Job summary
This is an interesting and worthwhile role, where you will work in a new and progressive NHS mental health trust in north London which puts safe, responsive and effective patient care at the heart of everything we do.
Just one year old, North London NHS Foundation Trust is on the cusp of opening a second MHCAS - mental health crisis assessment centre, or "A&E for mental health" - the first area of the country to have two.
We are committed to looking after patients close to home, either in the community or in our award-winning modern inpatient facilities.
And we believe in looking after our staff, with every support service focused on improving how we make the work of clinical staff easier, more effective, more rewarding, and with zero frustrations.
You will work with a team of committed and experienced communications and engagement colleagues, who jointly look after the full range of internal, external, corporate and digital communications.
We want to make communicating well - with our staff, our service users, our stakeholders, and our wider community - the simplest and easiest thing to do. And we want you to help us.
Can you help us?
Main duties of the job
You will have excellent writing skills, be skilled and experienced in using digital and social media, have the ability to manage a range of priorities, and be unfazed by working to tight or changing deadlines. You will need to be able to work with people at all levels, in a busy, pressured, diverse and completely awesome organisation, which is both respected and expected by a wide range of audiences to deliver on demanding expectations.
Play a full role in the communications and engagement activity of the Trust, producing high quality content, including written text, digital content, and audio-visual materials, demonstrating a strong commitment to accuracy, Plain English, audience engagement, and responsiveness.
Demonstrate a strong and effective commitment to forward planning, including full use of our bespoke Forward Planner, and identify opportunities and risks for activity to support delivery of Trust communication priorities and key messages, taking account of external and internal drivers and demands as appropriate.
Demonstrate a strong adherence to accessible communications formats and design, and work to best practice principles with regard to consistent brand voice and visual identity across all formats.
About us
North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT) is committed to improving mental health care across North London to deliver excellent services to our local people.
Our Five-Year Strategy:
- We will provide consistently high-quality care closer to home.
- With our partners in North London and each borough we will ensure equity of outcome for all
- We will offer great places to work, providing staff with supportive environment to deliver outstanding care.
Why NLFT?
- We develop and retain our staff through leadership behaviours and managers programme and many more opportunities.
- We promote flexible working and support staff with a range of health and wellbeing initiatives.
- NHS Discounts, generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme
- Excellent internal staff network
In order to meet the needs of the Trust you may be required from time to time to work at different locations to your normal place of work. This may mean that you are required to work at any location that fall under Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey or Islington. The Trust reserves the right to require staff to work at such other places or locations as it considers reasonable and necessary on a temporary or permanent basis.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Play a full role in the communications and engagement activity of the Trust, producing high quality content, including written text, digital content, and audio-visual materials, demonstrating a strong commitment to accuracy, Plain English, audience engagement, and responsiveness.
Demonstrate a strong and effective commitment to forward planning, including full use of our bespoke Forward Planner, and identify opportunities and risks for activity to support delivery of Trust communication priorities and key messages, taking account of external and internal drivers and demands as appropriate.
Demonstrate a strong adherence to accessible communications formats and design, and work to best practice principles with regard to consistent brand voice and visual identity across all formats.
This is not an exhaustive list, Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information on the role requirements and duties.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Play a full role in the communications and engagement activity of the Trust, producing high quality content, including written text, digital content, and audio-visual materials, demonstrating a strong commitment to accuracy, Plain English, audience engagement, and responsiveness.
Demonstrate a strong and effective commitment to forward planning, including full use of our bespoke Forward Planner, and identify opportunities and risks for activity to support delivery of Trust communication priorities and key messages, taking account of external and internal drivers and demands as appropriate.
Demonstrate a strong adherence to accessible communications formats and design, and work to best practice principles with regard to consistent brand voice and visual identity across all formats.
This is not an exhaustive list, Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification for more information on the role requirements and duties.
