Communications Lead - Bradford Health Inequities Programme (Bhip)

About you

As an experienced, innovative and strategic Communications Lead, you will bring a proven track record of developing and delivering communications strategies that build understanding, engagement, influence and meaningful change. This is an opportunity to establish and lead communications for a new, nationally significant programme from the ground up, bringing ideas, energy and initiative to a role that will evolve alongside Bhip.

The role requires someone who can think strategically while also being comfortable getting into the detail and making things happen. You will be equally comfortable developing communications strategy and shaping Bhip.'s narrative as you are producing practical, accessible communications and resources needed by community engagement teams on the ground. You will be able to move confidently between strategic communications, system-facing messaging and hands-on community communications, ensuring each supports the wider aims of the programme. You will be someone who does not wait for a brief or has the imitative to create their own and who actively identifies opportunities, develops ideas and takes them forward. Creativity and innovation will be important in shaping how Bhip communicates its purpose, work, learning and impact, alongside the strategic judgement to understand what needs to be communicated, why, to whom and through which channels.

You will be confident developing and evolving a communications strategy, identifying audiences, shaping messages, narratives and tone of voice, and considering how complex and sensitive issues are communicated.

Strong cultural awareness and understanding will be important, including an appreciation of how culture, language, identity and lived experience can shape how different communities understand and respond to information. The ability to adapt language and communications approaches so that information is clear, accessible, culturally relevant and meaningful, without losing context or nuance, will be central to the role.

The role will span communities, programme teams, partners and creative specialists, from photographers and videographers to designers, digital specialists and other creative partners. You will be able to listen, build relationships, understand different perspectives and use community insight to shape communications that connect with people. You will bring people together around ideas, work confidently across different areas of the programme and use sound judgement to turn opportunities into action.

An understanding of Bhip's anti-discrimination purpose and community-led approach, alongside a genuine commitment to addressing health inequities caused by structural racism and discrimination, will be essential. You will be comfortable navigating ambiguity, responding to emerging opportunities and bringing curiosity, collaboration and a willingness to try new approaches to the role.

The Opportunity

This is an opportunity to establish and shape the communications function for Bhip from the ground up, playing a central role in how a new, nationally significant programme is understood, positioned and experienced. The Communications Lead will set the strategic communications direction for Bhip, shaping its narrative, language, messaging and voice, and ensuring communications support the programme's wider ambitions to address health inequities, challenge structural racism and discrimination, strengthen community voice and influence meaningful system change.

With significant scope to shape the direction of communications, the role will span strategy, positioning, messaging, identity, campaigns, digital communications, creative content, media, storytelling and engagement. It will consider not only what Bhip communicates, but how it communicates it, ensuring language, stories and narratives are accessible, thoughtful, culturally relevant and reflective of the programme's anti-racist and community-led approach

As Bhip develops through co-design, learning and evaluation, the communications strategy will evolve with it, creating opportunities to test new approaches, respond to emerging issues, share learning and strengthen the programme's influence. The role will work across the programme and partnership to ensure communications are connected to the wider work of Bhip and contribute to its strategic ambitions.

With the freedom and responsibility to shape the communications direction of a five-year programme, you will help establish how Bhip communicates locally, regionally and nationally. The work will contribute not only to Bhip's profile and impact across Bradford District, but to wider learning, influence and national conversations around health inequities, structural racism and discrimination through the National Lottery Community Fund's National Collective.