Are you fascinated by change and innovation? Can you help the NHS adopt innovation faster to help deliver better care to patients? 

At Health Innovation Wessex, we improve people’s health, achieve excellence in healthcare and boost innovation and growth in our region’s life sciences and healthcare sector. As one of 15 health innovation networks across England, we connect and support academics, NHS, industry and others to bring fresh energy to old problems, inspired thinking to new ones and to adopt innovative practice at scale.

Our communications function has a wide remit encompassing corporate, programme and internal communications and engagement, plus collaboration with our Health Innovation Network colleagues on local implementation of national workstreams and stakeholders across healthcare and innovation.

We’re looking for an experienced Communications Manager with exceptional digital, copywriting and project management skills to join our team and play a pivotal role in delivering engaging content across a range of channels.
  

Attached you will find the person specification document which provides more detail about the essential and desirable skills and experience needed for this role. We highly recommend you review this document and use it when completing your application as these criteria are used by hiring managers as guidance during shortlisting. 

For an overview of the main duties of the role please see the ‘Job Description and Main Responsibilities’ section below. To understand the day-to-day responsibilities in more detail please read the full job description document attached. 

Health Innovation Wessex is a company limited by guarantee, owned by the NHS and University members and hosted by University Hospital Southampton. 

Based at Southampton Science Park in Chilworth in a bright modern office easily accessible from the M3, M27 and Southampton Parkway train station, the location offers free parking with a café area and networking spaces on site. 27 acres of the Science Park site are designated a protected Conservation Area and open to staff.

We are keen to ensure that staff enjoy a successful work/life balance and offer flexible working dependent on the requirements of the role. Health Innovation Wessex endorses personal development and provides training allowances to help you deliver in the role and meet your career goals.
We also have a proactive approach to wellbeing in line with our core values of being Innovative, Inclusive and Collaborative, with staff engagement groups shaping the organisation’s culture and driving initiatives to allow our people to flourish despite times of challenge, change and high demand. 

As our Communications Manager, you’ll play a strategic role with key responsibility for:

•    External communications – including social media, media and online –
as well as messaging and providing support and advice to colleagues.
•    Dealing with stakeholders, members and media to raise the profile of HIW and promote the adoption and spread of innovation to transform health and care.
•    Managing specific digital communications projects such as the commission of a new website and developing channel strategies, liaising with colleagues and external suppliers to create and evaluate
•    Overseeing and driving social and digital media campaigns for programme engagement and income generation.
•    Overseeing and developing branded assets to promote the services, expertise and activity within HIW
•    Internal communications – contributing to internal communications activities for staff, partners and stakeholders.
•    Provision of expert advice on communication strategies for specific
projects and programmes. 
•    Providing public relations support and developing media coverage for a range of projects and initiatives. 
•    Working with other health innovation networks on the delivery and promotion of programmes on behalf of the national Network
•    Prudent commissioning of services from external suppliers to support HIW communication activities.