How feasible is an NHS comms role these days?
Posted by littlespacesong@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 15 comments
Hi,
I've been trying to get a lay of the land, so to speak, when it comes to comms/ social media/ content roles in the NHS. For context, I've worked across several industries in Dubai as a full-funnel content and communications specialist, but I haven't quite dipped my toes in medical tech/ healthcare comms yet.
I'm now in the UK studying a master's in Biomedical Science, and exploring med comm roles specifically, but I can't really seem to find any roles/ responses to the ones I've applied to. Does the NHS still hire for these roles?
Alternatively, is it a better shout to reach out to pharma/ med tech companies directly?
Would love a mixed bag of opinions. Thanks in advance!
Careless_Soup_109@reddit
What are your hard skills? What's fair to say is that Comms can mean anything you want.
Sixforsilver7for@reddit
There are currently hiring freezes at most trusts, and jobs that come up in admin roles in the NHS are currently being offered as internal only; the barrier for getting them to be advertised publicly is fairly high.
Expand your search to Royal colleges e.g. Royal college of nursing.
Additional_Egg_6685@reddit
Our comms department is bloody useless, doesn’t actually help the patient facing services communicate with patients/stakeholders and has just become a corporate mouthpiece. As manager in commissioning trying to make beneficial service changes a good comms manager would be invaluable to me. unfortunately the best I have access to is Microsoft co-pilot to check for mistakes.
If you’re good at it please do join up and try to enact positive change. There are plenty of jobs ranging for band 4s ~ £30k all the way up to executive roles £90k. Obviously these roles get rarer the higher you go.
littlespacesong@reddit (OP)
I know!! I mean I've been trying to schedule an appointment that THEY invited me to, and it's been such a challenge. I certainly think the whole system needs and uphaul, but in the meantime, I'd love to just focus on the patients, their families, and the people who work in close contact with them.
Would you have any tips on how to access these roles? Or the best way to approach them?
Additional_Egg_6685@reddit
Tbh it’s a bad time at the moment for corporate type jobs in the NHS. It’s a strong politics move with the general public to claim we have too many managers and not enough doctors and nurses (even though the data show the nhs is seriously under managed, hence why positive change management is hard in the NHS, it’s not doctors and nurses who do this…), so there are a lot of redundancy and job freezes at the moment while Wes tried to make his point.
Most jobs in the nhs are posted on nhs jobs. What I would say it’s easier to get the job you want in the nhs once you are in the system. I would consider getting a job while you study in something like an admin role (I don’t know what your earning expectations are) then jumping into comms when you can because a lot of jobs are initially open to internal candidates only.
Fantastic-Option-260@reddit
try r/nhsstaff
We do have these roles (and they’re important) but they come under “NHS management/admin” so constantly cut (our particular NHS orgs nationally have a requirement to cut 50% of these sorts of roles this year) so they are hard to get (you might need to move it o something related then try an internal move over time.
littlespacesong@reddit (OP)
I see, that's quite interesting to know (and I must admit I've tried the entry-level admin route to internal applicant) but I just never hear back from them haha. Of course, I'll keep on keeping on!
Fantastic-Option-260@reddit
The only extra tip is there is a huge number of very experienced interviewers/reporters/copywriter type applicants on the market at the moment (essentially ex/soon to be ex BBC staff) so build a cv that would compete with them (as you’re doing) ie make sure you focus on health domain knowledge (NhS 10year plan, neighbourhood health, 3 shifts etc) as well as the more normal comms skills to standout.
Some_Description_273@reddit
You used to regularly see vacancies for comms managers but they've become rare and many teams are facing budget cuts. If they're not cutting roles, then they're not recruiting when gaps arise, and people are holding onto their roles for longer. Medical comms jobs aren't standard in a lot NHS comms teams in my experience. I've seen them more so with research based organisations. But even if you're willing to go for a more general comms role in the NHS, it's not a great time.
Educational_Try_6105@reddit
UKHSA or DHSC is prob the better shout for med/health com
simont410@reddit
I had a couple interviews 2 years ago at entry level, I didn't have a whole tonne of experience but enough to get me interviews. It sounds like you're going for more senior roles and have a lot more experience so you might do well.
The job market wasn't great 2 years ago and it's even worse now so I'm not sure if there is many roles going, if they are they'll get a large pool of applicants. My advice would be shoot your shot and see what you get. With the job market being the way it is, it's best to apply for as much as you can.
secretlondon@reddit
NHS employment isn’t great currently. Recruitment freezes in many trusts
FreeBogwoppits@reddit
r/NHS might give you better responses.
Do you have visa restrictions, as that'll deeply affect what jobs are available to you.
littlespacesong@reddit (OP)
Well, I do plan on getting my grad visa in 2027, but I wanted to get a bit ahead of the game by laying the groundwork now. I suppose I'd qualify for a New Entrant visa since I'd be a recent graduate.
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