Job vacancy: Senior Communications Lead - Transformation, East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, Stevenage

Job summary

Main area

Communications and engagement

Grade

NHS AfC: Band 8b

Contract

Fixed term: 6 months (End Date: October 2026)

Hours

Full time
Part time

37.5 hours per week

Job ref

361-7823317

Employer: East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust
Employer type: NHS
Site: Lister Hospital
Town: Stevenage
Salary: £66,582 - £77,368 per annum
Salary period: Yearly
Closing: 21/04/2026 23:59
Interview date: 29/05/2026

Senior Communications Lead - Transformation

NHS AfC: Band 8b

Here at East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust

Our mission is:
Providing high-quality, compassionate care for our communities

Our vision to 2030 is:
To be trusted to provide consistently outstanding care and exemplary service

Our values - We want our staff to believe in, demonstrate and live our values in everything we do. Our values are:

Include
We value the diversity and experience of our community colleagues and partners, creating relationships and climates that provide an opportunity to share, collaborate and grow together.

Respect
We create a safe environment where we are curious of the lived experience of others, seek out best practice and are open to listening and hearing new ideas.

Improve
We are committed to consistently delivering excellent services and continuously looking to improve through a creative workforce that feels empowered to act in service of our shared purpose.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification applicant pack for further detailed information regarding this role.

Person specification

Qualifications/Training

Essential criteria

Educated to degree level or equivalent experience.
Professional communications/PR qualification (e.g. CIPR, CIM, GCS) or equivalent senior experience.
Evidence of continual professional development.

Previous Experience

Essential criteria

Extensive senior communications experience at Band 8a/8b level or equivalent.
Experience influencing and supporting senior leaders, including executive teams.
Experience delivering strategic, multichannel communication plans with measurable impact.
Experience managing sensitive, high-risk or high-profile communications.

Desirable criteria

Experience working closely with clinical and operational teams.
Experience in NHS communications or other regulated public sector environments.
Experience in financial, operational or workforce transformation programmes.

Skills

Essential criteria

Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to translate complex information for diverse audiences
Ability to develop clear, compelling narratives across clinical, corporate and operational audiences
Strong influencing and relationship-building skills at all levels.
Confident facilitation and presentation skills
Ability to manage ambiguity, challenge assumptions and provide constructive professional advice.
Highly organised, able to manage multiple priorities and deliver at pace.
Insight-driven approach; skilled in evaluation and communications KPIs.
Ability to identify and mitigate communications risks quickly and effectively

Knowledge

Essential criteria

Understanding of strategic communications principles including planning frameworks
Knowledge of digital channels, analytics and evaluation frameworks

Desirable criteria

Understanding of NHS context, regulatory pressures and political/sensitive environments
Knowledge of organisational development, culture change and behaviour change theory as applied to comms

Other Requirements

Essential criteria

Experience and evidence of engagement around the equality, diversity and inclusion agenda. Able to actively support the development of a culture that recognises and promotes equality, values diversity, and actively leads by example in deploying these qualities. Understands the impact on equality, diversity and inclusion issues in all aspects of service delivery and planning
Role model our trust values every day

When you apply...

Please note we do not offer visa sponsorship for roles unless clearly stated in our adverts. This means even if you have the right to work currently but will require a new sponsorship to work for our Trust your application will not be considered.

Vacancies may close earlier than the advertised closing date where a high volume of applications are received. We therefore encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible to avoid missing out on the opportunity to join the Trust or develop your career with us.

While we recognise that AI can support in drafting an application, you are encouraged to clearly demonstrate your personal skills, experience and behaviours that align with the role, and this is usually best done in your own words. We reserve the right to review all applications for the use of AI tools and where this is inconsistent with our values and standards of behaviour your application may be rejected

All correspondence relating to vacancies will be via the e-mail address you have provided on your application form. Some servers automatically send e-mails to your junk mail so please check as well as your inbox.

Secondments/Fixed term

Where a vacancy is advertised as a temporary position, the duration will be specified in the advert. If the vacancy becomes permanent towards the end of the specified duration, the successful applicant may not be required to re-apply and can be slotted into the role on a permanent basis if appropriate.

If you are an internal applicant applying for a temporary working arrangement, please see the attached notes on secondments.

Committed to our Community

East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust is committed to equality, diversity and inclusion for all job applicants, staff, patients and the wider community. We want to create a workforce which represents the communities we serve. We are on a journey to become a more inclusive organisation and we welcome applications from everyone regardless of their background. In particular we encourage applications from candidates with disabilities, and candidates from Black, Asian and Minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds who are currently under-represented in various parts of our workforce .

We understand the importance of balancing work and home life. We are committed to support flexible working for our staff wherever possible and all our employees are given the opportunity to discuss potential for flexible working.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident employer and achieved our status in 2019.

We will remove barriers that prospective candidates might face at any stage of our recruitment process. If you have a disability and would like the advert in an alternative format, or would like to talk about how we can adjust the interview process to best support you, please contact us by emailing [email protected]

We are also proud to support our UK armed forces by supporting Reservists, Cadet Instructors, Veterans and military spouses/partners into employment and offering supportive policies that value their contribution to the community and to our Trust.

We are committed to being a carer-friendly environment, addressing the complex needs of families with caring responsibilities. In partnership with Carers in Hertfordshire, all our working carers have access to support from recruitment. We are also a member of Carers UK, providing resources to make balancing work and caring easier. Our approach is inclusive, recognizing diverse challenges and creating a supportive environment where carers feel valued.

King's Trust Support

If you’re aged between 16 and 30 years-old, you can get FREE employability support from The King’s Trust. The King’s Trust will help build your CV and cover letter, offer advice and top tips for future interviews and support you with research about working in the NHS. Please contact Enquiries.H&[email protected] for support.