Band 7 Senior internal communications manager
NHS AfC: Band 7
Main area Communications Grade NHS AfC: Band 7 Contract Permanent Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
37.5 hours per week (On an RFL trust site 3 days per week minimum, with the option for 2 days per week from home)
Job ref 391-RFL-8017793
Site Royal Free Hospital campus Town Hampstead
Salary £58,133 – £65,261 per annum inclusive of HCASSalary period Yearly Closing 03/06/2026 23:59
Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.
Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.
Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
Job overview
The Royal Free London (RFL) is entering an exciting new chapter, following the integration of North Middlesex University Hospital and its community services into our group. Together, we now deliver world-class care across four major hospitals and more than 70 satellite sites, reaching communities across north London and beyond.
At the heart of this is our award-winning communications team, responsible for shaping our voice and sharing the stories that define who we are – our people, our achievements and our ambitions.
Working in a fast-paced, high-profile environment, the team delivers clear, proactive and impactful communications to a wide and varied audience – including 18,000 staff, over a million patients each year, and key partners such as media, GPs, governors, members and NHS organisations.
From leading staff communications and managing our intranet and digital channels to handling media enquiries, driving stakeholder engagement and producing compelling content, the team plays a vital role in keeping people informed, connected and engaged.
This is a high-impact, rewarding place to work – ideal for someone who wants to help shape the voice of one of the NHS’s largest and most forward-looking trusts.
Main duties of the job
You will lead a small, dynamic team delivering high-quality internal communications and staff engagement across the Royal Free London.
This role is central to ensuring our people are consistently informed, connected and engaged. You will oversee the development and delivery of clear, accessible and impactful communications so colleagues across our health units, corporate services and satellite sites understand what is happening across the organisation and what it means for them.
You will lead strategic campaigns, projects and relationships as well as overseeing staff publications and content across a range of channels, balancing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
You will play a key role in shaping communications that support organisational priorities, strengthen culture and improve staff experience.
A skilled and experienced communicator, you will bring excellent writing ability, sound judgement and strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence and advise colleagues at all levels. You will be a creative thinker and effective project manager, able to translate complex information into clear, consistent and engaging messages for diverse audiences.
You will work closely with leaders/managers to ensure communications are effectively cascaded to teams. You will partner closely with the people team to develop communications that support workforce priorities, employee engagement and organisational change.
Requirements
- Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values
- Evidence of continuous professional development in communications/PR
- Specialist knowledge underpinned by theory and experience of internal communications
- Managing and leading a team, and leading integrated teams on projects and/or campaigns
- Maintaining effective relationships with organisational leadership
- Research and evaluation methods and techniques
- Working with sensitive/confidential issues
- Intranet management and content management systems
- Writing, editing, and producing publications
- Specialist knowledge of media, PR and marketing processes and techniques
- Basic NHS functions, structure, issues, and values
- Development of policies
- Design and print processes
- Experience of managing social media platforms and developing content for digital channels, particularly LinkedIn
- Understanding of when team members need support to succeed with challenging tasks and when intervention is needed
- Able to present strategic options where opinions are divided, and the issues are highly complex
- Able to have frequent periods of concentration and cope with frequent interruptions, prioritising heavy workloads and managing multiple projects at the same time
- Proven organisational abilities
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability to teach others
- Able to master a complex brief quickly and interpret it for a non-specialist audience
- Analytical and data presentation skills
- Able to build confident working relationships with colleagues at all levels
- Ability to cope calmly with distressing/emotional situations
- Able to anticipate problems before they arise and offer appropriate solutions, demonstrating sound judgement
- Advanced software skills (MS Office, intranet packages, email software)
Personal Qualities & Attributes
- Highly developed interpersonal communication and negotiation skills; a team player able to contribute to the wider mission of the organisation, with a supportive and flexible approach
- Self-motivated, Proactive and Positive
- Resilient to cope with challenge and criticism
- Ability to inspire confidence when presenting
- Team player, willing to ‘roll up sleeves’ where necessary
- Highly organised approach and ability to prioritise own work in order to meet strict deadlines and targets
- Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to work closely and effectively with staff at all levels within the organisation, including ability to persuade as well as be diplomatic
- Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness
- Actively develops themselves and others
- Self‑awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness
- Demonstrable commitment to partnership working with a range of external organisations
Equality and diversity
We are committed to equal opportunities. All persons, regardless of race, gender, disability, or other characteristics, are encouraged to apply.
Application process
Applicants are invited to apply through our standard application system. This role may close early if we receive a high number of applications.
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