Campaign Communications Manager

Department - Engagement and Communications

Reports to - Head of Communications 

Hours of work- 37.5 hours a week over five days

Base - Hybrid home-location working. The postholder is required to attend our office in the Pears Building, Hampstead every Thursday and travel as needed to our locations in north London: Barnet Hospital (Barnet) or Chase Farm Hospital (Enfield) or Royal Free Hospital (Hampstead). 

Our vision

Our vision is for everyone served by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (RFL) to have access to world-leading healthcare, delivered by a thriving workforce and driven by medical research that has a global impact. We support the 10,000 staff of the RFL and their 1.6 million patients across Barnet, Chase Farm and Royal Free hospitals and more than 30 NHS services.

What we do

Through the services we provide, and the programmes and equipment we fund, we make a profound and immediate difference to patients’ experiences of care.

Our volunteering, support hub and complementary therapy teams enhance the hospital journey for all patients – whether they live locally or come from further away to access the trust’s specialist services.

Our support of the RFL workforce enables staff to perform at their best. Spanning individual professional development and training through to organisation-wide interventions, our initiatives bolster employee resilience and mental health so they can achieve the best outcomes for patients.

We fund ground breaking research with the potential to change people’s lives, whether it is through our grant programmes, commissioned research or delivering major capital funding appeals.

Our approach

We are a solution-focused strategic partner to the RFL, helping our hospitals to go further and faster than the NHS could do alone. We believe funding decisions should be made based on strategic priority and impact, with a strong focus on co-production.

We invest in:

• enhanced support for patients
• vital support for our staff
• ground breaking research and innovation
• cutting-edge medical equipment

The generosity of our donors, fundraisers and volunteers enables us to do this.

The charity, which employs more than 80 people, is working towards becoming an employer of choice.

Job purpose

This is a pivotal role created to support an ambitious £80m fundraising appeal that will culminate in the creation of the new Royal Free London Cancer Centre.

The RFL, is one of the busiest cancer services in London, combining local care for a population of 2.5m with specialist services relied on by patients from all over the UK and beyond. By 2030, the number of people diagnosed with cancer in north central London is forecast to increase by 42% to 66,000 as the population ages.

The RFL urgently needs to increase its diagnostic, treatment, research and development capacity to meet the needs of our patients. In response, the Royal Free Charity is preparing a major fundraising appeal to support:

•  the capital costs for the construction and equipping of a dedicated centre
• the delivery of cancer-related support services.

The campaign communications manager will support the activities of our fundraising directorate in the private phase (Autumn 2024 onwards) and the launch of the public phase of our appeal in early 2026.

The postholder will be responsible for developing and executing strategic communication plans to engage philanthropists, existing supporters, grateful patients, stakeholders and the public. It promises to be a varied and rewarding role in a small but highly collaborative and friendly team.

The role will report to our head of communications and work closely with the campaign director and colleagues in our fundraising directorate and with key clinical leads in the RFL.  

The role is ideally suited to someone who is comfortable working across strategic planning and operational delivery, relishing the opportunity to translate plans into activity.

Engagement and communications department

The communications team is responsible for keeping our supporters and local residents informed about the difference we make to the patients and staff of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.

We celebrate achievements and promote the charity and its successes to the world. We manage our digital presence through a range of channels including our website, our social media platforms and email marketing.

The objectives of the post are to: 

• develop and deliver the overarching communications and engagement plan for the cancer campaign
• work with the campaign director and colleagues in our fundraising directorate to support the development and delivery of donor-specific communication plans
• work with the campaign chair and campaign board members to promote the campaign in sectors where they are seeking to raise significant funds i.e. tech, finance, banking, media etc
• work with the campaign director and relevant agency to produce campaign materials and ensure the patient voice is represented in the appeal
• embed and champion the campaign brand to ensure consistency across all communications
• develop and maintain a campaign web presence, ensuring it is regularly updated with relevant content
• identify opportunities for thought leadership, including long-read articles and guest blog posts
• identify opportunities to update our supporters on progress
• share in the delivery of internal communications activity to ensure our staff and volunteers are well-informed ambassadors for the campaign
• share in the delivery of engagement activity with our online followers and supporters, responding in a timely and positive manner to comments and messages
• produce a wide range of communication materials including, but not limited to, reports, case studies, press releases and supporter information

• manage the storing of content and related consent on our digital asset management system

• provide ad-hoc support to the communications team including, but not limited to, crisis response and reputation management incidents

• represent the charity at events, conferences and meetings as needed

• co-ordinate plans and activity with the RFL trust comms team’s dedicated cancer communications manager

