Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Are you a creative designer with a flair for cutting-edge design?
We are looking for a talented and motivated Graphic Designer to join our dynamic in-house Communications team.
You'll be working in a talented and multi-skilled team of communications experts. You will be an integral part of the team's mission to deliver the highest standard of communications.
The role is an essential part of the Communications team and will be instrumental in providing design ideas and solutions across all media to support a broad communication agenda.
You should have:
* Experience of producing high quality, creative design work, ideally within healthcare or a similar industry
* An understanding of brand and its application within design and elsewhere in an organisation
* Proficient in using graphic design tools within Adobe Creative Suite
* Strong working knowledge of print techniques and technologies
* Strong understanding of digital and traditional graphic design best practices
* Excellent communication skills and the ability to work well as a team
* Experience or an interest in developing photography and videography skills is desirable but not essential
* An interest in developing input into the wider communications agenda.
The job role will involve working on site at the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester and occasionally at Ellesmere Port Hospital, as well as an opportunity for flexible, hybrid working.
Main duties of the job
Key responsibilities:
* Work closely with colleagues and stakeholders to provide professional, high-quality creative design solutions for predominantly digital channels but also occasionally paper-based communications.
* Use design skills to tailor graphics for a range of audiences in a range of styles, with strong working knowledge of digital platforms and up-to-date knowledge of Adobe Creative Cloud platforms.
* Act as brand guardian, advising and supporting the effective implementation of brand development and compliance, design style and design consultation. Work closely with the Communications team and the wider organisation, to maintain a corporate design style that remains fresh and relevant in keeping with the wider NHS identity guidelines, as well as proactively monitoring and advising on compliance with branding guidelines.
* Support the day-to-day operations of the Communications Team, working with team colleagues to plan and deliver communications activity to support the Trust's business objectives and strategies. This might include working directly on social media platforms to plan, schedule and upload posts or to update the Trust's intranet or website with content, including graphics and imagery.
* Work with external print agencies, negotiate and obtain quotes to achieve the best value for money while retaining quality.
* Be responsible for the safe use of photography and design equipment.
About us
The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust provides services to West Cheshire and to Welsh patients covered by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. The Trust works collaboratively within the wider Cheshire and Merseyside Health and Care Partnership.
The Trust employs over 6258 staff (headcount) which includes temporary bank staff and provides acute emergency and elective services, primary care direct access services and obstetric services to a population of approximately 407,000.
The Trust is a busy district general hospital and in 2022/2023, there were more than 503,342 patient attendances (inpatient, outpatient and diagnostic) ranging from a simple outpatient appointment to major cancer surgery.
Job responsibilities
See Job Description for further details.
Recruitment selection processes are based on competence (see Person specification) and values.
Please note applicants will be required to pay for their DBS check. Costs are deducted from salary following appointment. The cost of the DBS application is £27.50 (standard) or £55.50 (enhanced), this cost will be deducted from your salary over the first three months of employment.
You are encouraged to enrol for the DBS Update Service. A small annual fee of £16 per year applies.
New entrants to the NHS will commence on the minimum of the scale stated above.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date.
Good luck with your application.
Person Specification
Qualifications
* A professional postgraduate qualification in graphic design
Knowledge and Experience
* Specialist knowledge of graphic design
* Experience of working with a wide range of professional graphic design programmes, such as Adobe Creative Cloud (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator, Acrobat)
* Experience of working with Microsoft Office tools such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Outlook
* Demonstrable experience of producing innovative, high-quality content for a variety of audiences and a variety of channels, evidenced with a portfolio of design work
* Experience of planning and delivering outputs, often under significant time pressure
* Experience of designing for online engagement platforms such as survey tools, email and social media
* Awareness of relevant laws and standards, such as copyright law, accessibility law, and data protection law
* Experience of commissioning high-quality design materials and of managing external contractors (print agencies, photographers etc) reviewing and making judgements on quotes
* Experience of working in the NHS, public and/or charity sectors
* Working knowledge of HTML
* Experience of working in a customer or client facing environment
* Experience of working as part of a communications team
* Experience of evaluating effectiveness of outputs across all channels
* Experience of working with digital content management systems (websites) such as Umbraco
Skills and Abilities
* Ability to interpret a project brief, assess suitable design solutions, make confident judgements and produce solutions, within budget tailored to different audiences and within brand guidelines
* Understanding of integrated communications
* Demonstrable ability to handle highly sensitive issues in a complex environment and provide specialist advice on how to achieve campaign objectives
* Advanced design skills with a high level of precision and attention to detail
* Ability to develop creative campaigns
* Ability to create and edit images and photos, and create a suite of high-quality, creative materials (digital and offline)
* Good written, verbal, and presentation skills, including the ability to digest and turn complex information into plain English and easily accessible formats for different audiences
* Strong planning, organisational and interpersonal skills
* Ability to meet tight deadlines, with good negotiation and persuasion skills, dealing effectively with challenging issues
* Ability to manage varied and competing priorities effectively
* Ability to provide regular training, advice and to coach others in basic graphic design software and tools.
* Ability to work independently and with a team, and manage own workload
* Ability to act promptly and decisively, working to tight deadlines
* Keen to learn from others and a can-do attitude
* Understanding of NHS and wider health environment
* Competent photographer with experience of taking images to use in corporate communications
* Experience of videography from creating footage through to post-production and output
* Experience of using motion graphics to enhance digital content
* Good awareness of design and digital industry developments and the opportunities they present
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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