Trac proudly powers the recruitment for
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
About
On 1 January 2025 Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust became one of the largest trusts in the UK following the acquisition of North Middlesex University Hospital.
Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.
Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation. Welcome to the Royal Free
Contact
- Address
- Royal Free London Foundation NHS Trust
- Recruitment Services
- 10th Floor Enfield Civic Centre
- Silver Street
- Enfield
- London
- EN1 3ES
- Contact Number
- 0203 758 2060
Band 7 Senior internal communications manager
Closed for applications on: 4-Jun-2026 00:00
Vacancy status: Closed
Closed for applications on: 4-Jun-2026 00:00
Key details
Location
- Site
- Royal Free Hospital campus
- Address
- Pond Street
- Town
- Hampstead
- Postcode
- NW3 2QG
- Major / Minor Region
- London
Contract type & working pattern
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time
- Flexible working
Salary
- Salary
- £58,133 - £65,261 per annum inclusive of HCAS
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Grade
- (NHS AfC: Band 7)
Specialty
- Main area
- Communications
Our trust has over 17,000 staff serving 2 million patients every year. It comprises Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, North Middlesex University Hospital and more than 30 services in the community. This larger scale organisation provides an unprecedented opportunity for us to continue our pioneering work, particularly in finding ways to deliver even better care to our patients.
Our mission is to deliver world class care and expertise in our clinical services, underpinned by world class teaching and research and we will continue to measure our progress against our five governing objectives: excellent outcomes, excellent patient and staff experience, excellent value for taxpayers’ money, being safe and meeting our external duties, and building a strong organisation.
Everyone is welcome at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. We're proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME, gender equality, staff carers and people with disabilities and lived experiences to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a set of technology that can perform various tasks that typically required human intelligence. Your application is your opportunity to demonstrate to us how you meet the requirements of the role. We recognise that AI tools can support accessibility, equity and confidence for applicants. However, it’s important that examples and responses genuinely reflect your own experience and abilities, as these will be explored further during the selection process. AI must not be used to provide misleading or false information during any stage of the application journey. Further guidance can be found in the NLPSS Applicant Toolkit https://royalfree.pagetiger.com/cuuomnr/1.
Click here to view our video Welcome to the Royal Free
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is committed to fair and transparent recruitment and requires applicants to provide accurate information, as misleading details may affect their application or employment and may be verified in line with the Fraud Act 2006. For further information please visit https://royalfree.pagetiger.com/cuuomnr/1.
Job overview
The Royal Free London (RFL) is entering an exciting new chapter, following the integration of North Middlesex University Hospital and its community services into our group. Together, we now deliver world-class care across four major hospitals and more than 70 satellite sites, reaching communities across north London and beyond.
At the heart of this is our award-winning communications team, responsible for shaping our voice and sharing the stories that define who we are – our people, our achievements and our ambitions.
Working in a fast-paced, high-profile environment, the team delivers clear, proactive and impactful communications to a wide and varied audience – including 18,000 staff, over a million patients each year, and key partners such as media, GPs, governors, members and NHS organisations.
From leading staff communications and managing our intranet and digital channels to handling media enquiries, driving stakeholder engagement and producing compelling content, the team plays a vital role in keeping people informed, connected and engaged.
This is a high-impact, rewarding place to work – ideal for someone who wants to help shape the voice of one of the NHS’s largest and most forward-looking trusts.
Advert
You will lead a small, dynamic team delivering high-quality internal communications and staff engagement across the Royal Free London.
This role is central to ensuring our people are consistently informed, connected and engaged. You will oversee the development and delivery of clear, accessible and impactful communications so colleagues across our health units, corporate services and satellite sites understand what is happening across the organisation and what it means for them.
You will lead strategic campaigns, projects and relationships as well as overseeing staff publications and content across a range of channels, balancing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
You will play a key role in shaping communications that support organisational priorities, strengthen culture and improve staff experience.
A skilled and experienced communicator, you will bring excellent writing ability, sound judgement and strong stakeholder management skills, with the confidence to influence and advise colleagues at all levels. You will be a creative thinker and effective project manager, able to translate complex information into clear, consistent and engaging messages for diverse audiences.
You will work closely with leaders/managers to ensure communications are effectively cascaded to teams. You will partner closely with the people team to develop communications that support workforce priorities, employee engagement and organisational change.
Working for our organisation
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is one of the UK’s biggest and most innovative trusts. Across three main hospitals, our dedicated army of staff care for over 1.6million patients, treat more than 200,000 in A&E, deliver over 8,000 babies and carry out more than 17million tests.
Our size, scale and influence offer you unrivalled career opportunities and a forward-thinking approach to working that works around your lifestyle. From flexible hours and generous benefits, to next level training, we make it easier to take your career to the top.
For more information please follow link https://www.royalfreelondonjobs.co.uk/
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached job description for more information about this role and working at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust.
- AT* - Apprenticeship Training. Where AT* is entered next to the job title indicates that this vacancy is for an apprenticeship role.
