Head of Media (Deputy Director of Communications)

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King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK's largest and busiest teaching Trusts with a turnover of c£1.8 billion, 1.5 million patient contacts a year and more than 15,000 staff based across 5 main sites in South East London. The Trust provides a full range of local hospital services across its different sites, and specialist services from King's College Hospital (KCH) sites at Denmark Hill in Camberwell and at the Princess Royal University Hospital (PRUH) site in the London Borough of Bromley.

We encourage all our staff to have a healthy work/life balance. In doing so, you can apply for flexible working from the beginning of your employment. We offer a range of options which are designed to suit different circumstances and priorities in line with service requirements.

flexible-working

Job overview

The Head of Media (Deputy Director of Communications) role is a senior management position, with responsibility for media relations and the Trust's social media accounts.

The post-holder will work closely with the Director of Communications to help implement the Trust's communications strategy. They will also deputise for the Director of Communications where appropriate.

They will be the organisational lead and specialist responsible for media relations and social media. They will also be responsible for developing and delivering large, long-term media projects of strategic and reputational importance to the Trust, such as major television documentary series.

The post-holder will also ensure that all media coverage about the Trust is monitored, and evaluated to inform future media planning. The Head of Media will also work closely with the hospital's research and development team to maximise publicity opportunities in areas of research and innovation across the organisation.

Main duties of the job

• Leading the Trust's proactive and reactive media relations function, and social media presence
• Reputation management and crisis handling
• VIP visits
• Comms emergency planning lead
• Out-of-hours duty rota (paid)
• Deputising for the Director of Communications
• Line management

Working for our organisation

The Trust provides a full range of local and specialist services across its five sites. The trust-wide strategy of Strong Roots, Global Reach is our Vision to be BOLD, Brilliant people, Outstanding care, Leaders in Research, Innovation and Education, Diversity, Equality and Inclusion at the heart of everything we do. By being person-centred, digitally-enabled, and focused on sustainability, we aim to take Team King's to another level.

We are at a pivotal point in our history and we require individuals who are ready to join a highly professional team and make a real, lasting difference to our patients and our people.

King's is committed to delivering Sustainable Healthcare for All via our Green Plan. In line with national Greener NHS ambitions, we have set net zero carbon targets of 2040 for our NHS Carbon Footprint and 2045 for our NHS Carbon Footprint Plus. Everyone's contribution is required in order to meet the goals set out in our Green Plan and we encourage all staff to work responsibly, minimising their contributions to the Trust's carbon emissions, waste and pollution wherever possible.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Deputising for the Director of Communications in their absence or as delegated

• Developing and implementing the Trust's media and social media strategy, acting as the organisational lead and specialist responsible for media relations and social media and extending the reach of the Trust's work to wider audiences
• Managing the Trust's reputation both proactively and reactively, as well as playing a leadership role in major incidents
• Providing strategic and professional communications advice to the Executive Team

• Overseeing event management, including VIP visits
• Management and development of the Media Team
• Maintaining and enhancing key relationships across the Trust, and with external partners
• Responsibility for day to day running of the Media Team
• Develop and deliver creative and effective communications strategies, based on audience insight
• Be a senior member of the Communications Team, supporting the leadership and strategies of the team to project and enhance the Trust's brand, profile, and position
• Devise and champion a co-ordinated approach to communications across the Trust, positively raising awareness of, and managing, the Trust's brand and reputation across diverse channels and materials
• Provide direction and leadership to build professional, skilled, and supported teams, both in the immediate and wider team
• Have oversight of the workflow of your direct reports, determining priorities, ensuring continual professional development and effective team working
• Serve on Trust committees and working groups where relevant to manage the interface between communications and other areas of the Trust
• Represent the Trust at meetings of organisations and bodies of which it is an active member
• Undertake presentations at meetings, conferences, and other public events to promote the interests of the Trust in communications
• Undertake any other task that may reasonably be required to fulfil the primary purpose of the role.

Person specification

Education and Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Graduate or significant hands-on experience in media relations, with a strong track record of managing proactive and reactive media activity.

Knowledge and Experience

Essential criteria

• Extensive experience in a PR/communications environment in a large, complex organisation, some of which must be at senior level
• Senior level experience of reputation and crisis management
• Track record of developing and implementing effective communications strategies including digital integration and media planning
• Proven experience of ability to brief, advice and influence senior leaders on media issues
• Track record of running high profile, results driven media campaigns

Desirable criteria

• Experience of DVD/video production
• Experience of exploiting the web as a communications tool

Skills and Competencies

Essential criteria

• Ability to work with complex medical information and present it in easily understood language for all audiences
• Ability to form effective and credible relationships with all levels of staff including senior clinicians and Executive team
• Excellent understanding of media environment and political sensitivities
• Ability to grasp complex issues, including in a healthcare context
• Leadership and performance management: ability to direct, develop and delegate
• Ability to think strategically, make decisions and lead the implementation of strategy

IMPORTANT

• Check your email account regularly as this is how we will communicate with you
• If you delete the job from any of your accounts, you may be prevented from accessing further communications
• To enquire about your application or inform us of any changes in your circumstances, please contact the named person on this advert
• Please provide email addresses for referees where possible
• Click here to see the range of benefits we offer
• Please review the documentation on our recruitment microsite, particularly the Trust's criminal records checking policy
• All staff have a responsibility for safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and for ensuring they are aware of the specific duties relating to their role.
• Please note that the closing date is given as a guide. On occasion, we might close a vacancy early due to a high number of applications being received. You are advised to submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.

King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust Annual Reports and Other Corporate Publications

King's Health Partners Academic Health Science Centre Website

King's College Hospital is part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC), a pioneering collaboration between King's College London, and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts.

Employer certification / accreditation badges

Documents to download

• Head of Media (Deputy Director of Communications) JD (PDF, 384.4KB)
• Head of Media (Deputy Director of Communications) PS (PDF, 208.4KB)
• Denmark Hill Site Map (PDF, 1.2MB)
• Princess Royal (PRUH) Site map (PDF, 1.4MB)
• Visa and Sponsorship Information (PDF, 344.6KB)