Key Relationships

• Engagement and communications directorate
• Campaign director
• Fundraising directorate
• Campaign Chair and Board members
• Charity trustees
• RFL communications team
• RFL clinical leads for cancer services and research

Person specification

Qualifications, experience, skills and knowledge

Qualifications – essential

• Educated to degree level or have a qualification in a relevant subject or have comparable relevant experience 

Qualifications – desirable

• Membership of a relevant professional group such as the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) or Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM)

Experience – essential

• experience in a mid-level communications or marketing role  

• experience working for the NHS or a health-related charity/not-for-profit organisation
• experience of delivering communications plans, from planning to execution and including evaluation
• experience of writing for a range of audiences and adapting content accordingly
• experience of ensuring content adheres to brand guidelines and tone of voice

 

Experience – desirable 

• experience of writing about cancer-related issues – this could be service delivery, patient support or research

•  experience of creating content that conforms to UK public sector accessibility standards

• experience of gaining and storing consent from subjects in photography, video and/or case studies
• experience of creating content in support of fundraising activity
• experience of working on a multi-year high value fundraising campaign

Skills & Knowledge – essential

•  excellent writing skills
• excellent people skills with the ability to put people at ease in interviews
• able to work under pressure and to deadline while prioritising and managing own workload
• operational understanding of SEO principles and experience in optimising content for search engines
• sound understanding of the NHS and health issues
•  a thorough knowledge of MS Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint)
•  experience using CMS platforms such as WordPress, Craft or similar
• confidence to learn new systems and skillsets independently

Skills & Knowledge – desirable 

• experience producing or commissioning video content

• experience of producing or commissioning podcasts

Other requirements – we expect you to:

•  Take time for personal development, contributing learning and ideas to the wider team.

• To work unsupervised

• To work to tight deadlines and deliver results

• To have a positive professional work attitude

•  Be highly motivated and able to take the initiative

• Have a strong affinity with the NHS and philanthropic values

•  Have attention to detail

•  Support your team and your other colleagues

• Attend meetings and training as required

• Be flexible and respond to the needs of the charity

• Attend supervision on a regular basis with the line manager

• To treat everyone equally, regardless of sex, age, disability, gender reassignment, race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sexual orientation, or any other protected characteristic

• Read and adhere to the charity policies, including the dress code, and all relevant legislation and ensure that any team members who report to you do the same

• Work toward the charity’s vision and mission, and act in line with its values of dedication, innovation, partnership, energy and respect.

• Be aware of and have a good understanding of Health and Safety at Work and the Fire Procedure and understand the correct action to be taken in the event of a fire

• To undertake any additional relevant duties as required

This job description is not exhaustive. The role will include other tasks and responsibilities commensurate with the post and any changes needed to meet legislative requirements.

The recruitment process

To apply for this post, please send the following:

• CV (please include your last employer and dates of employment)

• Cover letter addressing how you meet the criteria set out in the job description and person specification

Please note, that applications submitted without a cover letter will not be considered for this role.

Closing date for application: Friday 12 July 2024, 12 noon.

Interview date: Wednesday 31 July 2024

• Please note, you must be able to provide evidence of eligibility to work in the UK.

We are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that candidates may require during the recruitment process. If you require any reasonable adjustments at any stage during this process, please contact us as soon as possible.

As an equal opportunities’ employer, the Royal Free Charity is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership.

We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join the Royal Free Charity and act in line with our values of dedication, innovation, partnership, energy and respect.

Benefits:

Core benefits:

•  25 days of paid holiday, plus three-day office closure rest period between Christmas and New Year, and UK bank holidays. This increases to 30 days leave after five completed years of continuous employment (all leave is pro rata for part time employees).
• A contributory pension scheme, where we match your 4% contribution towards your pension. If you choose to increase your payments into your pension scheme, we’ll match your contribution up to 9%.
•  A sick pay package that offers one month’s full pay and one month’s half pay in any 12-month period if you’ve been with us for less than two years. This rises to two months’ full pay and two months’ half pay in any 12-month period after two years of continuous employment.
•  Occupational maternity pay and paternity pay packages that provide more generous support than statutory pay alone.
•  A flexible working policy to support our employees’ work/life balance.

Support for your financial wellbeing:

As a member of the Royal Free family, you’ll be entitled to benefit from:

•  Expert financial advice from our financial partner, the London Credit Union
• Savings on purchases with the Blue Light Card
• Our Death in Service benefit

Support for your health and wellbeing

•  Gym, pool and classes at our Rec Club in Hampstead
•  Secure bicycle parking and shower facilities at our Hampstead site
•  Monthly guided meditation
• Free massage therapy from our complementary therapy team
• Menopause peer support group
• Employee Assistance Programme offering 24-hour access to free confidential advice and support on work and personal issues.