Head of Strategic Events, Engagement & Communications Operations

Join us as a Head of Strategic Events, Engagement & Communications Operations, supporting Barclays' Group Technology Communications & Engagement function.

This role serves as a key operational head within the Group Technology Communications & Engagement team, helping shape the experience of more than 26,000 technologists globally. Working closely with senior stakeholders across Barclays, you will orchestrate flagship technology events, roadshows, town halls, leadership forums and colleague engagement programmes across global technology locations, while overseeing the end-to-end delivery of strategic programmes including governance, budgets, logistics, venue and production execution, vendor partnerships, stakeholder engagement, compliance and programme measurement.

You will also drive the communications and activation strategy for Barclays' Group Technology employer brand, developing and delivering programmes that showcase learning, career development and innovation, strengthening awareness, engagement and colleague connection across the technology organisation. Partnering with teams across Group Technology, Human Resources, Communications and priority markets, you will help ensure employer brand, engagement and communications activities are aligned, coordinated and support broader business priorities.

Your role also supports the operational infrastructure that enables the wider communications function to operate effectively at scale. You will oversee planning cycles, governance processes, communications calendars, project coordination activities, business reviews, budget and resource planning, vendor coordination and reporting activities, while acting as a central point of coordination across communications programmes to ensure priorities, dependencies, risks, actions and delivery milestones are visible and effectively coordinated. In addition, you will support the development of executive presentations, stakeholder briefings, strategic planning materials and business reviews, while building and enhancing the processes, tools, templates, reporting frameworks and operational structures that support consistent delivery across the function.

Leveraging AI-enabled tools, automation, dashboards and data-driven insights, you will contribute to continuous improvement in event planning, communications operations, programme quality and organisational effectiveness.

This is an opportunity to have a significant impact on how Barclays engages, informs and connects its global technology community. Through high-profile events, employer brand, colleague engagement programmes and innovative operational practices, you will help bring Barclays' technology proposition to life, strengthen colleague experience and support the delivery of strategic priorities across a global organisation. Your role may require occasional travel to Barclays locations globally in support of key events, stakeholder engagement and programme delivery.

To be successful as a Head of Strategic Events, Engagement & Communications Operations, you must have the following essential skills:

• Significant experience delivering large-scale strategic events, engagement programmes, communications operations or related programmes within a global organisation, including programme governance, budgets, logistics, production, vendor coordination, stakeholder engagement, compliance and programme delivery.
• Well-developed programme coordination, operational planning and organisational skills, with experience establishing operating rhythms, coordinating communications calendars, supporting multiple workstreams, facilitating business reviews, reporting frameworks, resource planning and operational infrastructure that enable delivery at scale.
• Ability to build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders and cross-functional teams while supporting positive outcomes across a highly matrixed environment, together with experience developing executive-ready presentations, stakeholder briefings, strategic planning materials and communications that support alignment and informed action.
  

Some other highly valued skills may include:

• Experience delivering employer brand, colleague engagement, culture or communications programmes that strengthen awareness, participation and colleague connection across large organisations.
• Experience using data, insights, reporting, performance measurement and feedback mechanisms to evaluate programme effectiveness, demonstrate impact and drive continuous improvement.
• Experience leveraging AI, automation, digital tools and technology-enabled solutions to improve efficiency, enhance communications effectiveness, streamline operational processes and support the delivery of global digital, hybrid and in-person events.
  

You may be assessed on the key critical skills relevant for success in role, such as risk and controls, change and transformation, business acumen, strategic thinking and digital and technology, as well as job-specific technical skills.

This role will be based in Glasgow or Knutsford.

Purpose of the role

To build strong and effective partnerships with the senior leadership of the organisation, advising on how to engage and influence employees to achieve the business’s goals, through an insight-based employee communications strategy, backed up with outstanding execution capability.

Accountabilities

• Leadership communication, using detailed, systematic insight research to help senior leaders understand employee sentiment, and empower them to communicate empathetically with their people.
• Business strategy alignment, building belief in the strategy of the organisation, and the progress being made, with a strong focus on the impact employees have on the client experience.
• Culture and employee proposition communication, designing and implementing communication interventions that influence individual behaviour to create a culture built on the Barclays Mindset; demonstrate why the organisation is a great place to work.
• Change delivery, creating communication interventions that build employee commitment and capability through organisational change.
• Crisis and issues management, working closely with the senior team as part of the management response, focused on the role of employees in engaging clients.
• Capability building, leading and developing a high-performing team, building individual skills and team capabilities.

Vice President Expectations

• To contribute or set strategy, drive requirements and make recommendations for change. Plan resources, budgets, and policies; manage and maintain policies/ processes; deliver continuous improvements and escalate breaches of policies/procedures..
• If managing a team, they define jobs and responsibilities, planning for the department’s future needs and operations, counselling employees on performance and contributing to employee pay decisions/changes. They may also lead a number of specialists to influence the operations of a department, in alignment with strategic as well as tactical priorities, while balancing short and long term goals and ensuring that budgets and schedules meet corporate requirements..
• If the position has leadership responsibilities, People Leaders are expected to demonstrate a clear set of leadership behaviours to create an environment for colleagues to thrive and deliver to a consistently excellent standard. The four LEAD behaviours are: L – Listen and be authentic, E – Energise and inspire, A – Align across the enterprise, D – Develop others..
• OR for an individual contributor, they will be a subject matter expert within own discipline and will guide technical direction. They will lead collaborative, multi-year assignments and guide team members through structured assignments, identify the need for the inclusion of other areas of specialisation to complete assignments. They will train, guide and coach less experienced specialists and provide information affecting long term profits, organisational risks and strategic decisions..
• Advise key stakeholders, including functional leadership teams and senior management on functional and cross functional areas of impact and alignment.
• Manage and mitigate risks through assessment, in support of the control and governance agenda.
• Demonstrate leadership and accountability for managing risk and strengthening controls in relation to the work your team does.
• Demonstrate comprehensive understanding of the organisation functions to contribute to achieving the goals of the business.
• Collaborate with other areas of work, for business aligned support areas to keep up to speed with business activity and the business strategies.
• Create solutions based on sophisticated analytical thought comparing and selecting complex alternatives. In-depth analysis with interpretative thinking will be required to define problems and develop innovative solutions.
• Adopt and include the outcomes of extensive research in problem solving processes.
• Seek out, build and maintain trusting relationships and partnerships with internal and external stakeholders in order to accomplish key business objectives, using influencing and negotiating skills to achieve outcomes.

All colleagues will be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Values of Respect, Integrity, Service, Excellence and Stewardship – our moral compass, helping us do what we believe is right. They will also be expected to demonstrate the Barclays Mindset – to Empower, Challenge and Drive – the operating manual for how we behave.