Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications in London

Sonic Healthcare is an internationally renowned healthcare provider with a demonstrable track record of medical services across the world. Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, Sonic is an ASX Top 50 company that has grown to become one of the world's leading healthcare providers, specialising in pathology, radiology and primary care medical centres. We have operations in Australia, the USA, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand.

Sonic Healthcare UK encompasses the two main entities in the UK, The Doctors Laboratory (TDL) and Health Services Laboratories (HSL). HSL is a partnership between The Doctors Laboratory (TDL), Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). HSL was formed to provide pathology services to the NHS Trusts and has expanded further to provide services to other NHS Trusts. Over 3,500 staff work at Sonic Healthcare UK, primarily under the TDL or HSL banner.

Our purpose is to deliver medically-led diagnostics, innovation, value and long-term investment to healthcare. With our core laboratory based at The Halo Building in London WC1H 9AX, we also have an expanding site in Manchester as well as smaller hospital-based laboratories across the country. We maintain rigorously high standards of quality, whilst also delivering efficiencies to healthcare through careful workforce planning, pioneering technology and significant investment in infrastructure and IT.

Sonic Healthcare UK is one of the country's leading diagnostic service providers, supporting NHS and private healthcare partners through a network of high-performing laboratories across HSL, TDL and Sonic Healthcare UK. The organisation has grown rapidly in recent years, securing major national contracts, expanding its workforce and deepening its role in delivering high-quality patient care. This growth has increased the scale and complexity of communication required across the organisation.

As Sonic enters its next phase, there is a significant opportunity to strengthen how the organisation communicates with staff, engages with partners, and presents its values and capability across the healthcare system. This role holds significant strategic influence, working closely with the CEO and Executive Team to shape how the organisation communicates, engages with partners and is understood across the healthcare system. The Head of Corporate Affairs and Communications will play a central role in supporting this evolution and ensuring communication is aligned, strategic and forward-looking.

The purpose of this role is to establish and lead a professional Corporate Affairs and Communications function that reflects the organisation's scale and public responsibility. This includes developing a cohesive communication framework, building a shared narrative across HSL, TDL and Sonic Healthcare UK, and ensuring staff, NHS partners and clients receive clear, timely and consistent information.

The role will bring together internal communication, stakeholder engagement, media relations and issues management into a single integrated function that supports Sonic's culture, strategy and operational priorities. It is a pivotal appointment that will strengthen organisational cohesion, support effective leadership communication and enhance the organisation's reputation as it continues to grow.

At TDL we offer a variety of excellent staff benefits including:

• Training and development opportunities – supporting professional development
• Annual salary review - No banding restrictions: As we are a private company we are not restricted by salary bandings and so are able to negotiate appropriate salaries based on experience. This also means that annual salary reviews do not hit a band ceiling.
• Discounted gym membership – we have a corporate gym membership scheme with Better Gyms
• Cash healthcare plan – cash back on a variety of healthcare costs including dentist and opticians
• Sick Pay Entitlement – 5 paid days in the first year of employment, 20 days thereafter
• Permanent Health Insurance and Death in Service Cover
• Life Assurance – providing salary continuation for long term illness (six months qualifying period)
• Employee Assistance Programme – supporting staff wellbeing
• Season Ticket Loan Scheme – interest free loan for the cost of annual travel ticket
• Perkbox – Access to additional staff perks and benefits such as high street discounts
• Company Pension Scheme – company and staff contributions which increase with service
• Competitive annual leave allowance – 23 days rising to 28 days after 5 years service
• Flexible working hours – we support and offer flexibility around shift patterns and working schedule

Please read the job description and person specification carefully and ensure that your application reflects the knowledge, skills and experience required. We respect and value the diversity of our staff and welcome applications from diverse communities.

PLEASE NOTE: WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CLOSE THIS VACANCY AT ANY TIME EVEN IF A CLOSING DATE IS SHOWN HERE OR IN ANY OTHER MEDIA.