Communications and Engagement Business Partner (12 month maternity cover)

Hours: Full time, fixed term. Flexibility will be considered.

Closing Date: Fri, 4 Sept 2026

About the role

We've got an exciting opportunity for a strategic and insight-led Communications & Engagement Business Partner to join our Colleague Listening & Engagement team for 12 months. This role sits at the heart of how we understand, engage and support colleagues across the Society. Acting as a trusted partner to senior leaders and stakeholders, you'll use colleague sentiment, insight, engagement data and communications expertise to help shape the colleague experience, influence culture and drive meaningful change.

You'll play a key role in helping leaders understand what matters most to colleagues, turning feedback and insight into meaningful action and ensuring colleague voice is reflected in decision-making, change and transformation activity. Alongside this, you'll develop and deliver communication and engagement strategies that support key business priorities, cultural change and colleague experience initiatives.

If you're passionate about communications, engagement, culture and organisational change, this is a fantastic opportunity to make a real impact.

What you’ll do

As a Communications & Engagement Business Partner, you'll work closely with senior leaders and stakeholders across the Society to shape communication and engagement approaches that support business priorities and improve the colleague experience. Your key responsibilities will include:

• Partnering with senior leaders to understand colleague engagement challenges and opportunities, providing insight, challenge and guidance to support better outcomes.
• Using colleague listening and engagement data to identify themes, trends and priorities, helping leaders turn insight into meaningful action.
• Leading and supporting the development of communication, listening and engagement strategies, plans and campaigns that support strategic initiatives and cultural transformation activity.
• Helping shape and deliver the ongoing development and delivery of our Colleague Listening & Engagement strategy and communications.
• Working with People Business Partners and specialist teams across People, including Talent, Reward, DE&I and Organisational Development, to create joined-up colleague experiences.
• Supporting cultural transformation programmes and initiatives that strengthen engagement, inclusion and belonging across the Society.
• Measuring the impact of communication and engagement activity, using insight and feedback to continuously improve our approach.

We work in a hybrid way, balancing flexibility with collaboration. For this role, you'll typically spend three days a week in our Skipton head office, with the remaining two days working from home.

What you’ll need

To be successful in this role, you’ll have experience in communications, colleague engagement, employee experience, organisational development or culture-related roles, alongside a track record of influencing stakeholders and delivering meaningful change. You'll also have:

• Strong experience developing, delivering and evaluating communication and engagement strategies within a large and complex organisation.
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, with the confidence to advise, support and constructively challenge senior leaders.
• Proven experience building trusted relationships and influencing stakeholders at all levels to drive engagement and organisational outcomes.
• Strong writing, editing and storytelling skills, with the ability to tailor messages for different audiences and channels.
• Ability to analyse data and insight, identify themes and translate them into practical actions.
• Experience of using colleague feedback, engagement data and insight to identify opportunities and drive action.
• Excellent facilitation, communication and relationship-building skills.
• Experience of communication platforms and tools including SharePoint, Viva Engage and Microsoft 365.
• A curious, collaborative and proactive approach, with a passion for creating great colleague experiences.

What’s In It For You

Your work matters. And the way we reward you matters, too. At Skipton, we offer pay and benefits that really do make life better, together with a genuine thank you for making a difference.

• Annual discretionary bonus scheme
• 25 days standard annual leave + bank holidays + rising 1 day per year of service to a max of 30 days
• Matching employer pension contribution (up to 10% per annum)
• Colleague Mortgages and access to Skipton products and services at discounted rates
• Flexible working to help balance your commitments
• Private medical insurance, health and wellbeing app, volunteering opportunities, cycle-to-work scheme, discounted gym memberships
• Lifestyle perks such as a Home and Tech voucher, which can be used at Currys and IKEA

We’re here to make life better for our members.

About Skipton.

Our story began in 1853 in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Today, you’ll find us across England and Scotland, from Aberdeen to Plymouth. We help over a million members put down roots, save for what matters, and feel good about their money. As a mutual, they own us, so everything we do is for them. You'll feel that same fairness and purpose in how all 2,500 of our colleagues work together, too. It all means that life at Skipton is more exciting than you imagine.

What it's like to work here

Life at Skipton: We talk and we listen to each other. And we make decisions as a team. That way, you get all the support you need to do work that works for everyone. For most of our roles there's the option of blended working, which means we mix working from home and meeting in person. The right balance depends on your role, and what works best for you, your manager, and your team.

We also value what everyone brings to Skipton. And we create a fair place where you can be yourself. Our colleague networks play a big role in this. They connect people with similar life experiences and make our workplace warm, friendly, inclusive and welcoming.

It’s not just our members who are important to us. You are, too. Lots of organisations talk about wellbeing, but they don’t always back it up. As a mutual, we put people first. And that includes the people who work here. So, when we say we care about your wellbeing, we mean it. Wellbeing isn't just one thing. It’s about feeling good, having energy, and being able to be yourself and perform at your best. That’s why we offer help for your mental and physical health across five key areas. What’s more, it’s help that you can actually use too - not just read about.

Apply now

Sounds like you? Then apply now. You don't need to tick every box - we look for people who care about our members and who want to grow at the same time. The rest can follow.