Media Relations Manager

As a Senior Media Relations Manager at NHS England, you will play a pivotal role as a member of the senior team in one of the country's busiest media offices.
With the NHS under record levels of demand while continuing to manage the fallout of covid, excellent communications will play a vital role in building the trust of patients in the health service., Managing a policy desk area, you will be expected to find and deliver proactive media stories on innovations and policies that will benefit patients, as well showing how the NHS is delivering frontline services amid continued pressure.
You will respond to emerging stories and issues, ensuring NHS staff and their work are fairly represented and the information patients get through the media is accurate., You will be expected to liaise effectively and build trusting relationships with journalists, stakeholders and government departments, as well as senior internal stakeholders at board level.
You will play an important role as part of the senior team, including in proactive planning, line-management responsibilities and stepping in to support or cover for the Head and Deputy Heads of the team.
You will need to demonstrate the ability to work closely with colleagues in other parts of the Strategy directorate, in the wider organisation and with local services, to ensure we deliver clear and consistent messaging and are seen and understood across different audiences.
The most essential requirements for this role are impeccable news judgement, strong writing skills, an excellent understanding of the media landscape and experience of dealing with national media.
You can find further details about the job, organisational structure, recruitment profile, expected outcomes and benefits information in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
Our commitments to you
We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better patient outcomes. We strive to ensure our people feel trusted, valued and empowered. We're passionate about nurturing and developing people. When you join us, we want you to grow and excel, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that. We welcome your talent and enthusiasm irrespective of age, disability, neuro-divergence, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances. We have policies and procedures to ensure that all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process, including the consideration of reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability and/or who are neuro-divergent.
Applications from job seekers who require sponsorship to work in the UK under the Skilled Worker route are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website.
Please note that we currently do not accept applications via recruitment agencies.
The NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for the processing of your application; a privacy notice is attached to advise you on how we will process your personal data.
If you have applied via NHS Jobs, your submitted application will be imported into our preferred third-party recruitment system. All subsequent information regarding your application will be generated from apps.trac.jobs. If you are appointed to a post, information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

The NHS England board have set out the top-level purpose for the new organisation to lead the NHS in England to deliver high-quality services for all, which will inform the detailed design work and we will achieve this purpose by:
+ Enabling local systems and providers to improve the health of their people and patients and reduce health inequalities.
+ Making the NHS a great place to work, where our people can make a difference and achieve their potential.
+ Working collaboratively to ensure our healthcare workforce has the right knowledge, skills, values and behaviours to deliver accessible, compassionate care
+ Optimising the use of digital technology, research, and innovation
+ Delivering value for money.
If you would like to know more or require further information, please visit https://www.england.nhs.uk/.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in-person.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band., NHS England

NHS AfC: Band 8a
Our Organisation
The NHS is building a culture that is positive, compassionate and inclusive - and we all have our part to play.
As employers we are committed to protecting and promoting the physical and mental health and wellbeing of all our colleagues. This underpins our values as set out in the NHS Constitution and supports us to be an Employer of Choice, while helping our colleagues to deliver high quality services for our patients and communities.
As a flexible employer, we want to support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement whether that's a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern. In addition, although the role advertised may have a 'home' office base indicated, we remain committed to supporting flexibility around workplace locations. If it works for the service, we will do our best to make it work for you.