Job summary
- Main area
- Communications & Engagement
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 9
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Part time
- Job share
- Flexible working
- Job ref
- 990-NHP-EC2737-E
- Employer
- NHS England
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Any NHSE Office base
- Town
- Nationally
- Salary
- £112,782 - £129,783 per annum (exclusive of London Weighting)
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/07/2026 23:59
Employer heading
Deputy Director of Communications and Engagement
NHS AfC: Band 9
Our Organisation
We share the core values set out in the NHS Constitution, which all colleagues are expected to demonstrate.
We support you to work in a way that is best for the NHS, our patients and you and your colleagues. Talk to us about how we might be able to accommodate a flexible working arrangement, whether that’s a job share, part time, hybrid working or another flexible pattern.
Job overview
The New Hospital Programme is more than building hospitals, it’s a once in a generation opportunity to shape the future of healthcare in England. We’re delivering over 40 new hospitals that will be modern, sustainable and built around the needs of patients and staff. We’re looking for people who care about purpose, who thrive in complex environments and who want to help deliver change at scale for future generations.
Main duties of the job
Join the New Hospital Programme as a senior leader shaping how one of the most significant transformation programmes in the NHS communicates, collaborates and engages.
You will lead a unified communications and engagement function, driving both strategic planning and fast‑paced reactive activity. Working across government, the NHS, partner Trusts and contractors, you’ll ensure clarity, consistency and impact in how NHP communicates with staff, stakeholders and the public.
Key responsibilities include:
- Leading comms function bringing together professionals across the programme
- Developing and delivering a programme‑wide comms and engagement plan
- Promoting NHP through media, events, conferences and digital channels
- Overseeing major announcements and programme events
- Driving collaboration across Trusts, contractors and system partners
- Leading internal engagement to support a positive programme culture
- Working with DHSC and NHSE to align messaging across the wider system
- Managing and developing the comms and engagement team
- Ensuring high‑quality, consistent internal and external messaging
- Managing risks, issues and the full communications budge
Working for our organisation
NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.
Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.
In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.
If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.
Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.
Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.
We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You can find further details about the role, including key responsibilities and accountabilities, alongside the organisational structure and person specification in the attached Job Description and other supporting documents.
For more information on the NHP programme
Due to ongoing organisational change and developments, aspects of this role may be subject to change.
By applying for this position, you acknowledge and understand that NHS England is currently undergoing a consultation process to finalise its structure, which may impact this role.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Educated to Masters level in a relevant area of academic practice, or equivalent experience.
Desirable criteria
- Additional management qualification or specialist qualification at post graduate level, or equivalent experience.
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Extensive strategic communications and engagement management experience.
Skills
Essential criteria
- Inclusive leader who sets high standards, motivates, collaborates, and promotes personal, organisational and cultural development in-line with NHP values.
- Resilient leader comfortable working with a significant level of ambiguity in a complex and high-pressure change environment.
- Significant influencing skills to gain acceptance and implementation of NHP strategic priorities, including the ability to articulate complex and/ or controversial arguments in a compelling manner on major public platforms.
- Ability to analyse complex problems and translate strategy into delivery – developing and implementing plans and processes across multiple teams.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Chloe Lincoln-Todd
- Job title
- Resourcing Business Partner
- Email address
- [email protected]
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