Head of Communications, HR & Culture

The Role Responsibilities

A strong senior strategic communications consultant, and adept player/coach, who will lead a team that works with HR leaders and other Bank-wide senior leaders to define, develop and deliver data-driven Group communications strategies that:

• Strengthen the company’s culture and employee engagement
• Drive strategic initiatives and programmes that embed the Bank’s People Strategy
• Celebrate the Bank’s unique diversity and promote its Diversity & Inclusion priorities and initiatives
• Help people leaders more effectively inspire, motivate and develop their team members

This leader’s team will also support communications from the HR leader to the HR function. This leader will serve as a member of the HR Management Team and will personally provide communications consulting to the Group Head of HR and the collective HR Management Team.

Responsibilities

Strategy

• Build a communications team with capabilities to serve as strategic consultants to HR leaders, and other key senior leaders across the Bank, who add tangible value to strategies and programmes that strengthen the company’s culture, employee value proposition and employer brand.
• Create and deliver, in partnership with CABM content and digital channels, internal communications strategies for Group employees that help colleagues to perform at their best, realise their potential, and promote our diversity and inclusion agenda.
• Create and deliver to external stakeholders, in partnership with CABM media, content, and digital channels, a narrative that conveys Standard Chartered’s employer brand, including its unique point of view on employee matters including flexible working, using HR executives and other internal influencers as spokespeople. These activities could include media relations, social media and thought leadership/executive engagement.
• Advise on positioning, presentation and timing of business and change initiatives being considered by HR for Group, partnering with change communications resources in CABM for high-priority HR change initiatives.
• Serve as a partner member of the HRMT, representing the CABM function as a senior trusted adviser.
• Drive cross-CABM work to further CABM’s strategic initiatives.
• Synthesise themes and issues from the external environment and surface risks and opportunities to your clients and other partners in CABM and throughout the Bank.
• Practice effective risk management, escalating issues when needed.
• Be a proactive and ‘value-add’ member of the People & Culture Communications leadership team and the CABM leadership team (MT-2 body)

Business

• Structure a communications team with the capabilities to create and deliver communications strategies that drive HR’s strategic priorities to its own employees.
• Create and deliver communications strategies to HR employees that drive the identity, culture, brand promise and strategic intent of the Bank.
• Develop internal communications that reinforce the employee value proposition for HR; and partner with the employer brand team to develop communications strategies to promote our employer brand to support HR-specific recruiting needs.
• Ensure that tone and messaging of HR communications are aligned with the corporate narrative when we engage and communicate internally and externally.
• Partner with Issues Management lead on crisis management communications as needed, including staff and external communications; partner with internal teams as needed on client and regulatory communications in crisis situations.

Governance

• Accountable to risk control owners and/or Group policy owners for the implementation of policies and control standards set by them, ensuring compliance, and operating within risk tolerance and risk appetite and building a culture of good conduct.   

People & Talent

• Build a team of strategic advisors comfortable with advising senior executives; planning, delivering and measuring strategic communications plans; and continue to develop capability and ensure delivery of short and longer-term objectives
• Ensure team members have strong verbal and writing skills
• Ensure the provision of ongoing training and development of people, and ensure that holders of all critical functions are suitably skilled and qualified for their roles ensuring that they have effective supervision in place to mitigate any risks
• Employ, engage and retain high quality people, with succession planning for critical roles
• Lead through example and build the appropriate culture and values.  Set appropriate tone and expectations from the team and work in collaboration with risk and control partners
• External stakeholders including media, prospective employees, regulators, government officials, customers

Other Responsibilities

• Serve on People & Culture Communications and CABM working groups and committees as needed.
• Take on special assignments to support CABM and People & Culture Communications priorities as needed.

Our Ideal Candidate

• A successful track record of advising senior management on how to effectively communicate, considering risks, opportunities, and the greater context of the company’s strategy
• Experience developing strategic plans to communicate programmes and initiatives that reinforce the employee value proposition and the employer brand, and that strengthen company culture
• Experience in a financial institution or global corporation of setting and delivering proactive communications strategies
• The ability to think through desired outcomes of communications strategies and tactics
• The ability to identify potential reputation or culture risk from a function’s strategies, programs or communications, and to raise these concerns effectively
• A track record in creating and developing content to support or enhance a strategy/narrative
• Understanding of internal and external content strategies and communications channels, including social media channels
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience in corporate communications, PR and/or journalism
• Flexibility to work in high-pressure environments
• Ability to develop effective and collaborative working relationships
• Experience managing multiple stakeholders, including senior management and third-party vendors, across multiple locations
• People management experience is a bonus
• Experience of dealing with the media is a bonus, as is issues management
• A professional qualification in a communications, brand or marketing related-subject, and/or membership of a communications professional body is a bonus
• 10+ years Experience in Communications, HR & Culture 

Role Specific Technical Competencies     

• Consulting
• Effective Communications
• Corporate communication
• Stakeholder Management
• Establishing and Maintaining Trust
• Written Communications
• Data Gathering and Analysis
• Business Ethics
• Planning:  Tactical, Strategic
• Organisational Communications
• Manage Change