Job summary
- Main area
- Communications
- Grade
- Band 5
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 120-AC014-0524
- Employer
- Welsh Blood Service
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Welsh Blood Service
- Town
- Pontyclun
- Salary
- £28,834 - £35,099 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 21/05/2024 23:59
Employer heading
Communications Officer
Band 5
Thank you for your interest in working for the Welsh Blood Service (WBS), which is a committed equal opportunities employer. WBS welcomes applications from people who share our vision;
Velindre University NHS Trust will be recognised locally, nationally and internationally as a renowned organisation of excellence for patient and donor care, education and research.
Our values;
- BE Accountable
- BE Bold
- BE Caring
- BE Dynamic
and who will complement our current experienced and specialist employees, who are passionate about working in an organisation with the ambition to provide world class services & care to our donors.
The WBS is immensely proud of the vital role it plays in modern healthcare, striving to save and transform lives through the generosity of donors. WBS is an amazing place to work and develop your career. Our caring and motivated staff are designing, developing and delivering improvements through the Supply Chain 2020 (BSC2020) initiative, which will enable the WBS to strive towards its vision of working with our staff & the people of Wales to deliver an easy to use, safe and sustainable service for blood and stem cell donation.
Applications may be submitted in Welsh. Applications submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.
Please check your email account regularly. Successful applicants will receive all recruitment related correspondence via the email account registered on the application form.
Please be advised that there is a temporary top up for Bands 1,2 and 3 to reflect the incorporation of the top up to the living wage of £12 per hour - £23,465 per annum. This temporary top up will be in place until the annual pay uplift for 2024/25 is confirmed
Job overview
The Welsh Blood Service (WBS) is committed to engaging its donors, stakeholders, venues and the public in all that it does.
The Service directly engages with over 120,000 blood donors across Wales through a variety of communications channels, including letters, SMS messages, the WBS website, traditional media and social media. The Service also actively engages with members of the public who are not yet donors.
The Communications Officer plays a pivotal role in the delivery of the engagement programme across the geographic area of the Welsh Blood Service.
The post holder will support the development of communications plans that enable the Service to retain existing blood donors and recruit new donors.
The post holder will support the Donor Engagement and Communications Manager with media queries, acting as the first point of contact for all inbound media queries.
The post holder will support the creation and implementation of all WBS promotional campaigns and events to increase public awareness and encourage blood, platelet and bone marrow donation.
There will be a requirement for the post holder to work across the geographical area of the Welsh Blood Service and to work outside of normal business hours as required.
Main duties of the job
Under the direction of the Donor Engagement and Communications Manager, the Communications Officer is responsible for the planning, creation and publication of engaging communications content through a broad range of communications channels.
Using print, online, broadcast and social media to promote blood donation sessions throughout Wales, the Communications Officer will take the lead in creating compelling communications content, including news releases, case studies, website stories, video content, social media graphics and other donor facing collateral.
A strategic thinker with strong experience of creating and executing communications activity, the Communications Officer will be adept at identifying a target audience and developing salient communications material that can be delivered through appropriate channels.
The Communications Officer will have strong content creation skills to ensure all content can be repurposed for maximum impact across channels, for external and internal audiences.
The Communications Officer will develop and improve the Welsh Blood Service’s digital offering (website, intranet and social media channels) and will enhance the Service’s presence in mainstream media and hyper local news outlets.
The ability to speak Welsh is desirable for this role; Welsh and/or English speakers are equally welcome to apply.
Working for our organisation
Here at Velindre University NHS Trust we are extremely proud of the specialist services we provide across the whole of Wales in our cutting edge
Velindre Cancer Centre and our award-winning Welsh Blood Service, as well as the expertise of our corporate functions that bring the two
divisions together. We are also fortunate to host the NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership and Health Technology Wales and have
developed strong partnership working with these expert services.
Formed in 1999, the Trust has a dedicated workforce that continuously strives to provide the key principles of prudent healthcare through a wide
array of roles. We play a vital role in the communities we support and have ambitious plans for the future to continue to improve the services we
deliver.
We strive to maintain our core values in everything we do by being; accountable, bold, caring and dynamic, and ensuring the best possible
care for our patients and donors.
If you want to work for an organisation that prides itself on making a real difference and offers exciting career opportunities then Velindre
University NHS Trust is the place for you.
Visit our website to find out more: https://velindre.nhs.wales/
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
You will be able to find a full Job Description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click “Apply now” to
view in Trac.
Person specification
Qualifications and/or Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Educated to degree level in a relevant field or equivalent experience.
- Evidence of continued professional development.
Desirable criteria
- CIPR, CIM or equivalent membership.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Sufficient experience in a communications or marketing role.
- Experience of working with the media to boost the reputation of an organisation.
- Experience of generating communications content in a variety of formats (press releases, videos, features, case studies etc.)
- Experience of engaging and communicating with different communities.
- Experience of maintaining a corporate social media community.
Desirable criteria
- Experience of designing and delivering staff training programmes
Values
Essential criteria
- Ability to manage multiple stakeholders and have the ability to influence and persuade effectively.
- Calm whilst dealing with crisis situations and/or emotional circumstances.
- Confident in identifying and approaching internal and external individuals to establish new working relationships.
- Confidence to speak publicly including on TV and radio.
- Good eye for detail, for example ensuring branding is used appropriately across platforms and the organisation.
- Natural problem solver with the ability to adapt quickly to sudden changes.
- Tenacious, demonstrates drive, enthusiasm and stamina to achieve goals and see things through.
Other
Essential criteria
- Ability to travel between sites and across a wide geographical area in a timely manner.
- Flexible approach to work.
- Self-motivated and able to work autonomously.
- Committed to continuous professional development.
- Flexibility to work outside of normal hours.
Aptitude and Abilities
Essential criteria
- Excellent communication skills, both oral and written.
- Ability to create communications plans for various engagement activity with the resources available
- Ability to create engaging content to encourage positive interaction with a variety of target audiences in Wales
- A developed understanding of social media channels and experience of using social media in a professional capacity.
- Strong presentation and facilitation skills.
- Organised and able to prioritise workload as appropriate whilst working on multiple projects.
- Ability to handle sensitive issues in a positive and diplomatic manner.
- Ability to edit video content for use on digital platforms.
Desirable criteria
- Ability to speak Welsh.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Welsh language skills are desirable
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Simon Campbell-Davies
- Job title
- Interim Donor Engagement & Communications Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07814 688051
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