Communications and Public Affairs Manager

Liverpool Health Partners is the Academic Health Science System for the Liverpool City Region. It is a membership-led organisation comprising of 10 academic and NHS partners.

LHP convenes across, and advocates on behalf of, its member organisations and the excellence they represent. We have a mandate from the universities and NHS Trusts which are our members, to work across the health and life sciences sector in the region and, together, deliver health, economic and societal benefit.

This post is integral to the success of Liverpool Health Partners and by extension to the city region's ambition in research and innovation across the health and life sciences sector. It will require a talented and highly motivated post-holder who can provide leadership and expertise in the following areas:

• Planning and delivering LHP strategic programmes and communications function and public affairs services of the highest quality.
• Help to grow the LHP Brand and deliver maximum value for the Partners and the Liverpool City Region, ensuring that the direction of travel is understood by, and remains relevant to, all key stakeholders.
• Work collaboratively with partners' comms teams, commercial partners, provider organisations, local and central government, to deliver the LHP strategic priorities.

Main duties of the job

The post-holder will lead on the following broad areas:

• Provide strategic comms support
• Lead on public affairs and advocacy for LHP
• Lead on the development of a compelling narrative
• Ensure that member organisations are bought into the process
• Mobilise and present, to regional and national stakeholders
• Develop and sustain high-quality professional relationships
• Connect LHP to the wider comms and public affairs sectors
• Assess the requirements for internal and external contributions to comms strategies
• Convene and provide authoritative leadership
• Be alert to the political and organisational sensitivities of partnership working
• Oversee the delivery of high-quality and high-profile events
• Take responsibility for the website, newsletters, social media and stakeholder mapping and management
• Managing and developing staff
• Produce regular performance management reports to the LHP board
• Oversee budgets
• Provide leadership and example in creating the optimal culture for LHP

About us

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was created on 1 October 2019 following the merger of two adult acute Trusts, Aintree University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust.

The merger provides an opportunity to reconfigure services in a way that provides the best healthcare services to the city and improves the quality of care and health outcomes that patients experience.

The Trust runs Aintree University Hospital, Broadgreen Hospital, Liverpool University Dental Hospital and the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.

It serves a core population of around 630,000 people across Merseyside as well as providing a range of highly specialist services to a catchment area of more than two million people in the North West region and beyond.

To hear more about our achievements, click here: Annual Report

Follow us on Social Media:

Facebook - Liverpool University Hospitals Careers

Instagram - @LUHFTcareers

Twitter - @LUHFTcareers

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Strategic comms (40%):
  • Provide strategic comms support in areas required on behalf of the partnership, focusing on the messaging across and between partner organisations.
  • Lead on public affairs and advocacy for LHP including visibility and messaging to political party conferences, and high-level strategic visits such as mayoral and ministerial roundtables.
  • Lead on the development of a compelling narrative about health and life sciences innovation in Liverpool, amplifying the activity of member organisations and highlighting the excellence and opportunity across the city region.
  • Ensure that member organisations are bought into the process, amplifying messages where possible and augmenting the narrative to focus on pan-regional opportunities and successes.
• Public affairs (20%):
  • Mobilise and present, in order to influence perception, opportunities and policy, the insights available from across LHP to regional and national stakeholders such as politicians, government and funding agencies.
  • Develop and sustain high-quality professional relationships that can be mobilised in support of the partnership including media, political and life sciences sectors.
  • Connect LHP and its partners to the wider comms and public affairs sectors, bringing personal networks, insights and expertise that support advocacy on a wider stage.
• Supporting specific initiatives and events (15%):
  • Assess the requirements for internal and external contributions to comms strategies for programmes and support links to external agencies where necessary.
  • Convene and provide authoritative leadership within cross-discipline and cross-organisation working groups.
  • Be alert to the political and organisational sensitivities of partnership working and intervening to tactfully advise where necessary.
  • Oversee the delivery of high-quality and high-profile events ensuring collateral and messaging is consistent with overall objectives of the partnership.
• Operational oversight (15%):
  • Take responsibility for the website, production of newsletters, overseeing social media and stakeholder mapping and management.
  • Managing and developing staff including: a small number of core team members responsible for direct LHP work, advice, support and mentoring for staff in partner organisations who are working on specific programmes where strategic advice is being sought from LHP.
  • Produce regular performance management reports to the LHP board and its partner organisations, attending the Board when appropriate.
  • Oversee budgets and staff associated with the delivery of LHP comms. (This may well increase over time as the delivery model develops).
• Provide leadership and example in creating the optimal culture for LHP (10%):
  • Provide high calibre and visible leadership to build and sustain an effective team and to create healthy relationships across the partnership.
  • Develop close working relationships with partner organisations and a wide range of other multi-agency organisations.
  • Take ownership of all areas of comms and public affairs activity, identifying and pursuing opportunities that form a portfolio in their own right, with delegated authority from the MD.
  • Act as a senior representative and ambassador for LHP, locally, regionally, and nationally.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree and equivalent experience in a related field.
• Master's degree/postgraduate qualification in a related field.

Experience

Essential

• Significant experience of working in a complex life sciences organisation or University or NHS Trust in a senior comms or public affairs role.
• Experience of working closely with academic and care provider organisations to develop a collective narrative and promote the workings of the partnership.

Desirable

• Significant leadership experience at board level, or equivalent, in a complex organisation with multiple stakeholders.

Knowledge

Essential

• Excellent understanding of the requirements of complex marketing projects and commissioning external support appropriately.
• Excellent understanding of digital media and marketing techniques with the ability to deliver impact - in particular demonstrating a keen awareness of the importance of design, visual impact and branding.

Desirable

• A thorough understanding of the life science sector, both public and private sector, gained through experience in health or life science organisations.

Skills

Essential

• Evidence of ability to sustain and deploy high quality professional networks.
• Gravitas, credibility, political acumen and judgement with the ability to represent LHP, communicate its vision and position it effectively.
• A strategic thinker with a proven track record in delivering strategic plans working across multi-agency partners.
• Outstanding written and verbal presentation and communication skills.
• Ability to market LHP's services including identifying new opportunities to increase collaboration.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and high levels of emotional intelligence.
• Proven leadership skills and an ability to deliver system change and achieve challenging goals.
• Highly developed negotiating, persuading and influencing skills.
• Ability to motivate and support development of a positive culture with a flair for building and sustaining professional relationships.
• Effective management of external providers and contractors, delivering value for money.
• Ability to analyse, interpret and convey highly complex information.
• Ability to solve problems effectively.

Employer details

Employer name

Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Liverpool Science Park

Liverpool

L3 5TF

Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.

287-LHP-5-24-A