Senior Communications Lead

Are you an experienced communications professional looking for an opportunity to make an immediate impact?

North West Ambulance Service is seeking a skilled Senior Communications Manager to join our award-winning and friendly team on a fixed-term basis, covering a temporary gap in the team. This is an exciting chance to work in a fast-paced environment, supporting critical projects and enhancing engagement across the NHS and emergency services.

Reporting to the Deputy Head of Communications, you will play a key role in delivering strategic communications initiatives that drive meaningful change within the organisation. Acting as the communications advisor on project groups, you will oversee the internal communications function and line manage both the Internal Communications Manager and the Videographer.

As a line manager, you will be responsible for the work plans, development, and wellbeing support of your direct reports. You will also contribute to the wider communications and engagement team's objectives, supporting PR, social media, public affairs, and patient engagement activities where necessary.

Main duties of the job

Joining us at the conclusion of an internal communications audit, you will have the opportunity to reshape how we deliver internal communications--ensuring our frontline colleagues remain at the heart of everything we do.

A key part of this role will be understanding and addressing the challenges of engaging a diverse and mobile workforce, ensuring communications are accessible, inclusive, relevant, and effective for colleagues working across a large geographical area in a variety of settings.

We're looking for someone who can hit the ground running. You'll need:

1. Proven experience in a public relations or communications role, ideally within the NHS or a similar organisation.
2. Strong project management skills with the ability to navigate complex and sensitive communications challenges.
3. Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to engage diverse audiences.
4. Leadership and motivational skills to guide and support team members effectively.

This is a unique opportunity to bring your expertise to a role that makes a real difference to our staff and the patients we serve.

About us

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust provides 24 hour, 365 days a year accident and emergency services to those in need of emergency medical treatment and transport. Our highly skilled staff provide life-saving care to patients in the community and take people to hospital or a place of care if needed. We also provide non-emergency patient transport services for those patients who require non-emergency transport to and from hospital and who are unable to travel unaided because of their medical condition or clinical need.

Alongside the other emergency services, we also work to ensure the safety of the public and treatment of patients in the event of a major incident. We also deliver the NHS 111 service in the North West. NHS 111 replaced NHS Direct in 2013. This service was introduced to make it easier for people to access local NHS healthcare services in England. It provides non-emergency medical help fast, and is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Job responsibilities

Important: The team currently works a hybrid model of 2 days in the office and 3 days from home on a rota basis. Team members are expected to attend in-person team meetings in addition. The post holder may be required to participate in our on-call service, acting as the communications lead for major incidents and crisis communications situations out of hours (1 day in 6).

We welcome applications from those who may want to work flexibly / reduced hours (minimum 30 hours per week).

Please ensure you have read the full Job Description and Person Specification before applying for this role.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Educated to degree level with current equivalent experience, and must be willing to work towards a qualification of this level where not in place.

Skills

• Excellent written and communication skills to prepare highly complex and sensitive reports.
• Problem solving skills with the ability to act on decisions in highly complex situations, using own judgement.
• Highly developed political awareness.
• Ability to provide strong communication support during a high profile crisis situation.
• Demonstrates excellent IT literacy.
• Knowledge of relevant legislation and codes of practice.
• Strong motivational, influencing and persuasive skills.
• Ability to analyse and interpret complex data and information to make judgements.

Knowledge

• Significant experience in a public relations environment.
• Experience of managing a team.
• Experience of developing and delivering communications and engagement strategies across the entire spectrum of communications and engagement disciplines including: Consultations and engagement, media and public relations, internal communications, brand marketing, new media and production of materials.
• Significant extensive experience of stakeholder, patient and public engagement at a senior level with a proven track record of providing robust, timely and effective response to unplanned and frequently contentious media enquiries and incidents.
• Fully acquainted with the external political environment that the NHS works within, acquired through experience at a similar level and professional development.

Personal Attributes

• Ability to respond flexibly to changing priorities and highly motivated.
• Project a professional image.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.