Deputy Director of Communications and Engagement

The New Hospital Programme is more than building hospitals, it’s a once in a generation opportunity to shape the future of healthcare in England. We’re delivering over 40 new hospitals that will be modern, sustainable and built around the needs of patients and staff. We’re looking for people who care about purpose, who thrive in complex environments and who want to help deliver change at scale for future generations.

Join the New Hospital Programme as a senior leader shaping how one of the most significant transformation programmes in the NHS communicates, collaborates and engages.

You will lead a unified communications and engagement function, driving both strategic planning and fast‑paced reactive activity. Working across government, the NHS, partner Trusts and contractors, you’ll ensure clarity, consistency and impact in how NHP communicates with staff, stakeholders and the public.

Key Responsibilities Include

• Leading comms function bringing together professionals across the programme
• Developing and delivering a programme‑wide comms and engagement plan
• Promoting NHP through media, events, conferences and digital channels
• Overseeing major announcements and programme events
• Driving collaboration across Trusts, contractors and system partners
• Leading internal engagement to support a positive programme culture
• Working with DHSC and NHSE to align messaging across the wider system
• Managing and developing the comms and engagement team
• Ensuring high‑quality, consistent internal and external messaging
• Managing risks, issues and the full communications budge

NHS England has a wide range of statutory functions, responsibilities and regulatory powers. These are focused on supporting the wider NHS to deliver high quality care, as well as doing those things that are best done once for the whole NHS.

Our staff bring expertise across clinical, operational, commissioning, technology, data science, cyber security, software engineering, education, and commercial specialisms — enabling us to design and deliver high-quality NHS services.

In March 2025, the Government announced that NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care will increasingly merge functions, ultimately leading to NHS England being fully integrated into the department.

If you currently work within the NHS and if successful at interview, we will initiate an Inter Authority Transfer (IAT) via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). This retrieves key data from your current or previous NHS employer to support onboarding, including competency status, Continuous Service Dates (CSD), and annual leave entitlement. You may opt out at any stage of the process.

Colleagues with a contractual office base are expected to spend, on average, at least 40% of their time working in our offices.

Staff recruited from outside the NHS will usually be appointed at the bottom of the pay band.

We cannot offer visa sponsorship for any vacancies.

For further details / informal visits contact: Name: Chloe Lincoln-Todd Job title: Resourcing Business Partner Email address: chloe.lincoln-todd1@nhs.net