The Communications and Engagement Manager plays a key role in delivering high-quality, professional and responsive communications and engagement activity for Whittington Health to support the Trust’s ambitions. The post-holder leads on and supports a range of internal and external communications projects and campaigns, providing expert advice and support, shaping and delivering strategic communications and engagement activity and ensuring that all the materials the team produces is of a high standard.
The post holder will work in a dynamic and fast paced environment, enjoying working at the heart of a busy NHS organisation, where no two days are the same. The role features the opportunity to make a real impact by helping to protect and enhance the Trust's reputation while communicating and engaging with patients, local communities, and colleagues across the Trust and wider health and care system.
The Communications and Engagement Manager is a key member of the Communications and Engagement Team. They will support a number of significant programmes, depending on the needs of the Team and the Trust, which may include the procurement of an electronic patient record, potential expansion of a Community Diagnostic Centre, a systemwide transformation of maternity and neonatal services, plus the rollout of a new clinical strategy and the Trust’s ambitions as a leader in Neighbourhood Working.
The post holder will own the planning delivery and evaluation of individual projects across a diverse brief.
Delivery of projects and campaigns will include the design, creation and publication of a wide range of materials to execute them. This includes social and digital resources, physical assets, engagement materials and other tactical products such as proactive media releases and reactive statements.
Managed by the Head of Communications and Engagement, the post holder will support the day-to-day running of the team, ensuring the delivery of regular communications activities, including populating and critically examining the planning grid, creating and/or supervising internal and external newsletters, webinars and town halls.
They will lead or support on identifying and delivering engagement in the communities we serve, placing listening and involvement at the heart of developing our plans.
The post-holder will regularly generate proactive media opportunities, and will develop plans to ensure that generated media opportunities support the strategic ambitions of the Trust, ensure our vision, values and other key messages are clearly articulated.
The communications team may flex over time depending on organisational need, but at the point of recruitment the post holder will line-manage two Communications and Engagement Officers, ensuring that they are supported to thrive in their role, and that their work is timely and of high quality.
The Communications and Engagement Team operates in a demanding and busy environment. The team has a wide range of stakeholders including 5,000 staff and the 500,000 people the Trust cares for and supports at our hospital site and across the community. The team also builds and maintains positive relationships with regional and national health and care organisations and commissioners, local authorities, councillors and MPs, other local partner organisations, and local, regional and national media.
The Team plays a key role in managing and enhancing the reputation of the organisation. It leads and/or contributes towards campaigns, media management, communications with staff and external stakeholders, community engagement, corporate publications, patient information, service changes and major incidents.
The members of the Communications and Engagement Team also exemplars of the best of the Trust’s culture, living the organisation’s ICARE values, underpinning all their work with Equity.
The team works innovatively, and team members are encouraged to keep building their knowledge within their roles and stay abreast of the leading edge of communications practice.
The team is small and collaborative, and team members step in to support one another when necessary as priorities and capacities shift in the context of constant change across the NHS.
Please see the Job Description and Person Specification for more information, or call Mike Smith for a chat about the role.
