We're looking for a skilled communicator with a passion for health and care. If you thrive in a fast-paced environment and enjoy creating engaging messaging that captivates your audience, we have the perfect opportunity for you!
Join our dynamic team as a Communications Officer in Dorset and play a crucial role in sharing stories to show how our integrated care system is working together to improve the lives of our local community. You'll work closely with our Communications and Marketing team to create engaging content for various channels, build strong relationships with the media, and coordinate proactive and reactive communications to uphold our organisation's reputation.
In this role, you will lead the coordination of media queries, develop communication plans based on audience insights, and measure the impact of your efforts to ensure our messages resonate with the right people. You'll also help with internal communications and create content for digital channels.
If you have experience in media relations, crisis management, social media, and content creation, and are ready to make a meaningful impact in the health and care sector, we want to hear from you. Join us in celebrating achievements, promoting excellence, and enhancing our reputation locally. Apply now and be part of a team dedicated to keeping our local communities well-informed.
Main duties of the job
In this role, you will be vital in sharing positive news, creating engaging content, and building strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Key tasks include sourcing good news stories, developing communication plans, evaluating the impact of communication activities, and ensuring they are written in plain English.
You will create content for various channels such as corporate publications, press releases, promotional material, presentations, articles, newsletters, and reports. You will handle media relations, including proactive and reactive media handling, media monitoring, and building relationships with the media and stakeholders. Coordinating Freedom of Information and MP requests and responses is a part of the role.
You will support the development and delivery of marketing and communication plans, as well as creating content for digital communication channels like social media and the website. You will work closely with other members of the team to align activities and ensure consistency in messaging.
You will monitor and evaluate the impact of communication activities to identify areas for improvement and also support all aspects of the production of digital and print publications, ensuring branding and style guidelines are followed effectively.
This role is crucial in promoting the achievements and excellence of NHS Dorset, enhancing its reputation, and ensuring that communications resonate with the right audiences both internally and externally.
About us
We know many use AI to enhance their applications. While AI brings efficiency, we value authenticity and urge applicants to reflect their true skills and experiences. NHS Dorset evaluates each application fairly, acknowledging AI's benefits and limitations.
We are joining up to tackle all the things that affect our health and wellbeing, make real change, and improve things for our communities.
Dorset ICS is made up of:
* NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board
* University Hospitals Dorset Foundation Trust
* Dorset County Hospital Foundation Trust
* Dorset HealthCare University Foundation Trust
* Bournemouth, Christchurch, and Poole Council
* 194 town and parish councils
* 18 primary care networks (made up of 73 GP practices)
* Southwestern Ambulance Service Foundation Trust
* Dorset Police
* Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service
* 7,300 voluntary organisations
What we do
The Health and Care Bill puts ICSs on a statutory footing empowering them to better join up health and care services, improve population health, and reduce health inequalities.
ICSs have four core purposes:
* Improve outcomes in population health and healthcare
* Tackle inequalities in outcomes, experience, and access
* Enhance productivity and value for money
* Help the NHS support broader social and economic development
Job responsibilities
We're looking for a great communicator with a passion for health and care that can hit the ground running in this fast-paced and challenging role.
You may already be in a press office, journalism, or communications role looking for your next opportunity.
As our new Communications Officer, you'll get the chance to create meaningful communications that help our local communities stay well. You'll translate complex ideas into plain English that really grab people's attention. You'll tell the story of the great work we're doing to improve the lives of people in Dorset, and share it with the public, our partners, and our colleagues across a variety of channels. You'll build good relationships with the media to ensure the right messages reach local people and coordinate reactive communications to help protect and enhance the organisation's reputation.
You'll be working as part of our creative and supportive Communications and Marketing team. The team is responsible for producing award-winning campaigns and high-quality messaging for the public, the media, our partners, and colleagues.
Reporting to the Senior Communications Officer, you will:
* Lead on the coordination of media queries, working with colleagues from across the system to develop strong, open, and honest messages.
* Build strong relationships internally and externally that help us better understand our audiences and enhance our reputation.
* Work with colleagues to source and develop good news stories for sharing with colleagues, partners, and the public.
* Support internal communication activities including our daily staff bulletin, board meetings, and all staff live sessions.
* Use audience insight and wider research to help develop and deliver communication plans which ensure our communications resonate with the right people.
* Measure the impact of your communications activities using quantitative and qualitative insights, and report regularly on outcomes and learning.
We're looking for someone with a range of communications and marketing skills, including experience working with the media, public relations, crisis management, social media, and digital content creation, blog writing, content creation for campaigns and patient information. You'll also be able to provide communications support for our priority areas including equality, diversity and inclusion, and culture and transformation across Dorset's integrated care system.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* Specialist training and/or relevant experience and knowledge in a digital communications or marketing field.
* Evidence of ongoing professional development in related fields.
Experience
* Recent previous experience within a comparable role.
* Experience of working with local/national media to ensure the right message and story is told.
* Experience of writing and producing communications for a range of audiences and channels.
* Working in partnership with multiple stakeholders to coordinate high-quality messages.
* Experience of developing and implementing highly effective communication plans.
* Experience of turning complex messaging into plain English.
* Evaluating the impact and effectiveness of your communication activities and reporting on the impact and lessons learned.
* Experience of working in a busy communications and/or marketing environment.
* Experience of delivering and evaluating communications plans.
* Experience of design and photo editing programmes is desirable.
* Experience/knowledge of the health sector is desirable.
Personal Values
* Personal commitment to the values of the NHS.
* Lives by the values of openness and integrity and has supported the development of teams where this thrives.
* Excellent team player.
Skills, abilities and knowledge
* Ability to create engaging content to use across a range of platforms.
* Evidence of managing projects from start to finish including ongoing evaluation.
* Good writing and copy-editing skills for a variety of channels and audiences.
* Knowledge of websites, social media, and newsletter content management and customer relationship management systems.
* WordPress skills to help update websites is an advantage.
* SharePoint skills are an advantage but not essential.
* Knowledge of evaluation tools including Google Analytics and Twitter Analytics is an advantage.
* Ability to work collaboratively as part of a broader team, recognising the importance of integrated communications.
* Ability to develop productive, professional working relationships with internal colleagues, stakeholders, and suppliers.
* Ability to act on initiative, to work under pressure and exercise judgment.
* Good personal presentation and verbal communication skills.
* Attention to detail with good organisational skills.
* Ability to work under pressure, to tight deadlines, and to prioritise workload.
* Knowledge in social media and best practices.
* Creative, innovative, and detail-oriented.
* Excellent communication skills, with an enthusiasm for communicating challenging messages creatively and effectively.
* Networking skills, and the ability to proactively build productive working relationships with internal and external partners.
* A proven ability to write engaging and accessible copy and develop other content in a variety of styles for different audiences and channels, conveying key points clearly and concisely.
* Excellent proofreading and editorial skills with exceptional attention to detail.
* Ability to remain calm, effective, and positive even when under pressure and to take ownership for delivering outcomes.
* Initiative in identifying and recommending new approaches.
* Willingness to work flexibly as part of a team and respond to urgent requests.
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