Job vacancy: Senior Communications and Engagement Manager, NHS England, Nationally

Job summary

Main area

Communications - Financial and Commercial

Grade

NHS AfC: Band 8a

Contract

Fixed term: 7 months (until 31 March 2027 - Secondment only for current NHS employees)

Hours

Full time
Part time
Job share
Flexible working

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

990-CEO-EC4559-E

Employer: NHS England
Employer type: NHS
Site: Any NHSE Office
Town: Nationally
Salary: £57,528 - £64,750 per annum (exclusive of London Weighting)
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 08/09/2026 23:59

Senior Communications and Engagement Manager

NHS AfC: Band 8a

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.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

As Senior Communications and Engagement Manager working in the Public Accountability Communications and Engagement (PACE) directorate, the post holder will need to have the ability to work flexibly across portfolios and teams, and with multiple stakeholders, helping to sustain communications and engagement support for operational teams and the wider system while broadening skills and expertise across the function.

The role will help drive transformation, strengthen public accountability and support clear communications on policy, operational delivery, national commissioning, finance, commercial and estates activity, ensuring complex decisions and service changes are explained in ways that are accessible, relevant and meaningful for patients, carers and the public.

The successful candidate will report to the Head of Communications and Engagement and work with senior leaders, policy and operational colleagues, as well as external partners and stakeholders and crucially also support regional teams and partners across the PACE function. You could support communications and engagement activities for:

Health and justice, armed forces commissioning, sexual assault services commissioning, including engagement with vulnerable patient groups and partners across government, the NHS and the voluntary sector
Specialised commissioning priorities, helping explain complex national services, clinical policy, service change and statutory engagement requirements clearly
Genomics communications, including complex policy, service development and stakeholder engagement with clinical, patient and system audiences
Commercial, procurement and supply chain communications, including, supplier engagement and work with DHSC, NHS Supply Chain and other national partners
Estates and facilities communications, including capital programmes, RAAC, sustainability, infrastructure and wider patient safety risks across the NHS estate
Finance communications, helping explain NHS financial priorities, value for money and complex funding issues
High-profile reactive, media and stakeholder issues, ensuring communications are timely, accurate and aligned across organisations

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.

Secondments

Applicants from within the NHS will be offered on a secondment basis only, agreement should be obtained from their employer prior to submitting the application.

Person specification

Qualifications

Essential criteria

Educated to masters level or equivalent level of experience of working at a senior level in specialist area.

Knowledge and experience

Essential criteria

Excellent understanding, knowledge and skill in a range of communications disciplines from the following: strategic communications, internal communications, media relations, events, behaviour change, campaigns, marketing, reputation management, change management, stakeholder engagement, project management and public affairs.
Significant experience of working simultaneously on multiple communications and engagement activities, with excellent project management, planning and coordination across a range of communications and engagement disciplines and channels
Significant experience of insight and audience research to develop communications and engagement activities and evaluate outcomes
Robust knowledge of communications planning in an agile way to enable a fast response to changing circumstances that may include new operating environments, the rapid introduction of new policies, products or services, and political and business uncertainty.

Skills, Capabilities & Attributes

Essential criteria

Demonstrate excellent levels of written and verbal communication, with the ability explain complicated issues fluently and persuasively. Excellent ability to spot the “story” in the detail of policy, whether that be one of opportunity or risk.
Able to quickly understand complex health, social care, political and business issues and to use that understanding to develop effective approaches, providing advice to staff and colleagues. Ability to manage the developme
Confidently engage with stakeholders to generate commitment to goals.
Recognise when business or communications activity is likely to create risk and consult with senior colleagues, contributing to resolving the problem with the ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise.

Values and Behaviours

Essential criteria

Appreciates the importance of communications and engagement in delivering for patients, improving services and supporting frontline staff.
Works across boundaries, looks for collective success, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others
Works well with others, is positive and helpful, listens, involves, respects and learns from the contribution of others.
Needs to have a thorough understanding of and commitment to equality of opportunity and good working relationships both in terms of day-to-day working practices, but also in relation to management systems.

Our commitments to you

We are passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. We know that different ideas, perspectives and backgrounds create a stronger and more creative work environment that delivers better patient outcomes.

We strive to ensure our people feel trusted, valued and empowered. When you join us, we want you to grow and excel, and we offer many opportunities for you to do that.

We welcome your talent and enthusiasm irrespective of age, disability, neuro-divergence, sex, gender identity and gender expression, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or other personal circumstances.

We ensure all applicants are treated fairly and consistently at every stage of the recruitment process. This includes considering reasonable adjustments for people who have a disability and/or who are neuro-divergent.

We welcome applications from disabled candidates. If you meet all the essential criteria, you will be guaranteed an interview.

Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the role. While we appreciate you may have had some support with your application (for example, using AI technology or guidance from a trusted individual), it’s important all the information you provide in it reflects your own knowledge, skills and experience and we trust that you apply on that basis.

If you’re applying for this role on a secondment basis, please get agreement from your current line manager before you apply.

We don’t accept applications via recruitment agencies, and we cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

To comply with the HM Government Functional Standard GovS 007, and specifically the Personnel Security Standards 2024, individuals employed or contracted by NHS England may be required to undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standards check, dependent on the role.

NHS Business Services Authority is responsible for processing your application; our privacy can be accessed directly on the application page when you select to apply.

If you are appointed to a post, your information will also be transferred into the NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

If you have a query about your application, please contact the recruitment team: [email protected] or 0300 330 1369.

NHS England