Senior Strategic Communications Planner | S4 | CM&RB | Multiple locations | Internal Mobility in London

Senior Strategic Communications Planner | S4 | CM&RB | Multiple locations | Internal Mobility

Country: United Kingdom

IT STARTS HERE

Santander (www.sant&er.com) is evolving from a global, high-impact brand into a technology-driven organisation, & our people are at the heart of this journey. Together, we are driving a customer-centric transformation that values bold thinking, innovation, & the courage to challenge what’s possible.

This is more than a strategic shift. It’s a chance for driven professionals to grow, learn, & make a real difference.

Our mission is to contribute to help more people & businesses prosper. We embrace a strong risk culture & all our professionals at all levels are expected to take a proactive & responsible approach toward risk management.

The Communications, Marketing & Responsible Banking (CM&RB) function leads the business in its internal & external communications with stakeholders & customers - along with our multi-channel marketing campaigns.

CM&RB is responsible for Santander UK's strategic & operational messages that help deliver on the long-term management plan for the business.

The function has responsibility for the development & use of Santander UK’s brand its sponsorship & events programme & leads the UK’s work on sustainability & responsible banking.

THE DIFFERENCE YOU MAKE

The Communications, Marketing & Responsible Banking (CM&RB) Division at Santander UK, is looking for a Senior Strategic Communications planner based out of our offices in Milton Keynes &/or London.

This is a new, high-impact, game changing role at the centre of Santander UK’s transformation, accountable for bringing together marketing, communications & responsible banking into a single, strategic engine that drives measurable commercial & customer outcomes for Santander UK. Critically, this exciting role partners with teams across the UK business to demonstrate the value of balancing forward planning with agility. It is literally at the centre of everything we do.

You will shape & drive how the organisation prioritises, invests & delivers a wide range of communications, marketing & responsible banking activity at real scale—ensuring every pound & every resource at our disposal is focused on activity that delivers the greatest impact on both customer & commercial outcomes.

As a business we are hugely dynamic & reactive. This senior role will have responsibility for transforming our culture & appetite for strategic, forward-looking planning - finding a stronger balance between short term responsiveness & longer term, structured planning.

This is a truly a transformational albeit challenging remit, so won’t be for everyone. It will require strategic leadership, vision, collaboration, resilience, determination & ability to get things done.

The role leads the development & execution of a single, bank-wide wide strategic communications plan, aligning CM&RB activity to Santander UK’s commercial & customer priorities – throughout the planning cycle & across in-year performance.

It will ensure that the activity of the function is strategically planned across teams & channels & that we focus our resources on the highest-value work noting our capabilities & limitations. In doing, we seek to continuously improve effectiveness, efficiency & a demonstrable impact on our key audiences.

We’re shaping the way we work through innovation, cutting-edge technology, collaboration & the freedom to explore new ideas. To succeed in this role, you will be responsible for:

• Own & evolve a new CM&RB strategic planning framework & governance

• Align Corporate Strategy, Retail & CCB teams to shared commercial & audience priorities to realise a clear, unified strategic plan

• Set & manage divisional OKRs aligned to commercial & customer outcomes

• Lead all planning governance – Annual & quarterly planning & review forums

• Maintain a single, transparent view of priorities, performance & resource allocation

• Act as a strategic partner to leaders across the bank in consistently driving strategic direction, clarity & consistency

• Embed a data-led approach to planning – supporting CM&RB teams in providing clarity on the strategic plan & how to convert this into detailed activity plans, aligning our investment & resourcing decisions across teams

WHAT YOU’LL BRING

Our people are our greatest strength. Every individual contributes unique perspectives that make us stronger as a team & as an organisation. We’re enabling teams to go beyond by valuing who they are & empowering what they bring.

The following requirements represent the knowledge, skills, & abilities essential for success in this role. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Professional Experience

• Proven experience of working in a broader strategic or planning remit for a large corporate organisation &/or experience of working agency side as a Strategy/Planning Director (Either required)

Education

• Educated to degree level or relevant specialist experience (required)

• Professional Communications, Marketing or Strategy qualification (preferred)

Hard Skills

• Strategic communications & integrated planning (Required)

• Strong Commercial acumen (Required)

• Planning & workflow tools (Required)

• Data analysis & performance optimisation (Required)

• Marketing & communications expertise (Required)

• OKRs, planning frameworks & measurement (Required)

• Financial services & regulatory knowledge (Preferred)

Soft Skills

• Executive influencing (Required)

• Strategic thinking (Required)

• Leadership (Required)

• Stakeholder management (Required)

• Matrix environment navigation & relentless collaboration (Required)

• Challenger mindset (Required)

WE VALUE YOUR IMPACT

At Santander, your contribution matters. We recognise the difference you make every day, & we make sure you feel valued, supported & rewarded in return.
Here, recognition goes beyond pay. It’s about the pride you feel in your work, the impact you have on customers & communities, & the opportunities you have to grow & thrive — personally & professionally.

Salary Range:
£75,600.00 - £113,400.00per annum (depending on experience)

This salary range represents the expected remuneration for the role. Annual salary is based on a standard 35-hour working week. Actual salary offered will depend on skills, experience, qualifications & location.

• Competitive rewards that reflect the real impact you make & the value you bring.

• Wellbeing that goes beyond work — we work with a range of wellbeing partners across our 4 pillars of wellbeing (physical, mental, social & financial) to give you access to a suite of apps, discounted gym & fitness access, weekly online classes, flexible healthcare & mental health support.

• Support for every life stage — from menopause & pregnancy to parenthood & beyond, with enhanced family leave, childcare options & tailored wellbeing support.

• Time to give back through volunteering opportunities that let you make a difference in the communities we serve.

• Global growth opportunities to shape your career, learn new skills & explore what’s possible across our international network.

Ready to be recognised? It starts with you.

LOCAL COMPLIANCE

At Santander, we’re proud to be an inclusive organisation that provides equal opportunities for everyone — regardless of age, gender, disability, civil status, race, religion or sexual orientation.

We’re committed to creating a recruitment experience that’s accessible, fair & welcoming for all candidates.

We want our people to thrive — at work & at home — while delivering the best outcomes for our customers & supporting each other to grow.

To make this possible, our roles are site-based with a hybrid working pattern, where colleagues are expected to attend the office at least 12 days per month (pro-rata for part-time roles).

When applying, please consider the travel distance, time & cost to your chosen office location(s).

WHAT TO DO NEXT

If this sounds like a role you are interested in, then please apply.

For further Guidance please visit Internal Mobility - Candidate Guidance.

If you want to know more about the opportunity:

Please contact james.casey@santander.co.uk