Senior Communications Manager (NIHR) (XN07) - #1694136

Thisis a fixed term contract for 9-12 months depending on start date.

Doyou enjoy leading teams producing creative, high-impact, digital content,driving positive media coverage, and growing your audiences? Are you able tomanage a diverse workload of projects? Would you like to contribute to anorganisation making a meaningful difference to peoples lives?

Werelooking for a Senior Communications Manager to join the NIHR Academyscommunications team. In this role, you will lead a busy communications teamresponsible for developing and implementing communication plans that attractand engage health and social care professionals with academic careers andtraining.

Theteams remit covers a broad range of communication areas, including but notlimited to, social media, content development, website management, pressoffice, internal communications, events, webinars and email marketing. Thisrole will have the opportunity to work across different communication areas,working with a multitude of stakeholders including other NIHR offices and theDepartment of Health and Social Care.

Thesuccessful applicant will be an excellent communicator with the ability towork collaboratively across the organisation and with colleagues andstakeholders to manage a diverse workload of projects. You will be accustomedto working with internal stakeholders to build trust and be the comms expertin the room providing communications advice and support.

Youwill lead a team responsible for communicating about career developmenttraining programme funding opportunities provided by NIHR.

Yourteam will be communicating both with those already engaged with theorganisation from early career researchers through to the likes of researchprofessors, while also focusing on increasing its reach into targetaudiences, especially those working in areas of health and social carecurrently under-represented in clinical research career paths. We want tohear from you if youve got a track record of building relationships withpartner and stakeholder organisations to gain reach to your target audiencesthrough their channels.

Yourteam will coordinate and produce a wide range of digital communications andmarketing materials including web copy, social media content, press releasesand case studies whilst ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion incommunications and stakeholder engagement. Working to the Assistant Directorfor Communications, Involvement and Development, you will be accountable forthe delivery of our communications business plan objectives.

Youllbe managing a multifaceted team with competing priorities, so strongorganisational skills are essential, along with evidence of strongpeople-management skills to empower and develop your team.

Youwill be accustomed to setting SMART objectives and using evaluation andinsight to learn and continually improve the work you and the teamproduce.

Continuedfrom above: You will have experience of working with a variety ofcommunications software packages, design and content management systemsincluding e-marketing, webinar platforms and enterprise social mediamanagement platforms.

TheNational Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) has a mission toimprove the health and wealth of the nation through research. The NIHR playsa pivotal role in attracting, training and supporting the best researchersand complements the additional NIHR investment in world-class researchfacilities and a skilled research workforce.

Thisrole is hosted by the Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust (LTHT) and delivers thework of the NIHR, leading on policy, strategy and delivery in respect ofacademic training in England and working closely with other NIHR centres andthe Science Research and Evidence (SRE) Directorate at the Department ofHealth and Social Care (DHSC).

LeedsTeaching Hospitals is committed to our process of redeploying 'at risk'members of our existing workforce to new roles. As such, all our job advertsare subject to this policy and we reserve the right to close, delay or removeadverts while this process is completed. If you do experience a delay in theshortlisting stage of the recruitment cycle, please bear with us while thisprocess is completed, and contact the named contact if you have anyquestions.

• Supportthe Assistant Director Communications, Public Involvement and LeadershipDevelopment in the development and delivery of the NIHR Academy Executivesexternal communications strategy and the internal communications planensuring the delivery of the NIHR Academy business plan


• Linemanagement of the communications team, managing their delivery ofcommunications activities, supporting delivery of their objectives and theirpersonal and professional development


• Workwith communications colleagues from across the NIHR to ensure delivery of theNIHRs corporate communications strategy including chairing of a cross NIHRcommunications group


• Translatecomplex messages about the organisations programmes into clear and compellingcommunications messages for a range of stakeholders including heath and careresearchers, health and care professionals and the life sciences industry


• Keepup to date with best practice and emerging trends in communications andstakeholder engagement practice, including digital communications and socialmedia, and advise programme managers and communication colleagues on theirpotential use by NIHR to enhance communication plans


• Manageand review all expenditure on communication resources, platforms andmaterials and manage the purchase of design and printing services etc. toensure that this provides good value for money in line with the financialresources available


• Workto ensure that all members of NIHR Academy are aware of, and implement, theelements of the NIHR Academy communications strategy including NIHR-wideinitiatives and branding guidelines


• Leadthe development and delivery of the Academy Members Conference


• Providecommunications support for events and workshops delivered and attended byAcademy colleagues


• Liaisewith other Programme Managers to provide content and copy for disseminationthrough NIHR and other external communication channels


