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Job summary

Main area
Communications
Grade
NHS AfC: Band 6
Contract
Permanent
Hours
Full time - 37.5 hours per week (You will be expected to work a minimum of three days a week in the office.)
Job ref
196-COF10822-Y
Employer
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust
Employer type
NHS
Site
St Thomas' Hospital
Town
London
Salary
£46,419 - £55,046 p.a. inclusive of HCA (pro rata)
Salary period
Yearly
Closing
27/07/2025 23:59
Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust logo

Senior Media Officer

NHS AfC: Band 6

Guy’s and St Thomas’ is among the UK’s busiest and most successful NHS foundation trusts. We provide a full range of hospital and community services for people in south London and as well as specialist care for patients from further afield including cancer, renal, orthopaedic, respiratory and cardiovascular services.

Guy’s is home to the largest dental school in Europe and a £160 million Cancer Centre opened in 2016. As part of our commitment to provide care closer to home, in 2017 we also opened a cancer centre and a kidney treatment centre at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup. St Thomas’ has one of the largest critical care units in the UK and one of the busiest emergency departments in London. It is also home to Evelina London Children’s Hospital.

Evelina London cares for local children in Lambeth and Southwark and provides specialist services across south east England including cardiac, renal and critical care services. We lead a number of specialist service networks aiming to ensure children are treated locally where possible, but have access to specialist expertise when they need it. Our community services include health visiting, school nursing and support for families of children with long-term conditions. 

Our adult community services teams deliver care at the heart of the local communities we serve, working in partnership with GPs, local authorities and other healthcare and voluntary sector organisations. Working with our partners in Lambeth and Southwark, we are focusing on new ways of working to improve care for local patients.

In February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield joined Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, bringing together world-leading expertise in the care and research of heart and lung disease. Our merger provides a once in a generation opportunity to build a lasting, world-renowned heart and lung centre, providing the highest quality care for patients and conducting world-leading research.

We have a reputation for clinical excellence and high quality teaching and research. We are part of King’s Health Partners, one of eight accredited UK academic health sciences centres. In partnership with King’s College London we have dedicated clinical research facilities including an MHRA accredited Phase I clinical trials unit.

Patients are at the heart of everything we do and we pride ourselves on ensuring the best possible patient experience as well as safe, high quality care. We are proud to have one of the lowest mortality rates in the NHS. Following a comprehensive Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection in 2019 we maintained our overall rating of ‘good’. Our adult community services achieved a rating of ‘outstanding’.

The commitment of our 23,500 staff is key to our success. We are one of the largest local employers and we aim to develop and support all our staff so they are able to deliver high quality, safe and efficient care. The 2019 NHS staff survey results show that we have one of the most engaged and motivated workforces in the NHS. We know this has a positive impact on the care provided to our patients.

We have one of the most ambitious capital investment programmes anywhere in the NHS.

Job overview

Do you want to work in one of the busiest press offices in the NHS ?We're looking for an experienced Senior Media Officer who will form a key part of our media team in the heart of London. You will identify proactive media opportunities to promote and enhance the Trust’s reputation and have the opportunity to lead on media work to showcase our hospitals and services. As well as proactive media projects, you will also manage a wide range of media enquiries, working with senior and clinical colleagues, and oversee filming across our sites. 


Our press office is one of the busiest in the NHS as our hospitals and staff are often in the news. The press office team works in a fast-paced
environment with responsibility for not only proactive and reactive media work but also running the Trust’s X and Instagram accounts, and ensuring that senior management and clinical staff are briefed on media interest in the Trust.In this exciting role, you will also write for our publications and support high-profile visits and events at the Trust.

Main duties of the job

The person

  • Experience working in a busy press office, with a good understanding of current affairs and ideally with a good knowledge of the NHS;
  • Demonstrable experience of developing story and campaign ideas to achieve positive media coverage;
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills;
  • Effective use of all media channels – print, broadcast and digital, including social media;
  • Adept at working with and commanding the confidence of senior colleagues, clinicians and external stakeholders;
  • Ability to prioritise a busy workload and work efficiently to manage proactive and reactive media work promptly.

