An outstanding senior press officer is required on a part-time basis to help the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) influence the news agenda and thereby Government and key stakeholders for the benefit of surgical patients. The role will be shared with the existing senior press officer. The RCS is one of the most high profile health commentators in the UK so this role would suit someone ambitious with a track record in media relations who has a demonstrable interest in influencing healthcare policy.

The RCS is a registered charity, which enables surgeons to achieve and maintain the highest standards of surgical practice and patient care. The interests of patients and healthcare are at the heart of our work, and we support surgeons of all specialties.

You will be joining the press team during an exciting period that has seen the RCS enjoy increased news coverage of its views on surgery and the NHS more widely. Working with the media relations manager and the senior press officer (job sharer), you will be responsible for handling enquiries from journalists and proactively promoting the work of the RCS in the media. Your media work will cover topics as diverse as the rationing of surgery by commissioning groups, professional regulation, cosmetic surgery, children’s teeth, and our Hunterian museum’s exhibitions.

The role requires good writing skills, the ability to get across complex messages, a confident telephone manner and a knack for building strong relationships with journalists, as well as partners internally and externally. The successful candidate will be expected to work Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday each week. You will also be required to take part in a 24 hour on-call rota, sharing duties with your job sharer. Time off in lieu is offered for any significant out-of-office hours worked. Smooth handover of media enquiries between senior press officers will be vital and therefore we envisage the job sharers overlapping for half a day each week.

For further information on this role, inlcuding a full job description, please visit the Royal College of Surgeons’ job vacancy portal: https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/about-the-rcs/working-at-the-college/ 

It’s a demanding but fantastic role in a very supportive team with lots of opportunity to devise and implement your own ideas.