Head of Strategic Communications

**Head of Strategic Communications** *** **Business Area: Scheme Strategy and Stakeholder Relations** *** **Place of Work: London** *** **Contract Type: Permanent** *** **When you join USS, the size and scale of our pension scheme means you will have numerous opportunities to learn and develop your career. Given our size you'll have real autonomy and influence as you collaborate closely with a wide-ranging team of experts.** **Our office is a vibrant place to work, and we offer flexibility of office/homeworking due to our hybrid model.** **About the role** *** **In your role as Head of Strategic Communications you will make a meaningful and valued contribution from the outset.** *** **This role will provide a great opportunity to take overall responsibility for strategy development, communications planning and supplier management across the team.** *** **The role will ensure consistent and effective risk management, contingency planning and reporting for the team.** *** **The role will also deputise for, and support the head of the team as needed, becoming involved with internal and external communication and public affairs issues as required.** *** **What you will be doing** *** **As a trusted part of the Scheme Strategy and Stakeholder Relations you will be responsible for**: *** - **Contribute to the Corporate Affairs handling of proactive and reactive internal and external communication, public affairs and other relevant issues, leading on these issues as required****: - **Lead and develop the overarching corporate affairs strategy and related communication strategies around particular issues or themes****: - **Ensure that USS has a robust communication planning process in place with a rolling plan for active external and prepared reactive engagement across communication stakeholders and sub-plans for relevant issues or themes****: - **Ensure that corporate communication is effectively aligned with member, employer and wider internal communications with suitable campaign opportunities identified, led and coordinated****: - **Manage external agency support ensuring strong relationships, value for money and best use of external resource and expertise to properly support USS objectives****: - **Ensure that corporate affairs papers and reporting to Board(s) and other relevant committees are produced in a timely, compelling and consistent way, being informative and supportive of decision making*** **About you** *** **To be successful in the role you will have**: *** - **Experience of managing, leading and coordinating integrated communications activities****: - **Experience of producing communication strategies and plans****: - **Excellent analytical, writing and messaging skills****: - **Experience of engaging with and advising senior leadership****: - **Experience of working across a range of issues in a fast paced environment****: - **Ideally a background in pensions/financial services or providing communication support to those sectors****: **Why join us?** *** **How we will reward you** *** - **Great starting salary**: - **Generous annual leave package**: - **Access to a high quality pension scheme provided through Universities Superannuation Scheme**: - **Supportive people policies (including enhanced occupational sickness pay and family friendly pay)**: - **Financial contributions towards your personal development to help you maintain your physical and mental wellbeing**: - **Access to a range of health and wellbeing services i.e., private healthcare, discounted gym membership**: - **Learning and development opportunities to develop your skills, knowledge and talent**: - **Employee Volunteer Day’s to support the communities where you work and live**: - **Cycle to Work Scheme **Our culture and values** *** **Our people are what makes us different. We work together to create a diverse and inclusive culture that embraces individuality, where people are welcomed and feel comfortable in the knowledge that they can be themselves. Our purpose firmly states the importance of members, putting them ‘front and centre’ of what we do. This is embedded through our values**: *** - **Integrity**: - **Collaboration**: - **Excellence** *** **About us** *** *** **The Private Markets Group (PMG) consists of a 70+ person team that oversees c. £25 billion in assets across a fast-growing and diverse portfolio of private equity, infrastructure, private credit and property investments on behalf of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). By operating as a single team, with individual areas of specialism and expertise, PMG is able to combine its resources through a “OnePMG" approach to investing which allows us to maximise origination, due diligence, transaction execution and asset management by tailoring the right mix of skills.** *** **Capable of deploying capital across the full range of private market investing (direct, joint ventures, partnerships, co-investm