Person Specification
Education and qualifications
Essential
- -Educated to degree level or equivalent (eg. part completion of a relevant apprenticeship or further related study)
Desirable
- -Post graduate diploma or working towards a specialist post- graduate qualification eg Chartered Institute of Public Relations diploma or Chartered Institute of Marketing
- -Evidence of continued learning and development
Previous experience
Essential
- -Understanding of range of effective communication, marketing and engagement methods, and how these can be applied to this role's purpose, aims and key priorities, with examples of personal delivery for successful outcomes
- -Experience of working under pressure to tight deadlines while maintain high standards of accuracy and detail
- -Experience working across partnerships in support of a shared aim
Desirable
- -Strong understanding of mental health issues
Skills knowledge and abilities
Essential
- oEvidence of working to delegated authority demonstrating appropriate autonomy and escalating beyond, and able to articulate an understanding of how this would work in this role,
- oEvidence of devising, implementing and refining communications and engagement plans in collaboration with internal and external colleagues for St Pancras Development workstreams across the year to support agreed outcomes
- oAbility to create, maintain and use external and internal databases and information resources (grids, distribution lists, content management tools) to support strong and effective engagement with the St Pancras Development programme
- oStrong interpersonal skills and evidence of building and maintaining good relationships with internal and external stakeholders and able to articulate an understanding of how this would work in this role
- oEvidence of creating and overseeing production of materials that would be equivalent to Programme-related communication and engagement products, including publications, newsletters, 'snackable' video and audio content,
- oAbility to receive, synthesise and communicate effectively highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, and be able to identify the most important information and how best to disseminate it, including to appropriate audiences through appropriate routes
- oExcellent content creation including writing skills and the ability to identify good news stories to raise the profile of agreed Trust programmes services, and accomplishments,
- oUnderstanding of good practice relating to organisation of events and/or meetings
- oExcellent writing and digital / IT skills with knowledge of a range of different tools and software including PowerPoint with the ability to create slide presentations of high quality and to tight deadline
- Experience of being able to undertake regular and systematic reviews and audits to ensure the ongoing effectiveness and development of external communications.
- oAble to build effective relationships with colleagues, including at executive level, both internally and externally
- oExcellent organisational and planning skills
Desirable
- oAbility to write press releases and to pitch these to media contacts, both locally and nationally
Communication and interpersonal
Essential
- oExcellent multi-tasker who works well under pressure in busy environments
- oExcellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels including senior leaders across north central London
- oTenacious
- oProfessional manner
- oAttention to detail
Other
Essential
- oWillingness to carry our administrative tasks when occasionally required
- oFlexible approach to work, including able to work across different times and locations
- oOpen to learning and continual improvement
Person Specification
Education and qualifications
Essential
- -Educated to degree level or equivalent (eg. part completion of a relevant apprenticeship or further related study)
Desirable
- -Post graduate diploma or working towards a specialist post- graduate qualification eg Chartered Institute of Public Relations diploma or Chartered Institute of Marketing
- -Evidence of continued learning and development
Previous experience
Essential
- -Understanding of range of effective communication, marketing and engagement methods, and how these can be applied to this role's purpose, aims and key priorities, with examples of personal delivery for successful outcomes
- -Experience of working under pressure to tight deadlines while maintain high standards of accuracy and detail
- -Experience working across partnerships in support of a shared aim
Desirable
- -Strong understanding of mental health issues
Skills knowledge and abilities
Essential
- oEvidence of working to delegated authority demonstrating appropriate autonomy and escalating beyond, and able to articulate an understanding of how this would work in this role,
- oEvidence of devising, implementing and refining communications and engagement plans in collaboration with internal and external colleagues for St Pancras Development workstreams across the year to support agreed outcomes
- oAbility to create, maintain and use external and internal databases and information resources (grids, distribution lists, content management tools) to support strong and effective engagement with the St Pancras Development programme
- oStrong interpersonal skills and evidence of building and maintaining good relationships with internal and external stakeholders and able to articulate an understanding of how this would work in this role
- oEvidence of creating and overseeing production of materials that would be equivalent to Programme-related communication and engagement products, including publications, newsletters, 'snackable' video and audio content,
- oAbility to receive, synthesise and communicate effectively highly complex, sensitive or contentious information, and be able to identify the most important information and how best to disseminate it, including to appropriate audiences through appropriate routes
- oExcellent content creation including writing skills and the ability to identify good news stories to raise the profile of agreed Trust programmes services, and accomplishments,
- oUnderstanding of good practice relating to organisation of events and/or meetings
- oExcellent writing and digital / IT skills with knowledge of a range of different tools and software including PowerPoint with the ability to create slide presentations of high quality and to tight deadline
- Experience of being able to undertake regular and systematic reviews and audits to ensure the ongoing effectiveness and development of external communications.
- oAble to build effective relationships with colleagues, including at executive level, both internally and externally
- oExcellent organisational and planning skills
Desirable
- oAbility to write press releases and to pitch these to media contacts, both locally and nationally
Communication and interpersonal
Essential
- oExcellent multi-tasker who works well under pressure in busy environments
- oExcellent interpersonal skills with the ability to communicate effectively with people at all levels including senior leaders across north central London
- oTenacious
- oProfessional manner
- oAttention to detail
Other
Essential
- oWillingness to carry our administrative tasks when occasionally required
- oFlexible approach to work, including able to work across different times and locations
- oOpen to learning and continual improvement
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Additional information
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.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
