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With a strong focus on internal and stakeholder communications, this role plays a key part in coordinating the delivery of the Society’s messages to core audiences. The Communications Manager is responsible for the development and delivery of an internal communications strategy, ensuring stakeholders, including our staff and Fellows, are kept informed of the Society’s work. They will need to proactively engage with staff from across the organisation, including the Executive Director, to ensure smooth gathering, coordination and dissemination of information. The role is responsible for a range of corporate communications, including the Society’s intranet. The role also plays a key role in the delivery of other corporate communications. The Communications Manager also provides strategic communications input to a range of teams across the Society. Key relationships include supporting the Design and Brand team to implement the house style and working closely with HR and Diversity and Inclusion.

Please note that we are unable to offer sponsorship for this role.

Reports to: Director of Communications

Location: Carlton House Terrace

Hours: Full time

Contract type: Permanent

Hours: Full time, 35 hours per week

Pay Band: E

Salary: £52,704.71

The application closing date: 31 August 2025 at midnight

Interviews will be held: 17, 18 & 19 September 2025

• Lead on the development and delivery of an internal communications strategy to develop internal communications and wider staff engagement.
• Work with the Executive Director, Fellowship team and other teams to deliver a programme of regular communications to the Fellowship and staff of the Society, gathering information and ensuring all communications are consistently produced to a high standard and receive positive user feedback. This includes:
• Regular updates to the Fellowship from the President and Executive Director
• Regular communication from the Executive Director to staff
• All staff meetings, roughly every two months (including working with teams to produce good quality presentations)
• Work with Grants, Publications, Schools engagement, Industry and other teams to ensure consistent messaging across Royal Society newsletters.
• Provide editorial oversight for the ongoing review, development and delivery of the Society’s intranet
• Work with the Web team to ensure the corporate sections of the site are regularly reviewed and updated
• Work with Finance team to deliver annual Trustees’ Report
• Provide strategic communications input to a range of teams across the Society, including supporting the Design and brand team in implementing the house style guide
• Co-ordinate the communications planner and fortnightly meetings to support it
• To work with HR and Diversity and Inclusion teams to support activities that ensure that the Royal Society is an inclusive and supportive place to work
• To work with HR team to support a programme of staff consultation and engagement.
• Maintain excellent working knowledge of the Society’s strategic goals, objectives, priorities, programmes and messages (to all its varied audiences) and direct staff in effectively communicating their work in the context of the strategic plan.
• To carry out other duties as directed by the Officers, Executive Director and other senior staff.

• Extensive communications experience in a complex organisation
• Experience of internal communications
• Demonstrable experience in writing strategic-level communications (particularly demonstrable contribution to the preparation of annual reports)
• Proof reading skills
• Self-managing and able to work to tight deadlines
• Able to lead development of communications strategies across teams
• Strong leadership skills and confidence in reporting work to senior colleagues
• Demonstrable understanding of best practice in writing succinctly for specific audiences
• Knowledge and interest in the communications sector and industry developments
• Experience of project management
• Experience of cross-team working and managing staff and budgetary resources across an organisation
• Working knowledge of Sharepoint, Sitecore and Click an advantage or knowledge of other email marketing and website CMS systems.

Self-management

· Identifies difficult situations

· Recognises stress in others and takes steps to reduce it

· Controls pressurised situations

· Effectively enthuses those in the team

· Proactively sets goals and targets for own work

· Works within the Royal Society Values at all times

Working with others

· Actively seeks ideas and criticisms from within the team

· Resolves conflicts within and between teams

· Embeds feedback processes within the team

· Seeks out new networks that will create opportunity for the Society

· Able to present complex issues simply

· Uses discretion, tact and empathy when negotiating with and/or seeking to influence others

· Understands the need to manage expectations and to only promise what is deliverable

Resource management

· Determines strategy and deployment of resources, balancing cost and benefit; risk and potential for maximum impact across significant business areas

· Manages complex cross-cutting projects to time, budget and specification

· Ensures others accept responsibility towards results or quality

· Sets the quality standards for own business areas in accordance with strategy and contributes to the formulation of quality standards across the Society

· Sets and monitors priorities

· Identifies and manages risk effectively

Critical thinking

· Uses questioning, analytical and probing skills to ‘dig deeper’

· Knows when enough information has been obtained and adapts presentation of information to the needs of the audience

· Evaluates the benefits, practicalities and value for money of ideas and obtains feedback

· Makes sound decisions in a complex or ambiguous environment and is able to gain support and manage challenges confidently

Adaptability

· Actively seeks the input and opinions of others, often outside his/her section and accommodates and incorporates this thinking into any output.

· Actively seeks new challenges and projects; leads discussions surrounding new ideas, approaches and projects

· Anticipates need for innovation and seeks new ideas, approaches and solutions

Managing people and relationships

· Sets expectations of others and ensures they deliver

· Demonstrates a positive attitude towards work, celebrating success and instilling confidence, which encourages the same from others

· Encourages others to share ideas and participate in the discussion and decisions of the team

· Assesses needs of clients/stakeholders/staff and makes plans to meet these needs