Director of Communications
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West London NHS Trust provides a full range of mental health, community and physical healthcare services for children, adults and older people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow.
We also provide some specialist services that are commissioned regionally, such as our medium secure services; and nationally, such as the Cassel Hospital for people with complex and severe personality disorder and our high secure services at Broadmoor Hospital.
Job overview
The Director of Communications will be responsible for the expert communications and engagement function on behalf of the organisation. The successful post holder will lead a team of committed communication, engagement, design and stakeholder professionals tasked with informing, inspiring and motivating our staff; as well as working in partnership with our stakeholders, local community and service users to share insights and improve our services.
The successful post holder will play a critical role in supporting the organisation through an exciting period for the Trust, as we look forward with an increasing emphasis on partnership working to improve the health of our local community across West London and Berkshire for Broadmoor. The successful candidate will be an experienced, strategic leader with an in-depth understanding of what it takes to develop and lead high performing communications functions. They will need to be comfortable working in fast-paced and often unpredictable environments, managing complex and evolving stakeholder relationships and be a natural collaborator, both inside and outside of the organisation.
This role is being offered as a 12-month fixed-term contract or secondment providing maternity cover.
Main duties of the job
This appointment will play a key role on closer working between the wider community and mental health collaborative to achieve a shared goal of providing the highest quality service to manage, protect and enhance the reputation of our organisation, through clear and coherent messaging and impactful communications.
We recognise the vital role that effective communication plays in enabling an organisation to enhance its reputation and celebrate its successes. A lot has been achieved in the last number of years; the Care Quality Commission has rated our wider services 'Good', with Forensic services and caring both rated as 'Outstanding'; we opened the doors to a new, state of the art Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire; and we transitioned from a mental health Trust to an integrated care Trust now known as West London NHS Trust.
Our work has received national recognition and we have laid solid foundations for the Trust's future in continuing to deliver outstanding community and mental health services. There is no denying that the challenges that staff and the wider NHS face are significant. We're working against the backdrop of large-scale societal events that have furthered health inequalities, e.g. the Covid-19 pandemic and Grenfell.
The next chapter will require agility, tenacity for innovation and clear-sighted ambition in order to improve the care and support to service users and enhance the ways in which we interact with our wider communities.
Working for our organisation
West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.
Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is £426m.
The Trust is rated as 'Good' overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'.
The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Candidate Pack provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required. Please view as attached.
The person specification below is not the full person specification, but outlines the criteria against which your application form will be assessed.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Educated to Masters level or equivalent experience
- Specialist communications qualification or equivalent experience and knowledge
- Evidence of continued professional development
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience at a senior level in communications/media in an NHS setting
- Experience of working cross organisational working or systems working
- Experience of devising and implementing effective communications and engagement strategies including social media
- Experience of leading a team
- Experience of crisis communications
Other requirements
Essential criteria
- Commitment to NHS and Trust values
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Extensive up to date knowledge of NHS policy and developments
- Knowledge and experience of managing formal public consultation on service change
- Knowledge and experience of high profile media issues management
- Understanding of complex issues relating to mental health
- Understanding of effective patient and public engagement practices
Skills
Essential criteria
- Ability to communicate and work effectively with a diverse range of people at all levels internally and externally
- Clear verbal and excellent written communication skills
- Ability to handle highly sensitive and complex information
- Ability to build personal credibility
- Ability to think laterally and creatively
- Negotiating/influencing skills
- Political astuteness
- Highly developed organisational skills
As an employee of West London NHS Trust, you have a responsibility to maintain a sound understanding of, and a commitment to uphold the National Health Service values and principles set out in the NHS Constitution.
We reserve the right to close adverts prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications.
By applying for this post you are agreeing to West London NHS Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, you will be required to undergo a pre-employment checks which can take between 4-8 weeks . After which your information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system (ESR ).
Please ensure you include email addresses for your referees which MUST be at supervisory or managerial capacity covering the last 3 years of employment to date to avoid delay in the recruitment process.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
West London NHS Trust is committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
- Candidate Pack (PDF, 835.7KB)