Communications Officer - NIHR Research Support Service Hub and Specialist Centre for Public Health delivered by the University of Southampton and Partners

This is an exciting opportunity to join the team of the NIHR Research Support Service Hub delivered by the University of Southampton and Partners (RSS USP), located in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Southampton.

Who are we?

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funds, enables and delivers world-leading health and social care research that improves people's health and wellbeing and promotes economic growth.

The NIHR RSS is a national service providing free advice to researchers based anywhere in England to develop competitive funding applications for health and care research. We consist of eight ‘Hubs’ and two specialist centres (Public Health and Social Care), each a partnership of research groups, organisations and clinical trials units (CTUs) with expertise in applied health and care research.

Our Hub has additionally been designated as the RSS Specialist Centre for Public Health, alongside our partner Hub hosted by Newcastle University & Partners. Our Hub is a collaboration between partner organisations making up a team of highly experienced methodologists, researchers and public health practitioners. Our partnership includes the Universities of Oxford, Oxford Brookes, and Portsmouth, and local authorities for Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth and Southampton.

What will you do?

As an excellent communicator, you will have the expertise to implement a communications strategy in line with the national NIHR and RSS communications strategies, ensuring the RSS USP has a high profile within NHS Trusts, local authorities and other research stakeholders. Working with our other Communications Officer, you will support the development, management, and implementation of a range of communications supporting our strategic aims and operational objectives. You will develop and maintain good relationships with our client community and stakeholders. You will clearly articulate the purpose of the RSS to a wide audience including senior NHS clinicians, local authorities, academics and members of the public. A knowledge of the NHS and health and social care research environment would be a real advantage. This is a job-share, so team working will be essential. The role is fixed term until 30 September 2028, with a possibility of extension.

Why join us?

We understand that our staff are our greatest asset, and we take the care of our staff seriously. Some of the perks of working with us, include:

Hybrid Working- We’re pleased to offer a hybrid-working arrangement as we know the many benefits this can bring to our staff and us as an organisation. We strive for cohesive and collaborative teams so our expectation is you spend around 10-20% of your time in the office.

Workplace Wellbeing- As a university we aim to create an environment where everyone can thrive and are proactive in fostering a culture of inclusion, respect and equality of opportunity. We believe that we can only truly meet our objectives if we are reflective of society, so we are passionate about creating a working environment in which you are free to bring your whole self to work. With a generous holiday allowance as well as additional university closure days we are committed to supporting our staff and students and open to a flexible working approach.

Potential applicants wishing to discuss the post informally may contact Dr Sarah Brien s.brien@southampton.ac.uk

Interviews will take place week commencing 2 June 2025.

*A standard DBS check is required for this role.

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