Posted on: 30 September 2025
CNWL’s Communications Team has been nominated for not one, but TWO Comms Hero Awards 2025!
The Comms Hero Awards celebrate communication teams and individuals across the country who have demonstrated innovation and excellence across the communications sector.
CNWL is one of just three NHS Trusts from across the country nominated for awards.
A drum roll for our nominees…. A big congratulations to:
Jane Rogers, Head of Communications and Marketing, and Paulie Rowledge, Communications Manager for Goodall division and Digital & Design!
Paulie has been nominated for the Young Comms Hero Award.
Paulie joined the team as a volunteer through Employment Services. It was one of the first steps to help him re-enter the community and find work, from being a patient within our Hillingdon mental health team.
He then became the QI team’s Communications Officer, working part time, becoming his first paid role.
Starting as a volunteer to part-time paid work, enabled his confidence to grow. After a year with the QI Team, he became a full-time member of the communication team.
Jane is Paulie’s manager, she said:
“Paulie is extremely creative and brings so much energy and fun to the office and importantly makes everyone feel valued and included. When he started his journey with us, he was shy and quiet. I can’t imagine those days now! I’m so proud of him - he’s the one who lifts us up every single day. He’s achieved so much in such a short time that I can see him going as far as he wants to go in comms. It’s fabulous to see him shine, I get a steady stream of lovely comments about him and the high-quality work he delivers.”
Jane has been nominated for the Comms Unicorn of the Year Award! Jane was nominated because she is a mythical creature. She always seems able to complete tasks, support people in the team and in services, stick to tight campaign deadlines, and not feel stressed! She can’t be human!
The Comms Hero Awards say, Comms Unicorns are, “those remarkable individuals who not only excel in their professional endeavours but also radiate positivity and inspiration to everyone around them.”
If anyone is a Comms Unicorn, it’s Jane. The team works in a high-pressured NHS Team. There is not a time when they are not busy. The team covers one of the biggest community and mental health providers in the country, with nearly 10,000 staff, and services in London, Milton Keynes, Surrey and beyond.
Jane started at CNWL as a Comms Officer, quickly moving into the role of Digital Comms Officer, and then Head of Communications and Marketing. She has led the team through challenging times — during Covid-19, she and the team supported the entire Trust by delivering rapidly changing information to services quickly and efficiently.
She was part of an HSJ Award-winning team, recognised for their marketing and engagement project promoting PREP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) to men who have sex with men. She has expertise across digital, community engagement, design, press, internal communications, stakeholder partnerships and more.
Paulie said:
“I can honestly say I wouldn’t be where I am today without her. She is my manager but I consider her a friend. There have been times when I’ve taken a stumble on my mental health journey (as there’s always peaks and flows), and she sat with me, going through my work, helping me re-organise, but crucially pushed me at the same time – giving me a campaign to run when other managers would’ve taken it away. If every manger was like her, more people with long-term mental health conditions would be themselves, in work, supported, and given the chance to reach their goals. She is my hero, not just in comms but in the way she navigates life, with fun, humour, light heartedness, kindness, strength and without judgement. I’m not the only person who would say all these things about her. She is incredible, the Trust and the team are lucky to have her!”
Director of Communications and Engagement, Richard Mountford said:
“It’s an amazing achievement for Jane and Paulie to get shortlisted for national awards. I knew them both before I joined CNWL but it’s been a pleasure to work more closely with them and see how they inspire colleagues across the organisation as well as deliver on high quality, measurable and effective communications outputs. They are two of the most well-liked people I’ve ever worked with who bring a perfect balance of old-fashioned hard work with a big dollop of fun and charisma that has an infectious impact on those they work with. Fingers crossed for 21 October!”
If you’d like to learn more about Employment Services — whether you're supporting someone into work or looking to get into work yourself — click here to find out about CNWL’s Employment Services.
Paulie and Jane will head to the Comms Hero Awards 2025 in Manchester on October 21. Good luck to you both! You’re the real winners to us!
