Senior Communications and Engagement Manager - South East

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., A rare opportunity has arisen for someone with an eye for a good story and great judgement to join the Communications and Engagement Team in the South East working as part of the region and wider Public Accountability, Communications and Engagement team.
You would be a highly motivated communications professional and work as part of a small, hard-working team to take a lead on providing support and advice on media and reputation management as well as building strong relationships with colleagues at national, regional, system and provider levels.
You will be a trusted source of advice and guidance on all communications issues, but also have a keen sense of what will make the news and be able to tell a compelling story of where and how the NHS is delivering high quality care and driving down waiting lists.
While you will be the media led in this role and will participate in the on-call rota, you will be expected to be flexible and turn your hand to other communications and engagement tasks as required., The Post Holder will be a key member of the regional team, delivering high quality engagement and communications services for NHS England.
The Post Holder will be responsible for:
· Providing expert engagement and communications advice and practical support to the region on all aspects of their business
· Producing a broad range of written communications to the highest standard; using expertise and experience to identify the right channels and styles for specific audiences
· Developing engagement and communications for specific projects/campaigns and managing their effective implementation
· As part of the regional engagement and communications team you will support colleagues and work across the region and the NHS England national media, briefings and FOI teams to gather information and intelligence to ensure effective region-wide and national responses to the media and other stakeholders
· Managing local media inquiries and campaigns
· Maintaining excellent contacts and relationships with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders, Regional engagement and communications teams are responsible for leading the development and implementation of the region's engagement and communications strategy, working with the national Public Accountability, Engagement and Communications Function, regional director and senior team to agree the priorities to inform the strategy.
2. System leadership, development and relationship management
Regional teams lead engagement and communications for the seven regions, maintaining effective working relationships with Directors of Engagement and Communications and Execs/ leaders across the region. Teams work closely with systems and providers creating learning opportunities and sharing best practice and insight.
3. Engagement and communications to support effective running of the region and fulfil statutory responsibilities
Regional engagement and communications teams work across the region's statutory and formal responsibilities, including engagement and communications needs for commissioning and assurance responsibilities.
If you like what you have read and think you have the skills and experience, we need then don't delay, apply today! We get lots of applications for our roles and so we sometimes have to close our posts early. Don't miss out!
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., NHS England