Head of Communications

at  Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust

Reporting directly to the Director of Corporate Affairs, the Head of Communications will be the Trust’s professional communications lead accountable for all aspects of internal and external communications and contribute to managing the profile and reputation of the Trust.
The post holder will lead on providing advice and management of all aspects of communications to build and maintain a positive reputation with colleagues, key stakeholders, patients, partners and the public. This will include responsibility for internal colleague communications and external communications with partner organisations, local, regional and national stakeholders.
The role will require close liaison with the Trust’s Foundations for our future Programme to support the development and delivery of a communications and engagement strategy and associated plans relating to the significant programme underway across the Trust.
Ensuring colleagues, Trust members and partner stakeholders are kept informed of key strategic issues related to the Trust
Developing constructive relationships with the public and media.
Leading and developing communications across the trust and with its partners on the significant transformation and reconfiguration plans
Representing the trust in sensitive and political situations, delivering difficult messages where required to high-level audiences.

Coordinating communications activities in support of key projects and supporting colleagues to manage the strategic public relation impacts of decisions.

• Developing and delivering communications plans to support strategic objectives.

Management of the delegated communications budget and supervision / line management of a colleagues within the communications team.

• Providing expert advice, guidance and support to members of staff in any dealings they have with the media and to ensure senior members of staff have appropriate support and training.
• Leading and advising on reputation management, working with communications teams across partners and regulators to align communication messages.

We employ more than 6,500 staff who deliver compassionate care from our two main hospitals, Calderdale Royal Hospital and Huddersfield Royal Infirmary as well as in community sites, health centres and in patients’ homes. We also are incredibly proud to have almost 150 volunteers here at CHFT.
We provide a range of services including urgent and emergency care; medical; surgical; maternity; gynaecology; critical care; children’s and young people’s services; end of life care and outpatient and diagnostic imaging services.
We provide community health services, including sexual health services in Calderdale from Calderdale Royal and local health centres. These include Todmorden Health Centre and Broad Street Plaza.
We continue to modernise and invest in our health services to build on our strong reputation. Foundation trusts are public leaders in improving quality in health services. They are part of the NHS – yet decisions about what they do and how they do it are driven by independent boards. Boards listen to their Council of Governors and respond to the needs of their members – patients, staff and the local community.
Foundation trusts provide what the health service wants, yet are also free to invest quickly in the changes to the local community needs, in striving to be the best, and in putting their patients first.
The post holder will be responsible for managing the work of the Trust’s communications function and service offer and this includes line management and budget responsibility for communications support staff.

• Ensuring colleagues, Trust members and partner stakeholders are kept informed of key strategic issues related to the Trust.
• Creating ongoing opportunities for people to contribute ideas and share good practice through a range of communication channels.
• Developing constructive relationships with the public and media.
• Leading and developing communications across the trust and with its partners on the significant transformation and reconfiguration plans
• Representing the trust in sensitive and political situations, delivering difficult messages where required to high-level audiences.
• Handling highly complex, sensitive, and contentious information, including presenting information about projects and dependencies to a wide range of internal and external stakeholders in formal settings (for example this could relate to service and reconfiguration plans, patient complaints, coroner inquests, crisis management scenarios etc )
• Coordinating communications activities in support of key projects and supporting colleagues to manage the strategic public relation impacts of decisions.
• Developing and delivering communications plans to support strategic objectives.
• Management of the delegated communications budget and supervision / line management of a colleagues within the communications team.
• Providing expert advice, guidance and support to members of staff in any dealings they have with the media and to ensure senior members of staff have appropriate support and training.
• Leading and advising on reputation management, working with communications teams across partners and regulators to align communication messages.
• Undertaking research to prepare and agree reactive and proactive media statements, identifying media spokespeople and collate and analyse media coverage.
• Lead the development of and manage the content for all communication channels as well as specific projects.
• Identify proactive media opportunities, patient stories and experience to ensure the trust’s aims are heard, understood and relevant .
• Lead development of the trust’s website, intranet and increased use of social media to positively promote reputation, including analysis and reporting mechanisms.
• Provide oversight of communications materials produced by ensuring outputs support strategic priorities, appropriate brand application and reputation management.