Senior Communications and Engagement Officer

at  North Bristol NHS Trust

We are looking for an effective communicator to join our fast-paced communications team supporting our large acute NHS trust.
If you have experience of media handling, excellent writing skills and the creativity to develop versatile, quality content for a wide range of channels and platforms inside and outside our organisation, we want to hear from you.
We are looking for someone who is adept at working with key stakeholders and senior colleagues on proactive projects, emerging issues and spreading the word about the fantastic work of our teams.
You will be responsible for producing a broad range of communications to the highest standard, using expertise and experience to identify the right channels and styles for specific audiences.
The postholder will play a crucial role in generating content – both written and digital - for staff and the public including via the media, the Trust’s website, intranet and social media platforms, s upporting the day-to-day operations of the Trust’s digital platforms, including the use of content management systems
You will develop communications and engagement plans for specific projects/ campaigns, managing their effective implementation and support the delivery of effective media relations with print, broadcast, trade and online.
This role involves maintaining excellent contact and relationships with colleagues across the Trust to initiate and respond to communications needs.
You will also be involved in supporting the development, implementation and evaluation of communications and stakeholder engagement strategies and projects.
North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) is a centre of excellence for healthcare in the South West in a number of fields and is also one of the largest hospital trusts in the UK.
Our annual turnover is around £950 million, and we employ over 13,000 staff, delivering healthcare at a number of sites including Southmead Hospital, Cossham Hospital, Bristol Centre for Enablement, and in the community at locations across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.
We provide a range of services to a core population of around 750,000 people, from neonatal intensive care to care of the elderly, as well as a number of specialist services including Major Trauma, Neurosciences, Burns, Plastics, Stroke and Thrombectomy, Nephrology, Immunology, Infectious Diseases/HIV, Transplant and Obstetric Medicine for the wider South West and beyond.
We are also a major research centre and teaching trust, having close links to the Universities of Bristol, Bath, and the West of England.
As a key member of the Trust’s communications team the post holder will be responsible for maintaining and improving communication channels with Trust staff, patients, the wider public and stakeholders.
The post holder/s will possess excellent media handling and writing skills and have experience of liaising with journalists and drafting versatile, quality content for a wide range of channels and platforms – internally and externally - including social media, the web and print media.

• Helping to build and enhance the communications team’s reputation as a high performing, responsive team that offers expert advice and is able to deliver
• Producing a broad range of communications to the highest standard; using expertise and experience to identify the right channels and styles for specific audiences
• Play a crucial role in generating content – both written and digital - for staff and public including via the media, the Trust’s website, intranet and social media platforms.
• Support the day to day operations of the Trust’s digital platforms (i.e. website) including the use of content management systems
• Providing expert communications and engagement advice and practical support to staff across the Trust
• Developing communications and engagement plans for specific projects/campaigns and managing their effective implementation
• Support the delivery of effective media relations – print, broadcast, trade and online
• Support the delivery of the Trust’s internal communications – both routine and as part of projects
• Maintaining excellent contacts and relationships with colleagues across the Trust to initiate and respond to communications support needs
• Deliver successful event management – in person, online and hybrid formats – for both communications and engagement
• Drafting press releases, statements, features and creating digital content by seeking opportunities and interviewing staff, arranging and /or taking images, videos and recordings to support news stories and other publications
• Develop and produce content for the Trust’s communications – both internal and external, including written, digital, social media and audio visual content. This includes seeking out story ideas, concepts, interviews and full content creation
• Interpreting specialist clinical information into easy-to-understand messages for staff, patients and the public
• Assist the development, implementation and evaluation of communications and stakeholder engagement strategies and projects to support the Trust’s corporate objectives
• Help maximise use of the Trust’s digital communications both internally and externally. Including the intranet, digital signage, social media and web tools (i.e. ChatBot)
• Ensure all communications and engagement work is inclusive, putting specific arrangements in place to engage with those groups and/or individuals that are harder to reach
• To be an effective member of the communications team, contributing to the overall delivery and improvement of the service and supporting other team members.