Internal Communications Manager in Manchester

Salary: £38,295 increasing to £40,311 (after successful completion of probationary period)

Location: Didsbury, Manchester

Permanent, Full Time

Reporting to the Head of Communications, the Internal Communications Manager will play a key role in the business by effectively communicating and engaging employees to motivate them to do their best. They will have a major part to play in communicating the business change programme at any given time, ensuring that colleagues are informed and engaged in transformation activity. This strategic role involves working with people at every level to keep them informed on positive developments within the company, and building understanding of the business priorities and what they mean for individuals.

What you'll be doing:

• Co-creating and being responsible for the delivery of the internal communication strategy to engage colleagues in the successful delivery of our Corporate Plan.
• Working closely with our Business Transformation Team to communicate the change programme.
• Delivering engaging internal communication across our platforms to ensure colleagues are kept informed on and engaged in what is happening at Great Places.
• Acting as lead contact for the HR/OD team to support key business initiatives with people engagement activities.
• Leading on all internal comms campaigns, including planning, delivery and evaluation.
• Working closely with Change and Continuous Improvement leads to deliver successful change comms and behaviour change activities.
• Acting as the lead contact for Tech Services to ensure important messages and improvements to our technology are communicated effectively with colleagues.
• Identifying and building relationships with key stakeholders.
• Advising senior leaders and managers on visibility and effective internal communication.
• Managing all internal comms channels ensuring content is relevant, engaging, accurate, timely, and up to date.
• Regularly reviewing and providing channel performance updates for the intranet, interpreting data and identifying trends and areas for improvement.
• Designing, writing, and editing magazines, case studies, speeches, articles, blog posts, and website content.
• Enhancing our brand and external reputation by promoting internal activities that position Great Places as an employer of choice.
• Supporting the day-to-day management of the wider communications team to ensure all content is to a high standard, in the right tone of voice, and shared through the right channels to maximise the reach of key messages.
• Delivering intranet training to new starters at induction and taking responsibility for the comms element of the onboarding process.
• Managing the Internal Communications Officer and taking responsibility for their development.
• Leading the Communications Reps group.

What we need from you:

• A commitment to understand the challenges and opportunities that exist in the communities in which we work. We particularly value lived experience in social housing.
• A passion to advocate on behalf of people and communities.
• A commitment to work in partnership with others for the benefit of Great Places.
• A commitment to continuous learning and improvement.
• The ability to work flexibly and when needed outside normal working hours to ensure service continuity.
• An ability to work in uncertainty.
• To be professional and work with integrity, inclusivity, and respect for diversity.

What you'll need:

• Significant experience of working in a communications environment in an internal communications role (Essential).
• Experience of leading on change communications/transformation campaigns.
• Excellent listening skills to capture ideas that inform decision-making (Essential).
• Excellent writing skills - writes in a variety of styles for a variety of formats in a way that is engaging, grammatically correct and appropriate (Essential).
• Understanding of diverse colleague groups and cross-functional needs (Essential).
• Operates largely autonomously, within set guidelines (Essential).
• A thorough understanding of internal communications best practice, strategy, campaign planning and delivery, engagement, culture, and channel management (Essential).
• Business focus - strong understanding of the importance of aligning communication priorities to business goals (Essential).
• Good understanding of digital channels and how to optimise them (Essential).
• Experience in film and the potential it has to deliver messages in a more engaging way (Desirable).
• Good understanding of measurement and evaluation in internal communication (Essential).
• Ability to develop and project a positive image of Great Places through personal, written, and oral skills (Essential).
• Ability to recognise, develop, and effectively promote new opportunities for Great Places (Essential).

What we give you in return for your hard work and commitment:

• Pension DC scheme (up to 10% contribution from both colleagues and Great Places)
• WPA Healthcare auto enrolled at no contribution level with £1250 of savings available - option to increase and add family members
• Ways of Working: We offer some hybrid and flexible working
• Annual leave: Start at 26 days annual leave, increasing up to 30 days within 5 years + Bank Holidays
• Reward & Recognition: You Count Rewards are individual rewards for going above and beyond; Professional fees: The business pays the cost of one professional role-related membership fee for each colleague
• The Market Place: high street, restaurant and supermarket discounts, gym memberships, cycle to work, smart tech loans and much more
• Health and Wellbeing Initiatives: Our colleagues enjoy wellbeing campaigns throughout the year, with activities designed around our four pillars of wellbeing: these include career wellbeing, mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing and financial wellbeing.