Senior Communications Manager

Placed: 25/11/17
Region: Buckinghamshire
Location: Milton Keynes
Category: Jobs


Content of the advertisement:

Job Title - Senior Communications Manager

Location - Milton Keynes (with travel around the UK)

Rates - £250-£300 per day (subject to tax and NI deductions)

IR35 Status - In scope

About the role / project:

The role sits within Infrastructure Projects, reporting into the Head of HR for HQ (including engineering, finance, commercial and HR).

IP is undergoing change, with some areas undergoing reorganisations. Another area of change is the launch of the new IMS system, which will predominantly affect the engineering area. Communications will need to be distributed throughout these periods of change.

This is a completely new role, as the HQ function has not had their own Senior Communications Manager before. There will be general day-to-day comms duties and you will be joining the communications team (attending the same meetings, receiving the same correspondence, etc).

There are four directors (though you will most likely only work with 3 - commercial, finance and engineering), therefore you will be comfortable liaising with individuals of various levels up to exec.

What you will do:

* Working with your Infrastructure Project's Senior Director and their team, you will manage the development and implementation of the communication strategy that enables the delivery of the business objectives
* Provide expert guidance to the Infrastructure Project's Senior Director and their leadership team on communications issues, including employee engagement.
* Provide guidance on all communications activity undertaken by key personnel including Directors, Project Managers and Sponsors, delivering consistency with the approved communications strategy and in accordance with Network Rail's corporate policies
* Work in partnership with the wider Infrastructure Projects and Network Rail communications teams to align communications campaigns with the bigger picture.
* Manage the various communications channels in your Infrastructure Projects business area - face to face, paper-based and digital - and help to drive up the quality and effectiveness of communications.
* As well as strategy development and tactical delivery, you will be responsible for monitoring and evaluating your communications initiatives by formal and informal means, and identifying and implementing quality and efficiency improvement initiatives
* Represent your Infrastructure Projects business area on relevant communications forums.
* Check that all branding used on the project and activity complies with Network Rail's corporate policy on branding, visual identity and image.
* Establish an effective network of internal and external contacts
* Where applicable, Co-ordinate communication strategies with external key suppliers, Infrastructure Projects and corporate Network Rail communications teams
* Where applicable, provide direct management and development of a team including carrying out regular 121's, appraisals, objective setting and performance monitoring.

Your experience will include:

Essential

* Demonstrable experience in developing and delivering communications across a diverse, dispersed workforce
* High standards of written and spoken communication, that adapt across a variety of communication channels
* The experience and personal credibility to work effectively with senior managers (up to exec level)
* Strong influencing skills with stakeholders from all levels of the business
* Proven ability to grasp, understand and promote complex and sensitive issues in a persuasive and sensible way
* Ability to develop and maintain a wide network of stakeholder contacts

Desirable

* Experience of directing and managing agency support
* Educated to degree level
* Relevant professional qualifications
* Evidence of continuing professional development

What you'll get in return

Network Rail (powered by Capita), understand what it is like to work as a contractor and do everything they can to make it a simple process for you - this includes a dedicated Onboarding and extension teams and access to a web based timesheet portal giving you an ability to access and submit your timesheets wherever you are.

About our client - Network Rail

Network Rail is at the operational centre of the railway and playing a key role in a rapidly evolving industry. We are responsible for rebuilding Britain's railway infrastructure and are managing some of the biggest and most complex engineering programmes in Europe. Over the next five years we will be spending around £23 billion to maintain and upgrade every aspect of an infrastructure that comprises 21,000 miles of track, 2,500 stations, 9,000 level crossings, 40,000 bridges and tunnels, and signalling and power for the movement of 25,000 trains every day.

What we hope you will do next



Network Rail welcomes applications regardless of age, disability, marital status (including civil partnerships), pregnancy or maternity, race, religion or belief, sexual orientation, transgender status, sex (or gender), employment status, trade union affiliation, or other irrelevant factor. We will interview all disabled applicants who meet the essential criteria.

Network Rail is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy

Price / Salary: £250 - £300/day