Associate Director of Communications & Engagement
Colney, England, United Kingdom Internship Posted 1 week ago
As a newly-formed Group of 18,000 colleagues and three NHS hospital trusts, we have an ambitious agenda to improve health and healthcare for people of Norfolk and Waveney. This requires improved performance, strengthened services and the delivery of good care now, and even better care in the future.
Realising our ambition also requires significant transformation and change. The answer cannot be more of the same. It’s different. It’s innovative. It’s better.
Success relies on the effective engagement and support of everyone who works in the Group as well as wider stakeholders, including patients, partners and communities.
As our new Associate Director, you will have a fantastic opportunity to make a very real difference for the communications and engagement service, for the Hospitals’ Group and most importantly of all, for local people.
This is not a role for someone looking for run-of-the-mill. It’s a chance to do things differently, think boldly and help lead meaningful change at scale.
If you are a strategic communicator with energy, judgement and purpose — someone who thrives in complexity, inspires confidence and can lead through change — we would love to hear from you.
It won’t always be easy — and it would be very boring if it was. For the right person, this is a career-defining role with the chance to help shape the future of NHS acute services in Norfolk and Waveney.
If this is you, please get in touch and apply.
The Associate Director will work alongside the Group Director and a second Associate Director. The role holder will be responsible for a portfolio that includes supporting the Group’s strategic projects (our recovery programme, the development of a Group strategy, our digital transformation, and two new hospital builds). This will require advising at very senior levels, working closely with partners elsewhere in the healthcare system, and ensuring that the communications and engagement requirements of these major projects are articulated, planned, understood and delivered.
There will be a particular focus on employee engagement and supporting our 18,000 colleagues through an extended period of change while also ensuring our strategic engagement of partners and other external stakeholders is effective. You will need to work closely with the second Associate Director who leads on public affairs, media relations and managing the development and delivery of our digital channels, deputising for each other and the Group Director as required.
You will lead a team including two Communications Managers, one with responsibility for engagement and one delivering our research and partnership communications, and a change management specialist supporting our Electronic Patient Record programme. Events, logistics and administrative support for the wider Communications and Engagement team will also be provided by members of your team.
The newly formed Norfolk & Waveney University Hospitals Group (NWUHG) is placing people and culture at the heart of its transformation.
By working as one system, the Group is strengthening workforce development, improving staff experience and creating consistent, supportive leadership across all three hospitals. This unified approach enables better training, enhanced well-being support, and a stronger culture rooted in compassion, flexibility and continuous learning.
Focusing on people also supports national priorities - ensuring the workforce is skilled, adaptable and ready for the future models of care - and strengthens NWUHG's overall performance by improving qualify, resilience and sustainability.
Together, this creates a Groupwide commitment to making NWUHG a great place to work, with clear benefits for staff including:
Flexible working hours
Fast Track Staff Physiotherapy Service
Multi Faith prayer room at NNUH Colney Lane site
Discounted Gym memberships
Generous pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
Wagestream - access up to 40% of your pay as you earn it
Free Park & Ride service direct to NNUH Colney Lane site
Free 24 hour confidential counselling support
On-site Nursery at NNUH Colney Lane
On-site cafes offering staff discounts at NNUH Colney Lane
Support in career development
Flexible staff bank
Salary sacrifice schemes including lease cars, Cycle to Work scheme and home electronics
For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Ben White Job title: Group Director of Communications & Engagement Email address: ben.white@nnuh.nhs.uk
Realising our ambition also requires significant transformation and change. The answer cannot be more of the same. It’s different. It’s innovative. It’s better.
Success relies on the effective engagement and support of everyone who works in the Group as well as wider stakeholders, including patients, partners and communities.
As our new Associate Director, you will have a fantastic opportunity to make a very real difference for the communications and engagement service, for the Hospitals’ Group and most importantly of all, for local people.
This is not a role for someone looking for run-of-the-mill. It’s a chance to do things differently, think boldly and help lead meaningful change at scale.
If you are a strategic communicator with energy, judgement and purpose — someone who thrives in complexity, inspires confidence and can lead through change — we would love to hear from you.
It won’t always be easy — and it would be very boring if it was. For the right person, this is a career-defining role with the chance to help shape the future of NHS acute services in Norfolk and Waveney.
If this is you, please get in touch and apply.
The Associate Director will work alongside the Group Director and a second Associate Director. The role holder will be responsible for a portfolio that includes supporting the Group’s strategic projects (our recovery programme, the development of a Group strategy, our digital transformation, and two new hospital builds). This will require advising at very senior levels, working closely with partners elsewhere in the healthcare system, and ensuring that the communications and engagement requirements of these major projects are articulated, planned, understood and delivered.
There will be a particular focus on employee engagement and supporting our 18,000 colleagues through an extended period of change while also ensuring our strategic engagement of partners and other external stakeholders is effective. You will need to work closely with the second Associate Director who leads on public affairs, media relations and managing the development and delivery of our digital channels, deputising for each other and the Group Director as required.
You will lead a team including two Communications Managers, one with responsibility for engagement and one delivering our research and partnership communications, and a change management specialist supporting our Electronic Patient Record programme. Events, logistics and administrative support for the wider Communications and Engagement team will also be provided by members of your team.
The newly formed Norfolk & Waveney University Hospitals Group (NWUHG) is placing people and culture at the heart of its transformation.
By working as one system, the Group is strengthening workforce development, improving staff experience and creating consistent, supportive leadership across all three hospitals. This unified approach enables better training, enhanced well-being support, and a stronger culture rooted in compassion, flexibility and continuous learning.
Focusing on people also supports national priorities - ensuring the workforce is skilled, adaptable and ready for the future models of care - and strengthens NWUHG's overall performance by improving qualify, resilience and sustainability.
Together, this creates a Groupwide commitment to making NWUHG a great place to work, with clear benefits for staff including:
Flexible working hours
Fast Track Staff Physiotherapy Service
Multi Faith prayer room at NNUH Colney Lane site
Discounted Gym memberships
Generous pension scheme and annual leave entitlement
Wagestream - access up to 40% of your pay as you earn it
Free Park & Ride service direct to NNUH Colney Lane site
Free 24 hour confidential counselling support
On-site Nursery at NNUH Colney Lane
On-site cafes offering staff discounts at NNUH Colney Lane
Support in career development
Flexible staff bank
Salary sacrifice schemes including lease cars, Cycle to Work scheme and home electronics
For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Ben White Job title: Group Director of Communications & Engagement Email address: ben.white@nnuh.nhs.uk
