Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services. Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital. Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions. Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients. In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research. We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit. Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’. The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients. We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS. Job overview Join our award-winning communications team and support in promoting the wonderful care of Evelina London Clinical Group. We’re looking for a dynamic individual with excellent communications skills to play a crucial role in the dedicated Evelina London communication team. You will ensure we consistently deliver high-quality and sensitive communications that demonstrate how our clinical group put women, birthing people and children at the heart of all that we do. As a superb writer and creative thinker, you will be just as confident in developing as delivering a strategic communications plan and will be a champion for ensuring all communications are accessible, inclusive and a true reflection of our diverse teams and patients. As a multi-site Clinical Group, Evelina London brings together Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust’s services for women, birthing people and children. We provide comprehensive health services from pre-conception, before birth, throughout childhood and into adult life. If you are passionate about healthcare, have a proven track record in strategic communications, and can demonstrate your commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion, then we would love to hear from you. Main duties of the job Provide dedicated communications expertise to support the mission and vision of the Clinical Group, working closely with the Evelina London management teams. This includes internal and external communications, patient and family engagement, and collaboration with charity communications and fundraising teams. Act as the lead and provide strategic counsel on communication queries and reputational issues to support multidisciplinary colleagues. Manage the day to day running of the team and overall communications plan, providing, high quality, positive and sensitive messaging and expertise on how Evelina London communicates with its staff, families and other stakeholders. Working closely with and coordinating messaging with the Trust’s communications teams, Evelina London patient and public engagement team, charity and fundraising teams and other senior stakeholders. Lead the relationship with the Evelina London Children’s Charity comms team to ensure we work together effectively and collaboratively. Provide advice to support the development and delivery of accurate and successful fundraising appeals in line with Evelina London messaging and Trust policies. Support the development of a charity culture across Evelina London. Provide planning, coordination and delivery of multi-channel, targeted communications strategies to support internal and external communications as needed, including projects and campaigns aimed at staff, patients, the public and other audiences. Working for our organisation Guy’s and St Thomas’ has a mix of centralised and service specific communications support. Evelina London has a focused communications team providing the clinical group with expert communications leadership and support. The team develops and delivers activities, reporting directly into the leadership team, while working in partnership with the central Guy’s and St Thomas’ communications team and with communications colleagues embedded in the other clinical groups to ensure a joined-up approach to communications. With a wide range of colleagues across the Trust, there are lots of opportunities to learn new skills and benefit from peer support. Evelina London has its own distinct brand identity, which is currently used externally to promote our children’s services, website (www.evelinalondon.nhs.uk) and X account (@EvelinaLondon). The Evelina London communications team is required to deliver high-quality communications to support a wide range of operational priorities. The team also supports an active strategic programme including: being a comprehensive provider of children’s services developing and growing our services achieving the vision of integrating our inpatient children’s services onto one hospital site becoming the future location for very specialist cancer treatment services for children living in south London and much of south east England supporting fundraising communications and campaigns. Detailed job description and main responsibilities Strategy and leadership Manage the day to day running of the team, developing and overseeing processes to track and evaluate activity and respond to queries in a timely manner. Build strong relationships with key clinical and non-clinical stakeholders across Evelina London to enhance communications. Support the Head of Communications and Senior Communications Manager in providing strategic communications advice to the CEO team and other senior leaders. Deputise for the Senior Communications Manager as required. Provide leadership to support Evelina London engagement in relation to communications activities; encouraging creativity and innovation in our engagement activities and relationships with children, young people and their families. Provide communications leadership and support to deliver priority activity including elective recovery, equality, diversity and inclusion work, major programmes and clinical transformation plans. Be the dedicated lead for communications related to Evelina London operations, providing expert professional advice, development and implementation of an overall communication plan to promote the work of Evelina London. Partnerships, networks and expertise Work closely with the relevant fundraising colleagues to find case studies, manage photography and ensure fundraising communications materials are consistent with Evelina London branding and messages. Work directly with children, young people, families and parents to develop stories, reflections and gather feedback on experiences and perspectives. Use professional judgement and experience to build and maintain appropriate relationships at the right time in the journey of care and deal sensitively with potentially distressing and difficult