Communications Manager for Research and Innovation

NHS AfC: Band 7

Main area Communications Grade NHS AfC: Band 7

Contract Fixed term: 12 months (Maternity Cover)

Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working
• Home or remote working
• Compressed hours

37.5 hours per week (May be required to work outside of normal hours and across MFT sites)

Job ref 349-RES-7102364C

Site Nowgen Centre Town Manchester

Salary £46,148 - £52,809 per annum, pro rata

Salary period Yearly

Closing 09/04/2025 23:59

Job Overview

Can you tell the story of cutting-edge research and innovation? From life-saving genetic treatments to the revolutionary breakthroughs that improve lives every day.

We are building Greater Manchester's reputation as a clinical research and innovation powerhouse, and we want you to inspire participation, collaboration, investment, and pride in MFT’s research and innovation by humanising research and innovation through excellent person-centered storytelling, showcasing and celebrating MFT’s national and international reputation for life-changing and life-saving research and innovation.

An exciting opportunity has opened for a Communications Manager for Research and Innovation at Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust to cover a 12-month maternity leave. The post holder will be part of the MFT Research and Innovation (R&I) Communications Team and will be primarily based at MFT’s Nowgen Centre on the Oxford Road Campus, but the role may require travel across other MFT sites.

Main duties of the job

The R&I Communications Team operates in a complex environment and includes dedicated communications support for both research and innovation sponsored, hosted, and delivered by MFT, and for MFT-hosted National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) infrastructure.

Reporting to the Communications Lead for R&I, the R&I Communications Manager is responsible for the operational delivery of the R&I communication strategies and activity plans.

The R&I Communications Manager has direct line management responsibility for the R&I Communications Specialist and will oversee part of the workload for the R&I Digital Communications Assistant.

They will act as a point of contact for members of the R&I Operational Management Team and other senior leaders and researchers, providing communication activity, advice, support, training, and updates. They will also attend internal and external meetings and groups.

Working for our organisation

MFT is one of the largest NHS Trusts in England with a turnover of £2.8bn & is on a different scale than most other NHS Trusts. We’re creating an exceptional integrated health & social care system for the 1 million patients who rely on our services every year.

Bringing together 10 hospitals & community services from across Manchester, Trafford & beyond, we champion collaborative working & transformation, encouraging our 28,000 workforce to pursue their most ambitious goals. We set standards that other Trusts seek to emulate so you’ll benefit from a scale of opportunity that is nothing short of extraordinary.

We’ve also created a digitally enabled organisation to improve clinical quality, patient & staff experience, operational effectiveness & driving research, and innovation through the introduction of Hive; our Electronic Patient Record system which launched in September 2022.

We’re proud to be a major academic Research Centre & Education provider, providing you with a robust infrastructure to encourage and facilitate high-quality research programmes. What’s more, we’re excited to be embarking on our Green Plan which sets out how MFT continues to play its part in making healthcare more sustainable.

At MFT, we create and foster a culture of inclusion and belonging, provide equal opportunities for career development that are fair, open, and transparent, protecting your health and wellbeing and shaping the future of our organisation together.

Detailed Job Description And Main Responsibilities

To find out more about the key responsibilities and the specific skills and experience you’ll need, take a look at the Job Description & Person Specification attachments under the ‘Supporting Documents’ heading.

So that you’re even more equipped to make an informed decision to apply to us, you’ll need to take time to read the ‘Candidate Essentials Guide’ that sits with the Job Description and Person Specification. This document provides you with details about the Trust, our benefits and outlines how ‘we care for you as you care for others’. Most importantly, it also contains critical information you’ll need to be aware of before you submit an application form.

Diversity Matters

MFT is committed to promoting equality of opportunity, celebrating and valuing diversity and eliminating any form of unlawful discrimination across our workforce, ensuring our people are truly representative of the communities we serve. All individuals regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation are encouraged to apply for this post. As an inclusive employer, we are here to support you. If you have any special requirements to help you with your application, email our team at resourcing@mft.nhs.uk.

We’re looking forward to hearing from you!

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

• Educated to Masters level or equivalent qualification/ experience
• Evidence of continuous study and personal/professional development

Knowledge & Experience

Essential criteria

• Experience working in a public sector communications environment, particularly the NHS
• Working in communications or media team within a complex organisation
• Ability to liaise with a wide range of people, inc. senior leaders, partners, experts, patients and families
• Experience of successful partnership working and politically savvy
• Effectively manage own and team time resource, with experience of managing staff, at least on a project basis
• Developing communications plans, policies, processes and training
• Using insight methodologies to communicate with internal/external stakeholders
• Working with media organisations proactively and reactively, with tight turnarounds to produce successful results

Desirable criteria

• Experience working in a research/innovation environment
• Identifying and implementing appropriate mechanisms and developing accessible content to communicate with hard to reach groups

Skills

Essential criteria

• Organised and attentive to detail, with excellent planning and prioritisation skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with ability to write specifically for online media
• Ability to use a range of IT packages
• An understanding of the NHS/academic/research environment and experience of science communications
• Able to work at different locations and out of hours as required
• Capacity to handle many projects simultaneously
• Flexible in approach, highly motivated, and proactive

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.

Documents to download

• Communications Manager for R&I JD (PDF, 152.4KB)
• Communications Manager for Research and Innovation P Spec (PDF, 320.6KB)
• Candidate Essential Guide Non Medical (PDF, 1.3MB)

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name Adam Shepphard

Job title Communications Lead for Research and Innovation

Email address adam.shepphard@mft.nhs.uk