Global Communications Planning Manager

Role: Global Communications Planning Manager

Duration: 12 Months

CONTEXT

Client is embarking on an exciting and significant Business Transformation Programme underpinned by SAP S/4 HANA. Through this programme, client aims to drive process and data standardization and simplification. This programme will be delivered over a multi-year period with global geographic reach.

The Change Management tower is part of the Voyager programme with the strategic objective of transforming client’s business capabilities, leveraging data & digital technology, to create a competitive edge in the marketplace. The Communications team is a workstream within the Change Management tower.

Client is seeking a dedicated Voyager Global Communications Planning Manager to join the Communications team. The successful candidate will demonstrate proven experience in planning & delivering programme-to-business communications & stakeholder engagement activities on a fast-paced multi-wave SAP / ERP transformation programme.

The Communications Planning Manager must possess a strong ability to translate programme scope, vision, objectives and wide-ranging activities into a communications plan that ensures stakeholders, impacted business communities and end users understand and are engaged. Experience should include planning & delivery involving cultural change, shift in mindset, data, functional & process change to transition to new ways of working underpinned by SAP technology.

PURPOSE OF ROLE:

The Communications Planning Manager will develop, own and govern the Voyager communications & stakeholder engagement plan, ensuring the programme delivers timely, accurate, targeted, creative communications to impacted audiences that informs, engages and motivates impacted people to successfully make the transition to and adoption of new systems, processes and ways of working. This will be achieved by working with the Global Change Team (comprising Change Management, Communications & Stakeholder Engagement and Training), third-party service providers, Regional and Local Change and Deployment teams and/or representatives, Programme Leadership team and functional workstreams.

The role will report into the Global Communications & Stakeholder Engagement Lead to support the team’s overall communication and engagement responsibilities and engage / collaborate with the Regional Deployment network. Location is flexible.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

1. With the Global Comms Lead, create, own and maintain a comprehensive & executable Communications plan (Communications Schedule) collaborating with client’s programme team members and third-party service providers. Schedule will include existing & new elements of the narrative, deployment schedule, workstream updates, etc resulting in a plan covering cultural, process and functional and persona-led viewpoints.

2. Govern the communications and stakeholder engagement plan, owning status reporting to leadership, the identification, resolution & escalation of risks, issues & dependencies to ensure the Comms team and contributors maintain the timely creation & publication of high-quality Voyager communications assets including deployment plan (e.g. testing strategy), core Voyager assets e.g. Mosaic site, stakeholder surveys. Provide the team with practical best practice guidance.

3. Set Communications Managers for success by leading the creation of standardised comms assets that equip the team to create multi-channel, multi-audience events (e.g. roadshow, stakeholder surveys) and business facing materials. These will activate the communications and deployment agenda to inform and educate stakeholders & impacted individuals and groups through simple, easy to understand communications for impacted audience groups.

4. Support internal programme communications by developing key messages and materials to support project team engagement on important topics.

5. Continuous improvement focus: own data and insights to measure effectiveness of communications from message reach and channel effectiveness and take remediation actions to improve as needed.

6. Co-ordinate with all Global Change workstreams across all wave teams to ensure the Global Change team and plans are consistent.

7. Support Regional & Functional Change Leads and Change Champions (e.g. 121s, ‘how to’ guides, plan/deliver Change In Action sessions), ensuring two way feedback

8. Collaborate and align with the Voyager Training Team to incorporate key messages on behavioural / cultural changes into the plan as well as the wider client communications community to achieve goals.

9. Understand key stakeholders within the programme workstreams & across client e.g. Corporate Relations; build trusted and collaborative relationships with stakeholders both inside & outside the programme to enable and deliver benefits to Voyager & client's business communications agenda.

10. Support the Global Comms & Stakeholder Lead & Voyager programme Leadership Team in performing various activities and ad hoc events e.g. Leadership Team updates and producing deliverables for the Voyager programme.

11. When needed, have a sleeves rolled-up attitude to get communications out on time

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIRED

• Degree educated in relevant business or subject (journalism, communications, public relations or marketing).

• 7+ years’ experience in planning, managing and tracking communications campaigns and creating content that successfully supports people through change for complex transformational projects, ideally ERP / IT-enabled.

• Experience of coaching and supporting teams to achieve outcomes. Track record of working with or managing third-party providers to collaborate and achieve project goals as one team.

• Excellent skills in programme communication content development.

• Experience in stakeholder event delivery.

• Strong knowledge of corporate communication channels and ability to innovate to generate excitement and increase engagement.

• Native English capability across verbal, written and presentation communication skills. Ability to effectively target and tailor the message and medium to various audience groups to achieve intended outcomes.

• Flexibility to adjust to changing priorities and ability to deliver high-quality communications in compressed timelines.

• Proficient in using a variety of tools to develop plans and communications content (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Yammer/Viva Engage, Teams, Synthesia, Canva, Poppulo etc.)

BARRIERS TO SUCCESS IN THE ROLE

• Inability to adopt and deploy a range of influencing styles.

• Inability to develop trusted relationships with key programme team members and stakeholders.

• Low resilience and adaptability and inability to operate successfully in a fast-moving and ambiguous environment.

• Inability to communicate effectively.

• Inability to establish mutual trust or display cultural sensitivity.

• Inability to work with third party service providers to lead and collaborate on delivering communications.

• Inability to work as a team, sharing content, aligning inputs and outputs.

• Inability to meet milestones through insufficient stakeholder and risk management.