Communications Manager

at  Balfour Beatty

About the role
Here at Balfour Beatty, our work inspires communities and advances society. It is therefore essential that we provide excellent customer service and communication to reach all those individuals and organisations our projects touch.
Join our Major Projects team as a Communications Manager and be part of our legacy!
You’ll be a self-starter who is happy to spend most of your time on site, working alongside fantastic project teams and supporting our customer on this iconic project! As a key member of the project leadership team, you’ll be responsible for shaping and delivering the communications plan, driving employee engagement, improving customer satisfaction, and ensuring the impacts and benefits of our project is communicated appropriately to protect and promote our reputation.

You will:

• Enhance and protect the reputation of Balfour Beatty, our customer, and our partners through the delivery of an effective and engaging stakeholder communication plan.
• Build and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with key stakeholders to achieve outputs and have respect to act as a trusted adviser on communications matters.
• Embed a ‘customer-led’ approach to communications.

What you’ll be doing

As a Communications Manager you will have the responsibility to ensure design and delivery of timely and relevant communications with focus on project and scheme communications. The scope of this role includes, but is not limited to, the duties described below:

• Act a key member of the project leadership team to embed a robust customer-focussed approach and inclusive culture, improving internal employee engagement scores and external customer satisfaction in line with customer targets.
• Create and deliver project stakeholder communication plans, providing appropriate, timely information using a variety of accessible and engaging channels.
• Provide a critical link between project delivery teams and internal/external stakeholders, clearly communicating the potential impact of our works and managing local feedback/engagement.
• Interface with the Balfour Beatty Group Communications function on reputational risks and opportunities that have the potential to impact the UK brand – ensuring awareness and understanding of sensitivities and knowing when to escalate depending on stakeholder and topic.
• Act as point of contact for reactive stakeholder queries in relation to schemes, liaising with relevant project managers, the Balfour Beatty Helpline and client customer service teams to resolve issues in a professional manner and providing a best-in-class customer focussed response.
• Lead the planning and delivery of local community engagement events, public information/exhibition events, participation at community liaison working groups and charity events to ensure appropriate engagement with stakeholders.
• Lead on internal communications to help embed a ‘one team’ approach and reinforce key corporate messages and campaigns. Including ensuring local noticeboards and screens are up to date with Balfour Beatty and project focused communications.
• Lead on award entry submissions, create project case studies and identify opportunities to showcase and celebrate project successes, sharing content with the wider business to publicise through internal and external channels.
• Develop a regular calendar of activities and ensure all content is on brand, accurate, approved and in line with the and Balfour Beatty company brand guidelines where appropriate.
• Support social value volunteering on the project and ensure this is publicised through social media and other channels.
• Review and understand results of project customer MAP assessments, ensuring data is used to drive improvements to stakeholder communications approach, channels, and content.
• Oversee all project site and depot external visuals, such as site hoarding and external information boards, to ensure they comply with Balfour Beatty, customer, or Joint Venture brand guidelines. Work within the agreed financial budget to deliver all activities related to the role and maintain written records in line with contractual requirements.

Who we’re looking for

Essential skills/qualifications:

• Strong community relations and stakeholder management experience.
• Confident engaging with external customers and stakeholders at face-to-face events.
• Excellent writing, storytelling, and presentation skills
• A self-starter able to quickly build relationships through effective written and verbal communication. Be able to quickly source and interpret technical information from a variety of sources and translate into customer-friendly written communications.
• Be able to demonstrate creativity through multi-media communications to reach all audiences.
• Strong analysis and problem-solving skills.
• Team player with ability to engage, influence and negotiate.
• Computer literate and competent in Microsoft Office applications.
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent higher education/industry recognised qualification in marketing, public relations, communications, or a related field.

Desirable skills/qualifications:

• Experience of using graphics and or video editing software.
• Experience of working on construction/civil engineering infrastructure projects.
• Relevant communications qualification.
• Member of CIPR or other recognised industry body.
• Good understanding of the regulatory and political environment in construction.
• A clean driving licence.

Why work for us
Day in, day out, our teams deliver some of the UK’s most ambitious, exciting and meaningful projects; developing, building and maintaining the vital infrastructure that supports national economies and strengthens communities.

As a Communications Manager you will have the responsibility to ensure design and delivery of timely and relevant communications with focus on project and scheme communications. The scope of this role includes, but is not limited to, the duties described below:

• Act a key member of the project leadership team to embed a robust customer-focussed approach and inclusive culture, improving internal employee engagement scores and external customer satisfaction in line with customer targets.
• Create and deliver project stakeholder communication plans, providing appropriate, timely information using a variety of accessible and engaging channels.
• Provide a critical link between project delivery teams and internal/external stakeholders, clearly communicating the potential impact of our works and managing local feedback/engagement.
• Interface with the Balfour Beatty Group Communications function on reputational risks and opportunities that have the potential to impact the UK brand – ensuring awareness and understanding of sensitivities and knowing when to escalate depending on stakeholder and topic.
• Act as point of contact for reactive stakeholder queries in relation to schemes, liaising with relevant project managers, the Balfour Beatty Helpline and client customer service teams to resolve issues in a professional manner and providing a best-in-class customer focussed response.
• Lead the planning and delivery of local community engagement events, public information/exhibition events, participation at community liaison working groups and charity events to ensure appropriate engagement with stakeholders.
• Lead on internal communications to help embed a ‘one team’ approach and reinforce key corporate messages and campaigns. Including ensuring local noticeboards and screens are up to date with Balfour Beatty and project focused communications.
• Lead on award entry submissions, create project case studies and identify opportunities to showcase and celebrate project successes, sharing content with the wider business to publicise through internal and external channels.
• Develop a regular calendar of activities and ensure all content is on brand, accurate, approved and in line with the and Balfour Beatty company brand guidelines where appropriate.
• Support social value volunteering on the project and ensure this is publicised through social media and other channels.
• Review and understand results of project customer MAP assessments, ensuring data is used to drive improvements to stakeholder communications approach, channels, and content.
• Oversee all project site and depot external visuals, such as site hoarding and external information boards, to ensure they comply with Balfour Beatty, customer, or Joint Venture brand guidelines. Work within the agreed financial budget to deliver all activities related to the role and maintain written records in line with contractual requirements

As if contributing to and supporting work that makes life better for millions wasn’t rewarding enough, we offer a full range of benefits too. You’ll have the freedom to shape the package that’s right for you and your life. Here are some of our key benefits:

• Smart working, giving you more flexibility such as staggered start and finish times, with up to 40% remote working, where roles allow.
• 25 days paid annual leave (pro rata)
• Family friendly policies which include 28 weeks full pay for maternity/adoption leave and four weeks full pay for paternity/partners leave
• Pension, share incentive plan, volunteering leave, recognition schemes and much more