Director of Communications

Job summary

The Director of Communications will be responsible for the expert communications and engagement function on behalf of the organisation. The successful post holder will lead a team of committed communication, engagement, design and stakeholder professionals tasked with informing, inspiring and motivating our staff; as well as working in partnership with our stakeholders, local community and service users to share insights and improve our services.

The successful post holder will play a critical role in supporting the organisation through an exciting period for the Trust, as we look forward with an increasing emphasis on partnership working to improve the health of our local community across West London and Berkshire for Broadmoor. The successful candidate will be an experienced, strategic leader with an in-depth understanding of what it takes to develop and lead high performing communications functions. They will need to be comfortable working in fast-paced and often unpredictable environments, managing complex and evolving stakeholder relationships and be a natural collaborator, both inside and outside of the organisation.

This role is being offered as a 12-month fixed-term contract or secondment providing maternity cover.

Main duties of the job

This appointment will play a key role on closer working between the wider community and mental health collaborative to achieve a shared goal of providing the highest quality service to manage, protect and enhance the reputation of our organisation, through clear and coherent messaging and impactful communications.

We recognise the vital role that effective communication plays in enabling an organisation to enhance its reputation and celebrate its successes. A lot has been achieved in the last number of years; the Care Quality Commission has rated our wider services 'Good', with Forensic services and caring both rated as 'Outstanding'; we opened the doors to a new, state of the art Broadmoor Hospital in Berkshire; and we transitioned from a mental health Trust to an integrated care Trust now known as West London NHS Trust.

Our work has received national recognition and we have laid solid foundations for the Trust's future in continuing to deliver outstanding community and mental health services. There is no denying that the challenges that staff and the wider NHS face are significant. We're working against the backdrop of large-scale societal events that have furthered health inequalities, e.g. the Covid-19 pandemic and Grenfell.

The next chapter will require agility, tenacity for innovation and clear-sighted ambition in order to improve the care and support to service users and enhance the ways in which we interact with our wider communities.

About us

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse healthcare providers in the UK, delivering a range of mental health and physical healthcare and community services. The Trust runs Broadmoor Hospital, one of three high secure hospitals in the country, with an international reputation.

Our high secure services care for patients from South of England and we provide low and medium secure services across eight London boroughs. The Trust also provides mental and physical healthcare in three London boroughs (Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham). We employ 4,500 staff, of whom 56% are BME. Our turnover for 2023-24 is £426m.

The Trust is rated as 'Good' overall by the Care Quality Commission. Forensic services are rated as 'Outstanding'.

The Trust is an established partner and contributor in the development of the evolving North West London Integrated Care System and the Integrated Care Board. The Trust leads the NW London Children and Adolescent Mental Health provider collaborative.