Senior Internal Communications Manager

South Western Railway; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free duty travel

Free leisure travel for family

Rail industry discounts

Training and development

Job summary

South Western Railway is seeking a Senior Internal Communications Manager to lead day-to-day internal communications for 7,500 employees across multiple locations. You will oversee a small team, shape content for newsletters, intranet, and events, and drive strategic campaigns.

You will build relationships with senior leaders and frontline colleagues, collaborate with external communications teams, and measure impact to continuously improve engagement across the business.

Qualifications

• Experience in internal communications within a large multi-location organisation.
• Excellent writing for diverse audiences; strong editing and proofreading.
• Proven ability to build relationships with senior leaders and frontline staff.
• Experience with newsletters, intranet and events.
• Video editing and publishing experience.
• Experience in rail industry and unionised environments.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate day-to-day internal communications across established channels.
• Line manage two Internal Communications Managers.
• Source and publish stories supporting priorities and engagement.
• Support line managers with content for communicating to teams.
• Lead development and delivery of internal communications campaigns.
• Advise other functions on communications needs; guide messages and channels.
• Build relationships with senior leaders and colleagues to support delivery of communications.
• Plan and manage online and in-person events.
• Support employee engagement campaigns, including transitions to GBR.
• Represent the team on industry initiatives as needed.
• Collect and analyse communications measurement and feedback for improvements.

Skills

Internal communications

Line management

Writing

Editing & proofreading

Verbal & presentation

Stakeholder engagement

Strategic communications

Video editing

Content development

Campaign delivery

Education

Degree in communication/PR/marketing/journalism

Tools

Poppulo

Job description

Reporting to the Internal Communications Lead, as Senior Internal Communications Manager you will have a key role to play in the day-to-day operation of the internal communications team, helping provide consistently high-quality communications to 7,500 employees across multiple locations in South Western Railway and Network Rail Wessex.

Leading a team of two Internal Communication Managers, you will help develop, deliver and coordinate content for established communications channels including a fortnightly newsletter, employee messages using the Poppulo email management system, intranet and a programme of conference calls. You will also lead on or contribute to business-wide strategic campaigns as they arise.

As a deputy within the internal comms team, you will build relationships with senior leaders, managers and frontline colleagues to effectively consider and represent their views and experiences. You will also work closely with external communications and stakeholder relations colleagues to ensure consistency of messages and to identify opportunities for collaborative working.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Co-ordinating the day-to-day delivery of internal communications to the business unit via established channels.
• Line management of two Internal Communications Managers.
• Sourcing, developing and publishing stories that support the business's priorities and encourage colleague involvement and engagement.
• Supporting line managers by providing the content they need to communicate with their teams.
• Leading the development and delivery of internal communications campaigns.
• Working with other functions to advise on their communication needs and providing guidance on key messages and channels.
• Building strong relationships and trust with senior leaders and others to support the delivery of effective communications.
• Helping to plan and manage online and in-person events.
• Supporting the colleague engagement campaign leading up to the transfer to Great British Railways.
• Representing the team on industry-wide initiatives as necessary.
• Collating and analysing communications measurement and feedback and suggesting improvement opportunities.

You'll need to be:

• An established internal communications manager with experience of working in a large organisation with colleagues based across multiple locations.
• High standard of writing for a variety of audiences.
• Strong editing and proof-reading skills.
• Strong verbal and presentation skills.
• Experience of building strong collaborative relationships across all levels of an organisation.
• Able to contribute to the development of internal communications strategies.
• Experience in developing, implementing and improving communications channels.
• Qualifications in communication, PR, marketing or journalism (either as main degree or additional qualification) or equivalent.
• Experience in video editing and publishing.
• Experience working in the rail industry.
• Experience working in a unionised environment.

Working pattern

Working an average of 37 hours per week over 5 days

Office hours.

Applicants who require a visa must have 6 months remaining at the time of their appointment

The Reward

In return we offer a competitive salary and a variety of valuable benefits, including:

• Free duty and leisure travel on SWR services for employees
• Free leisure travel for spouse/partner and dependants (criteria dependent)
• 75% discount on many other train operating companies
• Full training and support with development

Who are we?

South Western Railway (SWR) operates over 1,500 services each weekday across the network and employs more than 5,000 people. We provide easy and convenient mobility, connecting people and communities in South West London, southern counties of England, and the Isle of Wight.

Join our team and help us continue to bring people together to get the most out of life.

We all belong at SWR. Our vision is to provide an inclusive environment for all colleagues, ensuring all candidates have an equal opportunity to access meaningful employment.

We value our differences such as age, gender, LGBTQIA+, ethnicity, religion, and disability. We maintain a zero tolerance towards any form of prejudice towards our colleagues, customers, and future talent.

We celebrate and encourage diversity of thought, progressive ways of working and seeing all our colleagues grow and thrive.

If you require additional support to complete your application due to a disability or neurodivergent condition, for example, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or autism, please follow the links below.

https://www.healthassured.org/blog/neurodiversit