• Ensurethat the overall style and content of communications on the NIHR website andsocial media channels are in accordance with brand guidelines and appeal toour target audiences


• Evaluateand measure the reach, success and impact of the organisations communicationsand stakeholder engagement activities through quantitative and qualitativemethods to enable learning and improved ways of working


• Supportthe communication of complex research findings to key stakeholders includingDHSC through case studies, press releases and news articles


• Supportthe preparation of reports and papers for strategic and policy meetings andpublication


• Developsurvey materials and analyse and interpret results to support the continueddevelopment and improvement of communication strategies in conjunction withthe Assistant Director Communications, Public Involvement and LeadershipDevelopment


• Ensurethat effective communications planning is an integral part of businesscontinuity plans


• Liaisewith other national centres, NIHR and DHSC staff, the academic community asnecessary


• Deputisefor the Assistant Director Communications, Public Involvement andLeadership Development in NIHR Communications Meetings as required. Providesecretariat for panels, boards and implementation groups as required


• Writereports and working papers as required


• Undertakeany ad hoc projects and initiatives as required by the NIHR Academy ExecutiveBoard members.

• Ability to work effectively and collaboratively as part of a team, and is able to develop and maintain strong working relationships


• Outcome focused and demonstrates the ability to deliver at pace, whilst maintaining attention to details, anticipating and navigating challenges


• Leads and inspires those they work with, setting high standards and prioritising and delegating effectively incl. when working with team members whom they don't have line management accountability for


• Excellent stakeholder engagement skills with the ability to deal professionally and tactfully with colleagues, senior academics and internal and external stakeholders


• Self-motivated, proactive, innovative, with the ability to work independently and on own initiative


• Flexible and adaptable, and proactively adjusts to changing priorities and circumstances


• Resilient and able to provide clear direction and leadership as plans change


• Able to manage sensitive and confidential information


• Proactively keeps up to date with the latest trends and best practice in communications and stakeholder engagement


• Ability to tackle complex problems, identify solutions and implement them


• Design, development and implementation of virtual and hybrid events and conferences


• Implementation and execution of paid digital and social media campaigns

• Education to degree level in marketing communications, PR or journalism (or equivalent experience)


• Post-graduate qualification (MSc, MA) or evidence of further professional development relevant to communications/ marketing or equivalent experience


• Career progression through continuing professional development


• Membership of relevant professional body

• Communicates fluently, concisely, succinctly and with an engaging and compelling manner both orally and in writing, and able to convey complex information to different audiences


• Demonstrates expertise in developing, publishing and disseminating communications and digital media incl. multi media content e.g. videos, podcasts and webinars, reports, case studies, press releases


• Confident and comfortable delivering presentations and leading meetings in person and online


• Able to assimilate information quickly, and apply knowledge quickly and effectively to new situations and challenges


• Highly effective project and time management skills and able to set objectives, manage budgets, engage stakeholders and proactively manage risks


• Establishes processes for the measurement and evaluation of the impact of communications activities and campaigns and uses insights to refine future activities


• Experienced in using a variety of content management, email marketing, virtual event and digital communications tools and platforms


• Excellent keyboard skills and familiarity with Microsoft Office and the Google suite for word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and online meetings


• Knowledge of information governance and GDPR requirements in relation to communications activities and campaigns


• Extract and analyse data

• Experience of leading the development and implementation of communication, stakeholder engagement and events management (in person and online)


• Experienced in the development and editing of digital and multi media content for different channels & audiences, incl. case studies, reports and press releases into communications campaigns


• Experienced in the development and editing of digital and multi media content for different channels & audiences, incl. newsletters, integrate paid, owned & earned media into communications campaigns


• Experience of project management for complex programmes including planning, risk management, budget management, stakeholder engagement, reporting on progress and evaluating benefits


• Experienced and highly effective in working across discipline boundaries


• Excellent knowledge of professional internal and external communications and stakeholder engagement strategy and practice


• Strong understanding of the expectation on public sector communications to be open, honest and non-political


• Knowledge of communications software packages, design and content management systems including e-marketing, webinar platforms and enterprise social media management platforms


• Knowledge of how to integrate paid, owned and earned media into communications campaigns


• Excellent understanding of establishing and measuring of communications and engagement activities and campaigns


• Experience of dealing with the press and media


• Experience of facilitation of groups and meetings in-person and online


• Experience of working with or within a healthcare, research or education environment


• Experience of working at a national level


• Experience in working in a large, complex organisation


• An understanding of health research capacity development


• An understanding of public sector health research and its management

Assistant Director, Involvement and Development