Background – Admiral Group
Admiral Group is a leading FTSE100 Financial Services company with a presence in eight countries. The company was set up in 1993 as a car insurance specialist, but since then the Group has expanded in other countries and other insurance verticals such as household and travel insurance, in loans, price comparison platforms, and has developed innovative products.
Admiral is agile, innovative and not afraid to test new ideas. During the early 2000’s, Admiral created the first price comparison website, and now heads the largest network of price comparison platforms in the world.
The Group launched Admiral Financial Services, focused on personal loans, in 2017. It utilizes the learning gained from the Group’s experience within the insurance sector, and has a focus on data analytics, technology, customer-centricity, and product innovation.
More recently, the Group has launched new Insuretech propositions, such as Veygo and Homebrella focused on millennials and microinsurance. To provide further resource for business development, a new arm was recently set up called Admiral Pioneer, tasked with exploring and investing in new ventures and emerging consumer needs.
The Group has 7 million customers worldwide and employs over 11,000 people across its operations. Admiral is a growth story with an enviable track-record of strong financial performances, ROE consistently over 50%, a turnover of £3.55 bn and a profit before tax of £638 m in 2020.
Company Culture
Admiral’s philosophy is that ‘people who like what they do, do it better,’ and Admiral is proud to offer an open culture where achievement is rewarded and recognised and where coming to work is exciting every day. In 2019 Admiral received a special award from ‘Best Companies to Work For’ as the only company to feature within their rankings since they began 20 years ago: a true testament to the Group’s culture.
Admiral aims to recruit the best talent and strives to empower its managers and equip them with the tools needed to succeed, including giving them ownership from the onset. Admiral has a digitally focused, entrepreneurial and customer-centric mindset. Managers are encouraged to explore new ideas and have regular exposure to the Group’s CEOs. This is a quite special place where talented individuals can progress to the top of a FTSE 100 company, whilst also maintaining a good work-life balance and have fun.
The Opportunity
We are looking for someone who can take our well-regarded approach to Communications into the future. Communication is one of the four pillars of Admiral’s culture and it has never been more important. With a highly engaged and diverse workforce, we need someone who can take all that we have and create a compelling, cohesive strategy and then deliver against it.
The role has great breadth for the right candidate and requires someone who is exceptional at internal and external stakeholder relationships and working as part of one team.
This position will report to Rhian Langham, the Head of People Services and will be based in Cardiff, although like many of us, you will be able to also work from home too. When lockdown restrictions ease, we envisage around 40% of your time will be spent in Cardiff or occasionally one of our other UK sites. Part of this will be getting to know the business as you join a new company.
You will be responsible for developing and delivering an internal and external Colleagues communications strategy that supports the business strategy and change agenda, including Smart Working for the UK.
You will work in an open environment where you will be engaging with internal business and HR leaders to gain a deep understanding of the Admiral business direction and identify the best channels to deliver a variety of internal and external communications.
You will enjoy using your influencing and communication skills to deliver key strategic messages
You Will
Develop and deliver a communications strategy that supports the main UK business and change strategy
Accountable for external comms in relation to colleague, employer brand, sponsorships and use of social media channels
Create an internal comms strategy and delivery roadmap that clearly identifies channels, content and audience needs, is measurable in the value it brings to the business and continues to engage colleagues and drive our Culture
Responsibility for overall CSR in the UK, including overview of the Admiral Community Fund. Co-ordinating the wide and varied activities that already exist across the business and owning the relationships with key external partners as we create a more strategic approach to CSR activity
Involvement in company wider projects such as Smart Working, leading the comms workstreams as we continue to transform and grow the business for the future
Drive our approach to engagement and facilitate the various ways in which we measure engagement, through pulse surveys, GPTW and Best Companies
Work closely with senior leaders and other internal stakeholders, providing advice for both one off pieces and more strategic activities
Actively promote the sharing of knowledge and innovative best practice and facilitate the adoption of up to date practices
Role model ‘Communicate, communicate, communicate’ in your every day activity and increase capability in others to do the same
Lead and develop a team of high calibre, technically proficient Communications specialists and right size the team for the business need
What We’re Looking For
Someone who leaves their ego at the door
Extensive Senior management in Communications and employee engagement experience
A strong track record of leading, mentoring and motivating high performing teams within Communications functions
Proven experience of implementing Internal and External communications strategies and plans in larger organisations
An up to date skillset and awareness of current and upcoming communication tools that will be most effective in a new Smart Working world
Results driven and commercially aware
Proven capability to overcome setbacks and keep momentum up and pointed towards continuous improvement
As well as having great overall people skills, you will also have an analytical mindset, with the ability to turn insights into actionable recommendations and execution
Strong listener, able to demonstrate that you can hear what staff are actually saying and being able to act upon this.
Nice To Have
An open mind and willingness to embrace new suggestions
A good network of useful contacts externally
Interviews
Please note, if successful, you must be available for interviews on the following dates:
1st Stage – either Friday 7th May or Tuesday 11th May
2nd Stage (if progressed from 1st) – Monday 17th May
Salary, Benefits And Work-Life Balance
We do not have a set salary for this position, as it will be dependent on the successful candidate’s experience. We are happy to see CVs from all candidates who meet the requirements and will be happy to discuss the remuneration package.
At Admiral, we are proud to be a diverse business where we put our people and customers first. We have great benefits to ensure employees have a great work-life balance; it’s one of the reasons we’re voted no. 1 in the 2019 Sunday Times Best Big Companies to Work For in the UK. We want you to have an element of freedom to define a working lifestyle that supports this, so accommodate flexible hours wherever possible.
