Internal Communications Manager (6 month contract, remote) in London

Company Description

QAD is building a world-class SaaS company, providing enterprise software solutions globally. We are a virtual-first company, enabling our team to work primarily from home, while fostering a collaborative culture focused on growth, innovation, and well-being. We value diversity and strive for an inclusive environment where everyone feels empowered to contribute to our success.

Job Description

The Opportunity

At 1,500 people across a global workforce, alignment doesn't happen by accident — it's built. Employees who understand where the company is headed, why it matters, and how their work connects to that mission are more engaged, more effective, and less likely to walk out the door.

For six months, you'll be the architect of that alignment — partnering directly with executive leadership to design a communications engine that is clear, consistent, and worth people's time. This isn't newsletter management. It's organisational performance.

This role is for someone who enjoys combining strategic thinking with hands-on delivery. You'll be equally comfortable shaping the strategy and rolling up your sleeves to execute it — including the day-to-day work that keeps everything running. If you thrive at both ends of that spectrum, this is your role.

What You'll Do

• Strategy & Planning
  • Develop and implement a comprehensive internal communications strategy and plan that ensures everyone at QAD understands the firm's vision, goals, plans, and key achievements — and feels genuinely connected to them.
  • Build and manage a 30–90 day editorial calendar that brings discipline, predictability, and intentionality to how information travels across the company.
  • Work closely with leaders across the business to design and roll out communications programmes that support group, office, departmental, and functional business plans.
  • Partner cross-functionally with Marketing, Product, Legal, Investor Relations, Public Affairs, Customer, and People teams to ensure internal communications are tightly aligned with business priorities — and that nothing important falls through the cracks.
  • Champion the use of AI and emerging technologies to sharpen insight, drive efficiency, and raise the bar on communications effectiveness across the organisation.
• Executive & Leadership Communications
  • Ghost-write executive communications — strategic memos, all-staff announcements, and video scripts — in an authentic leadership voice, with the credibility and judgment to push back when the message isn't ready.
  • Partner with the CPO and executive team to connect employees to business strategy, product milestones, customer wins, and organisational change — not just HR updates.
  • Build a repeatable manager cascade system — toolkits, talking points, and FAQs — so people managers can communicate company updates confidently and consistently, before the rumour mill does it for them.
• Channels, Tools & Infrastructure
  • Audit our current internal channels — Google Chat, QAD Connect/intranet, email — and fix what's broken: too much noise, too little signal, information that's impossible to find.
  • Leverage existing tools and build new ones — intranet, webinars, town halls, and beyond — to create a communications infrastructure that is modern, scalable, and genuinely useful.
  • Establish clear publishing standards so the right message reaches the right people through the right channel, every time.
• Town Halls & Events
  • Own the end-to-end all-hands experience: agenda, narrative arc, slide deck, speaker coaching, live facilitation, and post-event follow-through.
  • Rebuild the all-hands from the ground up — make it something employees genuinely look forward to: interactive, informative, and worth every minute.
• Culture, People & Campaigns
  • Lead communications for key people initiatives: benefits, performance cycles, talent programmes, recognition campaigns, and the cultural moments that keep a distributed workforce connected.
  • Lead the communications strategy for QAD's CSR, DE&I, Wellbeing, and Alumni initiatives — ensuring these programmes have a clear, consistent, and compelling voice.
• Lasting Infrastructure
  • Leave behind more than work products. Build the playbooks, templates, and governance guidelines that keep the communications rhythm you establish running long after your contract ends.

What Success Looks Like

• Delivered a documented communications audit and a fully functioning editorial calendar.
• Produced at least two high-quality all-hands events with measurably improved attendance and employee sentiment.
• Built and launched a manager cascade toolkit used consistently across the organisation.
• Reorganised the intranet and Slack so employees can find what they need without asking twice.
• Embedded AI tools into the communications workflow in ways that demonstrably improve speed and quality.
• Created handoff documentation and templates a future communications hire can execute from day one.

Who You Are

• An experienced communications leader: You have significant experience leading global communications at scale — and a track record that speaks for itself.
• A strong storyteller and reputation builder: You know how to shape compelling narratives that strengthen brand perception and create genuine connection across a global workforce.
• AI-curious and future-focused: You're excited by how AI and technology can modernise communications, sharpen impact, and open up new possibilities for how organisations engage their people.
• Experienced both agency-side and in-house: You bring a balanced perspective across strategy, storytelling, and execution — comfortable operating at altitude and in the detail.
• A leader who creates clarity and culture: You build environments where people know what's expected, feel accountable, and genuinely want to do great work together.
• Commercially minded and pragmatic: You know how to drive measurable results with focused investment and sharp prioritisation. You don't chase perfection at the expense of progress.
• An exceptional communicator and influencer: You build trusted relationships quickly and influence with confidence at every level — from team leads to the boardroom.
• Resilient and action-oriented: You stay calm when things move fast or get complicated, and you combine strategic thinking with the hands-on delivery to back it up.

Qualifications

• PE-backed experience: You have significant experience leading global communications within a UK or US PE-backed business. You understand the pace, scrutiny, and performance culture that comes with that environment — and you know how to build internal communications that meet it.
• Seniority and scope: 6+ years leading internal or corporate communications in a global tech or software environment (1,000+ employees preferred), with a proven ability to communicate business strategy — not just HR updates.
• Executive presence: Deep experience advising and writing for C-suite leaders. You have the credibility and confidence to push back when the message isn't right.
• Cross-functional fluency: Proven ability to work across Marketing, Product, Legal, Finance, and People teams — translating competing priorities into one coherent communications approach.
• Event production: Hands-on experience producing virtual and hybrid all-hands events at scale — Zoom Events, Teams Live, or equivalent.
• Global fluency: High emotional intelligence and cross-cultural awareness. You write for audiences spanning multiple continents and time zones without losing nuance.
• Tech proficiency: Fluent in modern workplace tools: Slack, Microsoft Teams/SharePoint, intranet CMS platforms. Actively curious about AI tools that improve writing, workflow, and communications effectiveness.
• Education: Bachelor's degree in Communications, Journalism, PR, Marketing, or equivalent experience.

Why This Role Matters

This isn't a gap-fill contract. It's a mandate to build something that matters — with full executive support, visible impact, and a genuine opportunity to shape how a 1,500-person global company communicates, connects, and performs. The infrastructure you build will outlast your engagement. The culture you help create will outlast the infrastructure. If you're the kind of communicator who moves fast, thinks strategically, and measures impact — this is your stage.