issues and family circumstances. Promote, protect and enhance Evelina London’s reputation through effective management of the Evelina London brand. Ensure Evelina London’s brand identity and Trust communications policies are appropriately understood and used. Work with the Senior Communications Manager to develop internal procedures to support adherence to Trust policies and work with the Guy’s and St Thomas’ communications team to update policies when necessary. Content development Oversee production and development of the Evelina London staff newsletter and Evelina London stakeholder newsletter, ensuring staff and stakeholders receive positive news stories and information. Contribute to corporate Trust publications and produce copy for a wide variety of internal publications and communication channels. Work with colleagues in the Evelina London and Guy’s and St Thomas’ communications teams, producing engaging and creative content for online audiences and close working with the Trust’s media team who manage press relations and the production of media stories. Liaise with the Guy’s and St Thomas’ communications team to ensure that core Trust materials include appropriate content and messaging regarding the Evelina London strategy and organisation. Support the delivery of high-profile visits and events including all aspects of senior liaison with partner organisations, project planning, preparation and briefing. Provide expert advice on consent and the use of patient and staff images and stories. Manage filming and photography requests, ensuring appropriate consent procedure is followed and compliance with GDPR. Staff management Line manage and oversee the work of the Evelina London senior communications officer leading digital and senior communications officer leading internal communications. Key relationships Develop strong relationships with staff at every level in Evelina London and the communications team. Inspiring confidence and trust in professional and personal capabilities and conduct will provide the cornerstone of key relationships which are essential to the successful delivery of duties and responsibilities. Key relationships include: Evelina London directors and Board members (Internal) Trust communications team (Internal) Communications colleagues in other Clinical Groups (Internal) Directorate management teams (Internal) Service managers (Internal) Evelina London patient engagement team (Internal) Evelina London Children’s Charity communications team (External) Communications colleagues at academic partners such as King’s College London and King’s Health Partners (External) Patients and their families (External) Designers, printers, photographers and other suppliers (External) Financial management Have responsibility for deploying budgets for projects as required. Ensure resources are used efficiently, in accordance with Trust Standing Financial Instructions and other relevant policies. Ensure that use of resources represent value for money and are properly accounted for. Oversee management of key suppliers, including design and print companies. Education and professional development Develop and maintain expert knowledge of the external environment in respect of children’s and women’s health. Maintain and enhance own personal and professional skills and competencies and with the Senior Communications Manager, contribute to own performance appraisals and personal development plan. Keep abreast of professional, technological and digital best practice, methods and services that could enhance the role or team. Keep up to speed with accessibility guidelines and best practices. Be committed to development regarding equality, diversity and inclusion. Person specification Qualifications/ Education Essential criteria Master’s degree level qualification or equivalent professional experience Evidence of further study and/or continuing professional development Experience Essential criteria Has worked in a communications environment, preferably related to the NHS, academia or research Confident working with staff at all levels, in all disciplines across academic, health and research arenas Has managed complex communications projects Has developed communications strategies delivering content for off and online channels Skills Essential criteria Evidence of excellent written and verbal communication skills Ability to write clearly for a range of audiences across different channels Guy’s and St Thomas’ celebrates, respects and values the diversity of its staff and patients. We review our policies, procedures and practices to ensure that all employees, patients and carers are treated equitable according to their needs. We are actively committed to ensuring that no one who applies for a job, works or study’s at the Trust, or accesses our services is discriminated against on the grounds of race, ethnicity, nationality, disability, religion or belief, age, gender identity , gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity/paternity, or marital/civil partnership. Applications are welcomed from applicants with a disability. We can make reasonable adjustments and offer support and advice in a variety of ways throughout the application process. Equality of opportunity is our policy. As an organisation we are committed to developing our services in ways that best suit the needs of our patients. This means that some staff groups will increasingly be asked to work a more flexible shift pattern so that we can offer services in the evenings or at weekends. Flexible working We are committed to supporting all employees to achieve a healthy work life balance and to work in a way that is best for them and our patients. We will consider all requests to work flexibly, taking in to account the individual’s personal circumstances as well the needs of the service. We encourage all prospective applicants to discuss their individual circumstances with the recruiting manager as part of the on-boarding process. Your e-mail address is important to us - We communicate to all job applicants via the e-mail address which has been provided on the application form. Please ensure that you check your e-mail on a regular basis. Please apply for this post by clicking "Apply Online Now." Applicant requirements The postholder will have regular contact with vulnerable people and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions. Further details / informal visits contact Name Jessica Law Job title Senior Communications Manager Email address [email protected]