Internal Communications & Engagement Manager

Full Time/ 12 month Fixed Term Contract

Our offer to you

We pride ourselves in being a great place to work, providing a supportive culture with opportunities to grow and develop your career, achieve a healthy work life balance and to be recognised for the great work you do. You will receive:

Competitive salary and pension scheme
33 days holiday (inclusive of bank holidays) - increasing to 38 days over 5 years
Hybrid, Flexible working
Cycle to work scheme Electric Vehicle Scheme
Health and Wellbeing portal – access to financial, health and wellbeing support and an Employee Assistance Programme
Discounts – you will have access to Blue Light and NHS Discounts as well as discounts on mobile phones, gym membership, cinema tickets, restaurants, holidays and shopping

About Us

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a team of over 1,400 employees and over 28,000 volunteers, united by our goal of saving lives through essential first aid services, training and campaigning.  As a charity with rich heritage and a long history of serving humanity, we are proud of our past and excited about creating a healthier, safer, more resilient future. 

St John Ambulance works at the heart of communities, supporting and enabling them to access and receive physical and mental health first aid. We do this through developing and providing effective community response and outreach services (e.g. Ambulance response) and using our longstanding expertise to empower people with vital clinical skills and the confidence to use them (e.g. our Volunteers and Community Advocates, and Young Responders programmes).

Job Summary

Our Internal Communications and Engagement Manager will play a pivotal role in bringing our organisational vision to life. Working closely with Trustees and senior stakeholders, you will lead the way in inspiring, informing and engaging our volunteers and employees across the country.

With responsibility spanning our organisational strategy, internal news, policies and procedures, you will champion meaningful two-way (360°) communication. You’ll support the delivery of our strategic vision by ensuring colleagues and volunteers feel connected, informed and empowered throughout periods of change.

Leading a dynamic team and key projects, you will deliver high-quality outcomes at pace. You’ll deepen our understanding of internal audiences, shaping insight-driven communication strategies that resonate across diverse communities. From planning impactful campaigns to writing and editing compelling content, you’ll ensure key messages, updates and announcements are clear, engaging and aligned to our mission.

This is a highly visible and influential role for a communications professional who thrives in a values-driven environment and is passionate about making a national impact.



About You

Professional qualification accredited by the CIPR, CIM or equivalent.
Proven experience setting and delivering internal communications strategy, driving organisational change and improving perceptions of communication effectiveness.
Demonstrable success leading major internal communications projects, including system rollouts, platform changes, new processes and organisation-wide transformation initiatives.
Strong experience advising and influencing senior leaders, handling confidential and sensitive communications with sound judgement and appropriate tone.
Experience working in complex, multi-site organisations, ideally within volunteer-led or trustee-governed environments
Experience managing intranet platforms and internal digital tools, with crisis communications experience and advantage
About the Role

Set and continuously refine the internal communications strategy, aligning organisational plans with clear messaging and effective channels that meet employee and volunteer needs.
Lead delivery of the strategy, developing structured plans and timelines to enhance channels, introduce new tools, improve leadership communications, and produce compelling content.
Oversee internal communications planning and governance, managing the team calendar, project processes, and coordination of key engagement activity such as CEO and Executive leadership events.
Provide expert internal communications counsel to senior leaders, advising on complex and sensitive issues, including crisis communications.
Lead and develop a high-performing team and volunteer community of practice, delegating effectively, building capability across departments, and embedding best practice.
Drive the development and optimisation of internal digital platforms, including the CONNECT intranet and collaboration tools, championing digital skills across the charity.
Deliver high-impact internal communications projects, working cross-functionally to improve systems, processes and engagement approaches from concept to completion.
Embed measurement and evaluation across all activity, using data and insight to assess effectiveness, celebrate success and continuously improve communications outcomes.
Please see the job description for more detail (this can be viewed on our website or once you click apply)

If you are a current St John Ambulance employee, please apply here: Click here

For all other candidates, or St John Ambulance volunteers wishing to apply: please apply below

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive high volume of applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.