outstanding care delivered by outstanding people.

We work with a wide range of partner organisations to deliver care and support to people in their own homes and from a number of hospitals and community bases.

We focus on delivering care as close to home as possible for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset.

We actively support anti-racism, equality, diversity, and inclusion so, if you're excited about this job opportunity and you meet our Trust values, but feel unsure about applying, then please get in touch and we will be happy to have a conversation with you.

Benefits

• Excellent opportunities for career progression
• Access to tailored individual and Trust wide learning and development
• 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
• NHS Discount across a wide range of shops, restaurants and retailers
• Competitive pension scheme
• Lease car scheme
• Cycle to work scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Mental Health First Aiders
• Staff accommodation (please note waiting lists apply)
• Staff networking and support groups hosted by our Equality, Diversity & Inclusion team