Internal Communications, Unit Manager for Science and Frontier-AI Units

As the Internal Communications Manager for the Science and Frontier-AI Units, you’ll need expertise in Science Communications, to be able to translate our exciting science and frontier work into concise, engaging information that resonates with the mission of GDMers. Your role will be to ensure GDMers within Science and Foundational Research Units, and beyond, hear the important updates coming from within these units, GDM strategy whilst also ensuring the profile of this important work beyond these units. You’ll be a thought partner to leads and stakeholders to leads within these units to communicate their vision, roadmap, achievements and initiatives, whilst also ensuring this plan links to the wider GDM story and mission.

About Us

Artificial Intelligence could be one of humanity’s most useful inventions. At Google DeepMind, we’re a team of scientists, engineers, machine learning experts and more, working together to advance the state of the art in artificial intelligence. We use our technologies for widespread public benefit and scientific discovery, and collaborate with others on critical challenges, ensuring safety and ethics are the highest priority.

The Role

As Internal Communications Manager for Science and Frontier-AI, you’ll need to have strong science communications experience, enabling you to work with scientists at the leading edge of the work of GDM, translating their developments into meaningful messages that resonate within the Units and the wider GDM teams. You’ll also lead on analytics and audience analysis, and help find innovative ways to engage people working within the Units, ensuring that strategic messages from GDM team contribute to building team momentum and engagement.

Positioning of key leaders and their exec voices both within the unit and beyond will be essential for success in this role, as well as the ability to help the units navigate through change both internally and externally and support the units and relevant P&C Partners in organisational development.

Key responsibilities:

• Drive internal comms work and strategy for Science and Foundational Research Units within a clear structure and with regular guidance from the manager.
• Understand the key areas of focus within Science and Foundational Research Units and be able to fit them to the wider GDM Internal Communications approach.
• Effectively communicate about issues related to the broad range of work being delivered by these units as well as updates from P&C, and connecting the dots with broader considerations and any necessary change management within the units.
• Shape the narrative and internal delivery of any outputs and deliverables from these units, ensuring GDM wide awareness of launches and their relevance to achieving our mission and highlighting the benefit to society.
• Collect and use data led insights to tailor communications, including writing style and channels, including exec voices.
• Openly seek feedback to improve work and impact on the team.
• Use an AI First approach to all unit activity.
• Collaboration with the Internal Comms strategy team on any areas of crisis communications.
• Identify gaps in communications (in own area or beyond), provide recommended solutions, and step up to implement them, where appropriate.
• Shape storytelling on success within the units, teasing out key messages, developing narratives, and making written and verbal comms more engaging and effective for key audiences.
• Demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in the face of challenging or ambiguous comms projects.
• Develop a network of strong and trusted relationships across functions internally, to help navigate work more effectively.
• Influence beyond direct lines of authority to effectively manage relationships with senior leaders or internal clients, and cross-functional partners.
• Partner with leaders and managers at all levels to advise on their approach to Internal Communications.
• Help guide the integration of multiple adjacent comms activities.
• Act as a subject matter specialist with comprehensive knowledge on Science and Foundational Research work, being the "go-to" internal comms expert, proactively share knowledge and help others across the team.
• Originate and create exciting and attention grabbing content with little-to-no editing from manager, including responsibility for Town Halls and all other IC needs within the units.
• Deliver high-quality work consistently.
• Work with senior team members on a wide variety of communications projects (e.g., visual or written content creation, project management, measurement).
• Proactively look for ways to help the team, suggest ideas to support the team’s communications goals, process, and incorporate feedback for continued growth.
• Select approaches from clear options to complete work with guidance from manager or senior team members.
• Look ahead to meetings with others, including managers and senior team members, and set an agenda for self.
• Exchange information and knowledge within immediate team or business area.
• Maintain and work within partnership, where there are established or strong existing relationships.
• Incorporate fresh, innovative approaches to communications work, taking creative risk in partnership with team.

General responsibilities

• Provide leaders with coaching to drive positive communications outcomes.
• Drive creation of content across a variety of mediums and platforms (e.g., speeches, decks, talking points, events, podcasts), owning delivery of work related to projects.
• Develop plans for cross-functional crisis and emergency communications, as needed, fielding reactive issues and helping find common ground.
• Develop and drive execution of comms plans within Science and Foundational Research Units (e.g., developing strategy, cadence, core themes, spokespeople).
• Drive the development of and refine key messages for a variety of audiences, balancing transparency, and confidentiality.
• Develop plans for change management strategic communications, focusing on defined issues with vague solutions, to socialize ideas, drive consensus, and shifts in culture over time.
• Develop comms strategies and campaigns, reconciling corporate, functional, leadership, and business goals, and perhaps conflicting priorities and agendas.
• Strong collaboration skills and proven experience of delivering in partnership with others, a strong understanding on the benefits of collaboration.

About You

You will need to be experienced in advising on internal communications strategies at leadership level. In addition, you’ll have:

• Significant experience advising senior leadership on internal comms and engagement and partnering with them to influence, provide counsel and communications support.
• An understanding of the importance of culture and behavioural change in helping organisations achieve their goals.
• Experience in science communications and be able to join the dots between the various areas of work in these units and to be able to convey the relevance of this work to the team.
• Proven experience in bringing creativity and/or focus to communications campaigns to ensure that the most important messages are heard by the audience.
• Experience working in complex environments and translating research-led innovations into compelling product-focused communications.
• Experience partnering across a highly-matrixed organisation with multiple-stakeholders.
• Ability to both architect compelling strategies and ideas, while also rolling up your sleeves and diving into day-to-day activities.
• The ability to manage multiple priorities and requirements effectively, prioritising and ensuring delivery of key results.
• You’ll have the ability to work at speed as part of a team and be happy to roll up your sleeves to give practical help and get things done.
• The ability to react quickly and effectively in response to issues or challenges and demonstrate resilience to change.
• Experience using metrics to accurately measure and evaluate the impact of internal comms and make adjustments as needed.
• Previous communications experience is a must.
• Previous experience working with AI or product teams is preferred.
• Comfortable working across various time zones (MTV, NYC, and LON), business units and organisations.
• Strong accountability and leadership skills.
• Ideally, good knowledge of the broader tech sector - global trends, challenges and opportunities - and an interest in tech, science, AI, and social impact.

At Google DeepMind, we value diversity of experience, knowledge, backgrounds and perspectives and harness these qualities to create extraordinary impact. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, religion or belief, ethnic or national origin, disability, age, citizenship, marital, domestic or civil partnership status, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, or related condition (including breastfeeding) or any other basis as protected by applicable law. If you have a disability or additional need that requires accommodation, please do not hesitate to let us know.