What’s the role about?

It’s an exciting time to join the John Lewis Partnership as we transform and grow our business for the future.  We’re just one year into our five-year strategy - the Partnership Plan - and you will have the opportunity to help shape the future of the UK’s largest employee-owned business. 

The External Communications team looks after all aspects of our external communications approach and is responsible for telling the outside world about our Partnership story and our two much loved and trusted brands - Waitrose and John Lewis.

As a Senior Communications Officer, you will plan and deliver successful proactive communications campaigns and you are required to work in a fast, busy and agile environment, triaging incoming issues effectively.  Working closely with key internal stakeholders and the media is crucial in managing issues and delivering successful PR campaigns.

The team leads on telling the Partnership’s strategic story to media including new areas of growth such as Financial Services and private rented housing.  In support of this, you will plan and deliver media campaigns that bring our Partnership Plan (our five-year business strategy) to life for our key audiences and customers.  

You will help support the team to manage the external communication of financial results and the delivery of integrated campaigns which communicate the Partnership’s strategy.  Specifically, you will support the Senior Communications Manager and Communications Managers in the delivery of Full-Year and Interim trading results and the Annual Report and Accounts. 

The Partnership supports agile and flexible working practices, such as when, where and how we work. We have several different ways to work flexibly, including part-time, flexible or compressed hours, and job sharing. Head office areas also support a blended working approach.

We celebrate diversity and inclusion in the John Lewis Partnership and we are committed to becoming the UK’s most inclusive business, reflecting and connecting with the diverse communities that we serve. 

What you’ll be doing:

•  Help support the Financial & Strategic team to deliver the external communication of financial results - including Full Year and Interim trading results, as well as supporting the design and content for the Annual Report and Accounts. 

• Create and manage campaigns that bring the Partnership Plan (our five-year business strategy) to life.  Manage the process of each campaign from brief through to evaluation, through close collaboration with the team

• You will do this through corporate, consumer/ lifestyle media and other communications channels, building and sustaining a desirable image of the Partnership and its Brands. This will be maintained and enhanced through planned publicity campaigns, proactive PR activity and by managing issues that may affect the reputation of our business and brands and therefore, customers’ likelihood to shop with us. All campaigns will include KPIs and a detailed evaluation of their success.  You will instil a culture of customer-centric, cross-functional thinking so that the Partnership story is not kept solely for corporate media. 

• Help develop campaigns that specifically support our Financial Services business.   Includes creating publicity campaigns for the portfolio across Partnership Card, foreign exchange, insurance and retail credit.  Includes managing all Financial Services inbound issues. 

• With the Senior Manager and Communications Managers, develop and maintain a network of external stakeholders including journalists, opinion formers, analysts, influencers, suppliers and their PR teams.

• Increasingly help support the wider external communications team to manage reactive media enquiries, issues and crises across traditional and social media. 

What you’ll have:

Business Strategy - Thinks for the long term whilst making sense of the current climate. Cuts through any issues in order to reach the defined goal and ensures continued alignment to current business objectives. Puts these strategies in place for peers and team and in doing so, creates a culture where everyone contributes.

Task Prioritisation - Plans and reviews workload regularly and is prepared to adapt to ever changing circumstances. Assesses workload realistically in terms of urgency and importance and is ready for "curve balls" and changes plans where necessary to ensure optimum achievement and deadlines are hit and stakeholder relationships are maintained

Senior Stakeholder Management - Identifies who is impacted by or involved in your goals/objectives and therefore who is key to achieving the desired successful outcomes. Understands the motivations and priorities of these stakeholders and takes these into account in order to build and manage sustainable relationships. Can anticipate potential challenges stakeholders may bring and puts plans in place to achieve collaboration.

Multi-Tasking- Can think clearly when presented with multiple pieces of information and gets to the nub of an issue in order to make a well-informed judgement.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Credible external relationships which will champion our brand.

What else can you bring:

Notable Communications experience is essential including media relations, campaigns and issues management.

Retail and financial services experience is highly desirable
 

The application form consists of a CV upload, an online test followed by application questions. Please ensure you refresh the page each time you complete a task to ensure you complete everything that you need to in time.

 If internal, check your Workday notifications and see further guidance on the PDW under "Internal application process" 

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We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications. Therefore, we recommend you apply early