Associate Director of Marketing and Communications

Acorns Children’s Hospice are seeking an experienced and visionary Associate Director of Marketing and Communications to lead the development and implementation of marketing and communications strategies. This senior strategic role will be responsible for building comprehensive frameworks that elevate Acorns profile, drive service awareness, and support our purpose to positively impact children with short lives. 

About the Role

At Acorns Children’s Hospice we offer a network of specialist palliative nursing care and support for local children and their families. We are there wherever and whenever they need us, in the hospice, community and at home. Our services include short breaks for children at our hospices, therapeutic and psychosocial support, support for siblings and other family members, emergency and end of life care and bereavement support.

As Associate Director of Marcomms for the largest children’s hospice in the UK, you will: 

• Lead the development of a comprehensive 3-year marketing and communications strategy that advances Acorns mission and measurably increases community impact
• Design integrated communications frameworks that seamlessly connect service delivery, fundraising, advocacy, and community engagement objectives
• Create strategic positioning and messaging architecture that differentiates Acorns within the children's hospice sector and establishes thought leadership
• Establish comprehensive key performance indicators, measurement frameworks, and strategic dashboards to track strategy effectiveness and return on investment
• Lead cross-functional strategic planning sessions with senior leadership, clinical teams and fundraising departments.
• Develop sophisticated audience segmentation strategies and detailed persona development for families, donors, healthcare professionals, referral sources, and community partners
• Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing marketing and communications team, fostering innovation and strategic thinking

About You

• Recognised relevant professional qualification in Marketing or qualified by extensive relevant experience.
• Proven track record of leading successful marcomms functions in a similar role
• Expertise in strategic market research, competitive analysis, and stakeholder mapping methodologies
• Understanding of integrated marketing communications, brand strategy development, and positioning frameworks
• Expertise in digital marketing ecosystems, analytics platforms, and emerging technology adoption for strategic advantage
• Exceptional leadership and team management skills

What We Offer

• £65,000 to £70,000 per annum, plus £3,192 per annum car allowance
• 37.5 hours per week
• Hybrid role - Based at nearest Acorns hospice (Walsall, Birmingham or Worcester) with travel across the region
• Employee discounts from leading retailers – including the Blue Light Card
• Discounts on refurbished tech
• Eye Test discount
• Health cash plan
• Gym membership and equipment discount scheme
• Bike2Work scheme - save up to 42% on bikes and equipment 
• Wellbeing, legal and financial support
• Generous contribution to group personal pension plan (7.5%) or continuation of current NHS pension scheme
• NHS pension scheme life assurance or Acorns group life assurance scheme 

We encourage you to submit your application as soon as possible, as this vacancy may close once we have received a sufficient number of applications

You need to be eligible to work in the UK to be considered for this role. We are committed to safeguarding children and vulnerable adults and therefore any successful candidate will be asked to provide two satisfactory references. 

As a UNICEF Gold Rights Respecting organisation we are committed to ensuring that the United Nations Convention for the Rights of the Child is embedded into both culture and practice within the organisation. As an employee you will be a Duty Bearer for Children’s Rights and support all children to be Rights Holders.

If you have any questions, please contact us at recruitment@acorns.org.uk

Find out about our culture, career development, benefits and more here: Why Work for Acorns?