- By applying for this role, you accept if successful, that your personal data may be transferred from the Trust to another NHS organisation where your employment transfers within the NHS. This is in accordance with the streamlining programme which aims at saving you time and improving efficiencies within the NHS when your employment transfers. Therefore we require you to complete your stat and Man e-learning modules prior to joining our organisation.
- If you are an EU/EEA citizen who does not have EU Settlement or Pre-Settled status, you will require a visa to work in the UK.
- You must be eligible to work in the United Kingdom or meet the criteria for sponsorship under the Skilled Worker visa route. We welcome applications from candidates who require visa sponsorship, and these will be considered alongside all other applications. Before applying, please ensure that both you and the role meet the eligibility requirements under the UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) points-based system to avoid disappointment. You can view this here
- If you are offered a role with one of the NLPSS partner trusts, as part of pre-employment checks your identity and right to work documentation will be verified remotely (in most circumstances), using a certified identity verification service provider TrustID. You will be asked to capture an image of the relevant documents as well as a “selfie” using your smartphone/tablet (if available) for facial matching. TrustID will also perform a digital address check using Trunarrative and Equifax, which is a soft check and does not leave a footprint on your credit rating. For more information, visit www.trustid.co.uk
- The Trust uses electronic new starter forms on Trac to collect personal details. Information collected is securely stored and used to set up the employee record on the ESR HR system.
- The Trust will request a DBS (CRB) if post involves regulated activities. The Trust is compliant with the Disclosure and Barring Service Codes of practice and the Rehabilitation of offenders act.
- By applying for this post you are agreeing to Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust transferring the information contained in this application to its preferred applicant management system. If you are offered a job, information will also be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.
- Please be aware of scams – unless specified above, we will only communicate with you via @recruit.trac.jobs or nhs.net e-mails and we will never ask you for any payments.
Applications are welcome from people wishing to job share or work flexible patterns. We are committed to equal opportunities.
Please note:
- Due to the high number of applications that are received for some posts we may close this vacancy before the advertised closing date. Therefore please apply for this post as soon as you can, if you are interested and you meet the requirements of the Person Specification
- Only those candidates who clearly demonstrate how they meet the person specification will be shortlisted for this job.
- Interview arrangements will be communicated via email so please check your email regularly following the closing date.
Please be advised that due to exceptionally high demand, all Royal Free accommodation is at full capacity and waiting lists are being held. Average waiting times are 12 months. Please do not rely on Trust accommodation when you commence your role and ensure you investigate alternative accommodation for your arrival.
Applicant requirements
Person specification
Royal Free World Class Values
Essential criteria
- Demonstrable ability to meet the Trust Values
Education & professional Qualifications
Essential criteria
- Relevant degree plus CIPR/CIM (or equivalent) qualification or equivalent experience
- Evidence of continuous professional development in communications/PR
Desirable criteria
- Communications/PR master's qualification
Experience
Essential criteria
- Specialist knowledge underpinned by theory and experience of internal communications
- Managing and leading a team, and leading integrated teams on projects and/or campaigns
- Maintaining effective relationships with organisational leadership
- Research and evaluation methods and techniques
- Working with sensitive/confidential issues
- Intranet management and content management systems
- Writing, editing, and producing publications
Desirable criteria
- Specialist knowledge of media, PR and marketing processes and techniques
- Basic NHS functions, structure, issues, and values
- Development of policies
- Design and print processes
- Experience of managing social media platforms and developing content for digital channels, particularly LinkedIn
Skills and Aptitudes
Essential criteria
- Understanding of when team members need support to succeed with challenging tasks and when intervention is needed
- Able to present strategic options where opinions are divided, and the issues are highly complex
- Able to have frequent periods of concentration and cope with frequent interruptions / deal with issues as they arise, prioritising heavy workloads and managing multiple projects at the same time
- Proven organisational abilities
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, and the ability to teach others
- Able to master a complex brief quickly and interpret it for a non-specialist audience
- Analytical and data presentation skills
- Able to build confident working relationships with colleagues at all levels
- Ability to cope calmly with distressing/emotional situations
- Able to anticipate problems before they arise and offer appropriate solutions, demonstrating sound judgement
Desirable criteria
- Advanced software skills (MS Office, intranet packages, email software)
Personal Qualities & attributes
Essential criteria
- Highly developed interpersonal communication and negotiation skills; a team player able to contribute to the wider mission of the organisation, with a supportive and flexible approach
- Self-motivated, Proactive and Positive
- Resilient to cope with challenge and criticism
- Ability to inspire confidence when presenting
- Team player, willing to ‘roll up sleeves’ where necessary
- Highly organised approach and ability to prioritise own work in order to meet strict deadlines and targets
- Embraces change
- Excellent interpersonal skills with ability to work closely and effectively with staff at all levels within the organisation, including ability to persuade as well as be diplomatic
- Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness
- Actively develops themselves and others
- Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness
- Demonstrable commitment to partnership working with a range of external organisations
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Marnie Bradford
- Job title
- Head of communications
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 07843 223501
No longer accepting applications
Sorry, this vacancy is no longer accepting applications.
You can search for similar jobs on the employer's job board, or visit our national jobs board Health Jobs UK.






