Head of External Communications

at  Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust

CLOSING

02/04/2023 23:59
Job overview
Thank you for your interest in joining Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).
As Head of External Communications for one of the biggest and busiest NHS Trusts in the country, you will develop NUH’s strategy for communicating and engaging with our external audiences, including our patients, the public, the media, our partners and stakeholders.
This new role provides an opportunity to make a real difference to the people we serve and deliver on the ambitions set out in the recently published People First strategy - our new plan for improvements across NUH.
Key to this improvement is our commitment to work openly and transparently with our stakeholders and the media, particularly our local media. Through them we can better engage and communicate with our patients and communities.
Main duties of the job
You will lead the newly-established external communications function and help build trust and confidence in the services we provide through the development of proactive and open media, stakeholder and community engagement.
An essential part of the role is to lead, mentor, manage and inspire the external communications team to ensure that people know what their NHS is trying to achieve and how we’re doing it and to help people believe in what we’re doing and to bring them with us.
NHS experience is not essential – what matters most is your commitment to improvement and your desire to deliver a quality external communications service.
Working for our organisation
Our teams at NUH make a difference every day and we are proud to play a central role in supporting the health and wellbeing of people in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and our surrounding communities.
We provide a range of national and internationally renowned specialist services and we are at the forefront of new surgical procedures and research programmes. We are home to the East Midlands Major Trauma Centre, Nottingham Children’s Hospital and in partnership with the University of Nottingham we host a Biomedical Research Centre carrying out vital research into hearing, digestive diseases, respiratory, musculoskeletal disease, mental health and imaging.
We offer flexible working and will agree a way of working that supports you and NUH. You will be based at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham and will work across all Trust and external sites as needed. You will be part of the out-of-hours on-call rota for the communications team, for which there is an additional payment.
If you would like to find out more about the role or arrange a conversation, please contact me directly at jack.adlam@nuh.nhs.uk or call 07812 277 415.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see the job description and personal specification for full details about the responsibilities for this role.
Person specification
Training and qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to a Masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.
• Evidence of continuing professional development

Desirable criteria

• Evidence of leadership development

Experience

Essential criteria

• Specialist knowledge and experience of external communications and considerable experience of leading communications at a senior level.
• Experience of working with the media and external stakeholders.
• Evidence of successful communication strategy, development and implementation.
• Experience of dealing with senior executives; providing counsel and where appropriate, training.
• Experience of managing and motivating staff and teams.

Desirable criteria

• Understanding of the public sector and awareness of the relevant social and political environments and impact on the health economy.

Bring your whole self to work for us at NUH. We love diversity and we value your difference, your unique skills, knowledge and experience. Becoming one of our people may realise your potential, helping us to raise our performance in delivering world class healthcare to the diverse patient populations we serve.
We particularly welcome applications from people who identify as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, or Disabled, as we are currently under-represented at NUH.
Covid-19 vaccination: remains the best way to protect yourself, family, colleagues and our patients/service users from the Covid-19 virus. We continue to encourage our current and potential colleagues to get vaccinated. For helpful advice and information about the Covid-19 vaccination and how to access visit: https://nottsccg.nhs.uk/covid-19/covid-19-vaccinations/
Closing Dates: Please submit your application form as soon as possible to avoid disappointment; we reserve the right to close vacancies prior to the published closing date if we receive a sufficient number of completed application forms.
Communication: All communication related to your application will be via the email address you have provided. Please ensure you check your email account including your junk email regularly.
Easy read application: if you have a disability and find it difficult to complete our online application form, you can apply via our easy read application which you can find on the intranet https://www.nuh.nhs.uk/easy-read-job-application
Salary: The quoted salary will be on a pro rata basis for part time workers.
Disability Confidence: All applicants who have declared a disability and who meet the essential criteria for the post will be shortlisted.
At Risk of redundancy: NHS employees within the East Midlands who are ‘at risk’ of redundancy will be given a preferential interview where they meet the essential criteria of the person specification.
Skilled Workers Visa: We welcome applications from individuals who require a skilled worker visa in line with the Home Office regulations. NON-UK/NON SETTLED candidates may not be appointed, if a suitably qualified and skilled UK/SETTLED candidate is successful at interview stage as it is unlikely that the Trust is able to satisfy the Home Office Visa requirements
ID and Right to work checks: NUH authenticate all ID and right to work documentation such as passports, visa’s and driving license through a system called Trust ID. NUH will scan your ID and right to work documentation in to the Trust ID system at your face to face ID appointment. The system will run a check against the key security features within your documentation. The system will provide us with an outcome of your check which will be stored securely on your personal file along with all other pre-employment check documentation.

Consent:

• Transfer of information: If I have previous NHS service - I consent to the transfer of my Electronic Staff Record (ESR) data between this and other NHS Trusts. I also consent to the Occupational Health Department confidentially accessing my occupational health records from my current or previous employer in order to check the status of my vaccinations, immunisations s and screening tests as relevant to the post. I understand this is an automated process and the information will only be used for these purposes prior to me taking up the position at NUH.
• Disclosure and Barring Service: Your post maybe subject to a DBS check which incur a cost dependent on the level of check required (£41.90 for enhanced and £21.90 for standard). I agree to reimburse Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust the cost of a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check if it is required (by deduction from first month’s pay). Should I decide to withdraw from my job offer, I agree to reimburse Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust the cost of the DBS check undertaken by cheque or other agreed method.

Please refer the Job description for details