SNIS) Senior Communications Officer

NHS Scotland is committed to encouraging equality and diversity among our workforce and eliminating unlawful discrimination. The aim is for our workforce to be truly representative and for each employee to feel respected and able to give their best. To this end, NHS Scotland welcomes applications from all sections of society.

AI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot can be great for planning and preparing your application—but your answers must be your own.

• Show us the real you:
  Your application should reflect your skills, experience, and motivations authentically.
• Use AI wisely:
  It’s fine to use AI for ideas or to check spelling and grammar, but don’t let it write your answers.
• Why this matters:
  Applications that rely on AI-generated content may be withdrawn. By applying, you confirm your responses are based on your own knowledge and achievements.

Tip:
Think of AI as a helper, not a substitute. We want to understand you—not an AI tool.

JOB TITLE:

Senior Communications Officer

GRADE:
Band 6

LOCATION:

Office based and Home working

CONTRACT DURATION: FIXED TERM - 9 MONTHS

HOURS:

36

SALARY SCALE: £43,231 – £52,679 per annum

We are looking for a talented and creative professional to help us tell the story of NHS Lothian;
Scotland’s second largest health board, serving a local population of 800,000 and providing specialist services nationally.

The post is for a fixed term of 9 months to provide maternity cover and is a superb opportunity for a team player with a ‘can-do’ approach.

You will have the opportunity to promote NHS Lothian’s world class innovation in health treatments and care, celebrate the fantastic achievements of our 26,000 staff and support our continued response to the real challenges being felt everyday across the NHS.

The communications team touches every aspect of the organisation so you will never be bored. You will be managing media relations; generating and writing stories and media releases, creating engaging multimedia content for our digital channels, running campaigns; publicising innovation; managing events, and facilitating VIP visits to our services.

You will need:

• a proven track record in communications/PR/media
• excellent written and verbal communication skills
• up to date knowledge of social media tools and real skill for generating engaging digital content
• the ability to produce accurate work to very tight deadlines.
• experience of working on a range of different projects and teams

Informal enquiries about this post to Lynne Ziarelli, Communications Manager

Lynne.ziarellit

To work in the United Kingdom, there is a legal requirement for an individual to demonstrate that they have the relevant permission to work in the country. This permission is, without exception, granted by the UK Visa and Immigrations Service. Further information on what NHS Scotland Boards are required to do to check this as well as what your responsibilities include can be found in the further information for this vacancy.

Please note:

we anticipate a high level of interest in this position and may close the vacancy early once a sufficient amount of applications are received. Therefore, please make sure you complete and submit your application at an early stage.

We will fully support disabled candidates, and candidates with long-term conditions or who are neurodivergent by making reasonable adjustments to our recruitment policy and practices.

The use of the term “Senior” or “Junior” in this post refers only to the level of experience and responsibility required for this post rather than age. As such, applications from people of all ages are welcomed, subject to meeting the relevant criteria.