Press & Communications Officer

Play a vital role within the team, providing a first point of contact for journalists, prioritising a busy workload.
- Ensure enquiries are logged on Vuelio (our media management database) and are allocated in discussion with other members of the team.
- Respond to and manage press enquiries
- Maintain the Trust’s social media accounts on a day-to-day basis and work with the wider communications team to forward plan social content and activity in line with the Trust’s priorities.
- Work effectively with other departments that regularly contribute to projects led by the Communications team, including Oxford Hospitals Charity and Oxford Medical Illustration, our in-house design team
- Research positive news stories and prepare press releases around Trust announcements.
- Organise and oversee filming and photo opportunities in the Trust, including ensuring filming agreements (where relevant) and patient consent forms are signed.
- Circulate regular reports of media issues to senior colleagues
- Undertake internal communications projects and public health awareness campaigns.
- Assist and support live events, online and in person, such as the Trust’s Annual Public Meeting (APM) and All Staff Briefings.
- Support visits to the Trust and tours as required.
- Contribute to the Communications Team content planner to ensure that it is up to date.
- Work closely with and support members of the Trust Board and other senior management as required on projects, enquiries, and events.

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is looking for a Communications Officer to join our team based at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford.

You will be joining our team of enthusiastic communication experts assisting staff across our four hospitals and other sites with internal and external communications. The Trust seeks to be digital first and has a comprehensive programme to support staff with their wellbeing and to provide excellent care for our patients and their families.

You will work across all aspects of communication and engagement including media relations, creating content for social media, supporting photography and filming and providing support at events.

You will have excellent writing and interpersonal skills as well as a track record of successful media management and digital communications results.

Our working days are varied with competing deadlines so you will need to be efficient, highly organised and able to prioritise tasks.

You don’t have to have worked in the NHS but you do need to be able to identify issues quickly and be able to draft appropriate communication responses.

This is a creative and varied role supporting our whole team. It provides a good starting role across a wide range of communications tasks from supporting filming documentaries, working with the media, internal communications, social and digital media campaigns to providing general support to the team.

The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel.

The Press & Communications Officer will form a key support to the media team. The postholder will undertake responsibility for press enquires, media and social media monitoring and other internal and external communication duties. The role also involves undertaking some administrative duties for general office management.