Working for our organisation

We are one of the UK's largest trusts and have one of the busiest press offices in the NHS. The Trust delivers hospital and community services in
the heart of London and our reputation for service quality, teaching and research is second to none. We are also part of King’s Health Partners,
one of England's 8 accredited Academic Health Sciences Centres. Working closely with our partner organisations means we are at the forefront of service innovation and medical breakthroughs.


The press office is part of our award-winning communications team. The team works closely together, providing plenty of opportunities to develop
new skills.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Job Summary

The Senior Media Officer will form a key part of the media team in providing a proactive, professional, 24/7 media relations and issues
management service, which includes proactive and reactive media work and updating of the Trust’s X and Instagram feeds, and providing both counsel and operational support to staff at all levels across the Trust.

The post holder will:

  • Develop key relationships within the organisation to source proactive opportunities to promote and enhance the Trust’s reputation with all media audiences. Ensure media activity supports the Trust’s corporate objectives, clinical priority areas, organisational values and promotes its position as one of the world’s leading providers of health care, professional education and academic research
  • Maintain an understanding of the national news agenda and use this to identify opportunities to promote and enhance the Trust’s reputation
  • Maintain the Trust’s X and Instagram accounts on a day to day basis and work with the wider communications team to forward plan social content and activity in line with the Trust’s corporate objectives and key clinical priority areas
  • Inspire trust and confidence internally and externally in the expertise and professionalism of the communications department
  • Play a vital role within the team, providing a first point of contact for journalists, writing for Trust publications, prioritising a busy workload and acting on their own initiative. Promote key messages and ensure their application across all channels, including social media which is increasingly important.  

 

Key relationships

Developing key relationships and networks within the department, across the Trust, King’s Health Partners and with external stakeholders, are essential to the successful delivery of duties and responsibilities.

Internal

  • Director of Communications
  • Colleagues in the central communications department, as well as Evelina London and Heart, lung and critical care communications
    colleagues
  • Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity, Evelina London Children’s Charity and Guy’s Cancer Charity communications colleagues and fundraising
    team
  • Trust Executives and Directors
  • Trust Chairman and Non-Executive Directors
  • Clinical Directors, Heads of Nursing and General Managers
  • Site Nurse Practitioners
  • Trust charity engagement team
  • Security team
  • Corporate departments leads and staff
  • Information Governance lead
  • King’s Health Partners

 

External

  • Local and London media contacts
  • National media health specialists
  • Specialist media, including medical, nursing, scientific and management publications
  • NHS England (national and London)
  • Department of Health and Social Care
  • Local Integrated Care Boards
  • MPs, local authorities and the GLA

Please check the job description for more detailed

Person specification

Qualifications / Education

Essential criteria
  • Educated to degree level (or equivalent experience)
  • Evidence of continued learning/development
  • Excellent IT skills
Desirable criteria
  • Post graduate communications qualification

Experience

Essential criteria
  • Demonstrable experience of developing story and campaign ideas
  • Experience of implementation of media relations policy
  • Experience of media relations
  • Proven experience of creating opportunities and working collaboratively with internal and external partners
  • Influencing and persuasion skills
Desirable criteria
  • Experience of working in the NHS
  • Experience working in a complex organisation
  • Experience of crisis management

Skills

Essential criteria
  • Ability to command the confidence of colleagues and staff
  • Ability to think and plan and to prioritise work programmes in the face of competing demands
  • Ability to manage and deliver to deadlines within resources
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills
  • A good understanding of the NHS and the changing environment
  • Demonstrable utilisation of all media channels - print, broadcast and digital
  • Evidence of ability to deliver against targets
  • Excellent numerical, verbal and critical reasoning
  • Effective negotiation and influencing skills
  • Able to provide and receive highly complex, sensitive or contentious information
  • Knowledge of Contensis or similar content management system
Desirable criteria
  • Understanding of the current health policy developments
Timewise helps businesses to attract and develop the best talent through flexible working.Care quality commission - GoodDisability confident employer

Documents to download

Apply online now

Further details / informal visits contact

Name
Lesley Walker
Job title
Media Manager
Email address
[email protected]
Telephone number
020 7188 1556

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