Senior Communications Consultant (Internal Communications)

Job id: 067707. Salary: Grade 7, £49,737 – £58,421 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance.

Posted: 23 May 2023. Closing date: 06 June 2023.

Business unit: External Relations. Department: .

Contact details:Louise Owen. [email protected]

Location: Guy’s Campus. Category: Professional & Support Services.

Job description

King’s College London is one of the world’s top universities with an ambitious vision, the successful outcome of which is in large part dependent on its ability to communicate and engage effectively with the university’s communities of students and staff.  

The Senior Communications Consultant (Internal Communications) in the Corporate Communications team will play a key leadership role in developing and managing communications and engagement for both staff and students across the university. They will provide sound strategic communications advice to senior leaders, support on developing and implementing successful communication and engagement strategies and manage and measure the delivery of pan-university communication plans. They will also be a custodian of the university’s external reputation, supporting on the university’s issues communication response. They will deputise for the Deputy Director (Internal Communications). 

What you’ll need to succeed

You will be a dynamic, driven person with significant experience in employee/internal communications, a proven track record in strategic communications and reputation management and evidence of leading a team. You will have a passion for improving staff and student experience and keeping them connected and informed.  

You will use your experience to devise and implement effective communications that is meaningful, inclusive and engaging for diverse audiences and that support and align to the university’s vision and the Corporate Communications strategy. You will be able to manage and influence multiple stakeholders often with differing priorities. You will be a team player who can adapt quickly and responsively to changing priorities and someone who is willing to get stuck in and support others when necessary to ensure effective delivery. 

This post will be offered on an six-month contract  

This is a full-time post

Key responsibilities

• Act as the strategic internal communications expert to stakeholders across the university, work with them to develop a robust communications approach and plan to inform and engage diverse audience groups, as well as advising and influencing on employee engagement. 
• Support with managing the internal communications team and act as editorial signatory and approver for internal messaging, storytelling and staff/student facing content, communication planning and tactics  
• Act as an expert and champion for internal communication and engagement and drive/work in an integrated way with the Corporate Communications team, communications network, senior leaders and colleagues across the university. 
• Use your expertise in internal communications to provide advice, guidance and coaching to leaders across the university to ensure communications are strategic, effective and engaging for staff and students. 
• Manage complex interdependencies across a range of strategic and transformative initiatives, advise stakeholders and communication colleagues on the implications of dependencies and where appropriate, advise on and recommend solutions to maximise audience understanding and/or engagement.  
• Ability to understand the big picture, challenge the status quo and question current thinking in a way which engages colleagues, adds value and creates a positive difference. 
• Develop strong relationships across the university so you are informed about priorities and emerging issues that will enable you to advise and position communications in the best way. 
• Use your knowledge of the external landscape and student and staff sentiment to advise on navigating potential barriers to delivering effective communications. 
• Identify reputational issues, escalating where necessary and advising on solutions, working closely with key stakeholders and relevant members of the Corporate Communications team 
• Take the lead in developing effective and engaging communication and engagement plans that ensure timely and effective communications that are consistent and align with the university’s priorities and the Corporate Communications strategy. 
• Devise and deliver inclusive engagement plans using evidence practices from across the sector and other industries to inform an innovative approach. 
• Ensure that communication is measured, impact evaluated, and continuous improvement is built in. 

The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.

Skills, knowledge, and experience

Essential criteria

Educated to degree level or equivalent professional experience 

Interest in and understanding of the higher education sector 

A proven track record in strategic internal communications and reputation management in a complex, matrix organisation. 

Experience of leading and managing teams  

 Experience of developing and implementing communication strategies and plans working with a wide range of stakeholders and colleagues  

First class writing and communication skills with a great eye for detail and ability to flex and adapt tone and language to engage difference audiences. 

Ability to simplify complex information to aid understanding and engagement across the university. 

Proven ability to provide strategic advice on communications approach, planning and execution for key stakeholders. 

Significant experience of building effective relationships with senior leaders and in showing strong influencing, coaching and stakeholder management skills that lead to positive quantifiable outcomes. 

Experience of creating engaging content and adapting tone and style for different audiences 

Experience of crisis and issues management  

Desirable criteria

Previous experience of working in the higher education sector 

Experience in multimedia technologies (intranet, sharepoint, contensis, Poppulo, Canva)