Senior Communications Manager

**Who are we?**

Sanlam Developing Markets [SDM] (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sanlam Life Limited) is one of the top financial services providers in the South African entry-level and emerging middle market. It aims to understand the unique requirements of clients and offers a wide range of simple and affordable financial solutions that cover needs such as funeral insurance, savings for education, life cover and personal accident plans. In terms of the Sanlam Group Governance Policy, SDM is managed by the SA Retail Mass cluster, which is part of the Sanlam Life and Savings cluster within the Sanlam Group. The cluster focusses on retail products, as well as group schemes.

**What will you do?**
- Prepare and execute communication strategies aligned to the overall strategic intent of a business.**What will make you successful in this role?**
- Developing, executing and measuring Retail Mass communications strategy.
- Developing, coordinating and implementing the annual Retail Mass communications activity calendar and content, through all communication channels and materials.
- Ensuring that messages are integrated from internal to external for example, articles, success stories, press releases, exco presentations, scripts, podcasts, market collateral, etc.
- Working with Sanlam Group Communications to ensure aligned communication across multiple and appropriate trade media in line with the overall Retail Mass communication strategy.
- Serves as an internal thought leader in identifying industry trends and innovation in employee communications and implementing these where appropriate.
- Develop, manage, and maintain relationships with internal, external stakeholders and business media.
- Create communications collateral including communications plans, intranet content/articles, executive speeches, presentations, newsletters, press releases, briefing materials.
- Deliver communications associated with the CEO including drafting speeches, managing briefing materials and responding to media on PR enquiries, drafting strategic employee and campaign communications and managing video production.
- Researching, identifying, and selecting external marketing communications service providers and defining quality and delivery targets for externally assigned activities, monitoring ongoing progress, and resolving issues.
- Defining key targets and quality metrics for marketing communications initiatives.
- Provide on-the-job training/support to fellow team members.
- Good understanding of procedures and concepts within own discipline and a basic knowledge of these elements in other disciplines within Communications

**Strategy**:
- Measures and evaluates communication quality.
- Compiles monthly and quarterly management reports.
- Supports marketing campaigns and brand assets through the creation of communication plans as set out by annual marketing calendar.

**Public Relations**:

- Develop the annual Retail Mass Communication and PR strategy.
- Develop, implement, and monitors public relations plan.
- Stakeholder Management
- Media Management
- Press releases.
- Internal Newsletter
- Development of content for industry publications
- PR reports (including reporting on effectiveness of campaigns to maximise results)

**People Development**:

- Manages, motivates, and supports team members, and provides skills development opportunities.
- Performs daily HR and performance management functions.
- Ensures adherence to all relevant company policies and procedures.
- Experience and Qualification/s required- Bachelor’s degree or Diploma in communications, journalism, public relations, or related area.
- 5+ years’ experience background in a similar position.
- Sound understanding of internal communication practices and procedures.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
- Ability to multitask and work well under pressure.
- Outstanding organizational and leadership skills.
- Knowledge, Skills and Abilities- Quality and detail orientated.
- Persuading and influencing
- Client service orientation
- Creating and innovating
- Achieving personal work goals and objectives
- Entrepreneurial and commercial thinking
- Interpersonal sensitivity
- Sound knowledge of writing for digital and mainstream media platforms and find new and innovative ways to communicate.
- Ability to track monitor and analyze engagement rates and find ways to increase engagement rates.
- Engaging with and working with the Communication teams across the Sanlam Group.

**Core Competencies**
- Cultivates innovation.
- Customer focus
- Drives results
- Collaborates
- Being resilient

**Personal Qualities**:

- Organizational savvy.
- Manages complexity.
- Balances Stakeholders
- Drives vision and purpose
- Critical Thinking
- Complex communications
- Creativity
- Emotional Intelligence
- Productivity and Accountability
- A builder of teams that thrives.

**Turnaround Times**:
The Sanlam Group is committed to achieving transformation and embraces di