Communications Officer - Sussex

You will be responsible for delivering day to day communication requirements both internally and externally.
The role includes creating, implementing, and evaluating communication plans as well as being responsible for routine media enquiries, composing written and creating digital content material across all Trust communications channels and mechanisms, as well as supporting the delivery of internal and external campaigns and other major communications projects.
The role will also be aligned to work closely with the operational teams in either Surrey or Sussex to support and improve local communication, as well as identifying positive local opportunities for wider sharing.
The post holder will be responsible for:
+ · Supporting the delivery of the Trust's Communications & Engagement Strategy
+ · Developing, managing and delivering effective internal and external communications through the Trust's various communication channels
+ · Supporting local management teams in their area, to improve local communications and identifying local opportunities to positively enhance the Trust's reputation
+ · Representing the Trust's Communications Team in providing credible communication expertise at external and internal meetings as well liaising directly with patients and service users for the purpose of promoting the work of the Trust. Therefore, the postholder will need to be willing to travel to other locations and have a full driving licence., Following the revision of current national legislation (Vaccine as a Condition of Deployment), the Trust has reviewed our requirements relating to staff uptake of the SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) vaccination.
Going forward, for patient facing positions, we strongly recommend that new starters will be appropriately vaccinated unless medically exempt in order to offer greater protection against exposure to the virus for front line staff.
In line with this recommendation, if you are successful in your application for a front line post, we will seek information from you in relation to your vaccine status, including exemption status, as applicable.
Please note, all positions come with a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check relevant to the post. This will either be a basic, standard, or enhanced check depending on the role. The level of check will be outlined in the conditional offer letter sent to successful applicants.
As part of the application process, you will be asked to declare any unspent/unfiltered convictions. If you are shortlisted you will then be sent a self declaration form, which must be completed prior to attending interview. for any queries relating to declarations, please contact the Recruitment Advisor listed on the vacancy.
The Trust is passionately committed to being an inclusive employer - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. As an employer we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement networks, facilities and services to support staff from different backgrounds.
We actively support equality of opportunity for all our staff and welcome applications from individuals regardless of age, any disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief. The Trust is making progress towards its aim of becoming more reflective of the diversity of our community in our workforce and guarantees an interview to candidates with disability who meet the essential criteria specified. We particularly encourage applications from Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic and disabled applicants and those from other under-represented groups.
The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people - including those with long term health conditions, learning disabilities and hidden disabilities such as dyslexia. If you tell us that you have a disability we can make reasonable adjustments to ensure that any selection processes - including the interview - are fair and equitable.
We are a committed to offering opportunities to individuals with disabilities and offer on-going support, should you be successful, with any adjustments you may need when performing your role.
When completing the application please use your name as it appears on your passport and please ensure you include email addresses and contact numbers for your referees to avoid delay in the recruitment process.
Please note that under our Trust policies, we're unable to employ anyone under the age of 18 years old.
The majority of our roles will include some travel between sites for business purposes. If the vacancy you're applying for includes work related travel, you will be required to ensure that you hold and have covered the cost of suitable car insurance to support this.
Should you require an application form in an alternative format including large print or braille, please contact [email protected] stating the vacancy reference number and we will be happy to provide this.
When completing the reference section, please include details to cover the last three years' history.
Due to the high volume of applications at SECAmb, we regret that we will only be able to contact those applicants who are shortlisted for interview. If you have not heard from us within 10 working days of the closing date, then please assume you have not been shortlisted for interview on this particular occasion.
Please note that we contact all applicants via Trac Jobs and would advise you check your Trac Jobs account regularly.
Please be aware that the Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient applications are received. For this reason we recommend completing your application as early as possible.
If you are a current SECAmb employee and applying for a substantive position, if successful you will move to the terms and conditions associated with the post. Any unsocial hours payments will be paid under the Section 2 agreement of agenda for change. If you are currently paid under Annex 5 and this post is the same banding as your current role, you can request to remain on Annex 5, or move to Section 2.
Section 2 unsocial hours will automatically be paid via your monthly timesheet. More information regarding section 2 can be found in the Agenda for Change handbook and on the our dedicated Section 2 page on The Zone .
If you are a current SECAmb employee and applying for a Secondment/Acting Up position, this would not be classed as a permanent change to your terms and conditions so if your application is successful, your current unsocial hours arrangements will not change for the duration of the secondment/acting up period.
Follow our recruitment on Twitter @SECAmbRecruit and check out our Facebook page - SECAmb NHS Recruitment. You can also find us on Linkedin under South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

As a communications officer you will be an enthusiastic communicator, with a nose for a good story, passion for great content, flair for making connections and solid experience of proactive and reactive media management.
You will provide credible communications advice and influence across the organisation and to a senior level of the Trust when managing complex and challenging issues and to tight deadlines.
Keen to learn and develop new ways of communicating, you will need to be willing to get creative in developing social media posts using graphic design and videos to deliver our messages., + · A relevant degree and/or latest 18 months previous experience in a relevant field as such journalism or public relations
+ · Good news sense to be able to develop positive news about our Trust
+ · Sound understanding of graphic design and video editing tools such as Canva or Adobe Creative Suite or Final Cut Pro
+ · Good basic photography skills
+ · Full driving licence
Please note that the salary range noted on the vacancy is in line with agenda for change (AFC) pay scales. All successful applicants would be placed automatically at the bottom of the banding, unless proven, relevant NHS or equivalent experience can be demonstrated.

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) has a vision to 'support our staff to provide a caring, high quality and efficient urgent and emergency care service to our communities'. We are rated 'Good' for care by the Care Quality Commission and while the other areas under their most recent report require improvement, our aim is to continually improve and to reach outstanding across all areas of the Trust.
Our 4,000+ workforce provide services to 4.9m people across Kent, Surrey, Sussex and North East Hampshire. We handle over 1 million calls to 999 and 1 million calls to NHS 111 every year. More information regarding our services and locations can be found on our website.

+ NHS employees will be eligible to join the NHS Pension Scheme
+ A minimum 27 days' holiday each year, increasing with service.
+ Personal and professional development and training opportunities.
+ Salary Sacrifice schemes for cars or push bikes.
+ Access to our award-winning Wellbeing services
+ Access to occupational health and counselling services.
+ Access to NHS discounts, offering NHS employees a range of money-saving deals.