Canada Life Assurance Europe plc ('CLE') is a dynamic insurance company with over 700 people across our offices in Germany and Ireland.
We have been operating in Germany since **** and have established a fast-growing presence in one of the world's largest and most established markets.
We specialise in providing innovative unit-linked pension, savings, and protection solutions and have become a trusted partner for life insurance products distributed through independent brokers.
It is our priority to support our customers at every stage of life with the best products and service, tailored to their needs - and we're doing it all in a culture that promotes equality and inclusion for all of our current and future employees.
Role Overview
We are undergoing a significant strategic programme of work to drive growth through product innovation, better efficiencies and experiences through digital and automation and to foster the engagement and energy within the CLE team to execute this transformative ask in the context of changing market dynamics.
Based in Dublin, we are recruiting a Head of Communications, Culture and Engagement for our German business.
This is a strategic leadership position with responsibility for shaping how we communicate, engage, and inspire our people and stakeholders to deliver on our ambitions.
This role will be pivotal in translating strategy into compelling narratives, aligning diverse stakeholder groups, and ensuring clarity, consistency, and credibility at every touchpoint.
At its core the role holder will:
Own and deliver a cohesive communications and engagement strategy and implementation plan of activities aligned to business growth and transformation priorities
Act as a trusted adviser to senior leaders on messaging, positioning, and stakeholder engagement
Build confidence, connection, and momentum across our employees and our wider European and global companies as part of the Great-West Lifeco organisation.
What you will help us to achieve
Strategic Communications
Develop and execute an integrated communications and engagement strategy supporting growth, transformation, and brand objectives
Develop a strategic narrative for CLE that translates strategy to ownership
Translate complex strategic, regulatory, and commercial topics into clear, compelling narratives
Ensure consistency of messaging across our business, channels, and audiences
Leadership & Executive Communications
Partner closely with the CEO and Executive Team on leadership messaging, speeches, presentations, and key announcements, townhalls
Support leaders through periods of change, growth, and organisational evolution
Prepare executives for internal and where relevant, external engagement moments
Culture, Employee Engagement & Change Communications
Lead internal communications to drive alignment, trust, and engagement across geographically dispersed teams
Partner with the Executive Team and People & Culture Team to embed the desired culture to sustain growth and ambition of the organisation through its people
Translate values and cultural ambition into clear everyday messages and stories that resonate with audiences
Build and execute a communications heartbeat that incorporates storytelling and content creation
Streamline communication channels
Design and deliver change communication plans for transformation initiatives
Strengthen two-way communication, feedback loops, and employee voice
Lead and activate actions to support culture and engagement activities
Measure and calibrate engagement to ensure that the plans are perpetually improving
More specific responsibilities
Stakeholder Engagement
Collaborate with Executive members to align on key strategic communication narrative
Partner with senior business stakeholders to understand key strategic priorities and objectives and translate these into the overall communication and engagement strategic plan and activities
Communicate complex technical topics in a people and business-friendly manner
Build strong relationships with key stakeholders and partners across the enterprise
Tailor communications for diverse stakeholders including employees, Board, cross European and global entities and shareholder
Ensure cultural sensitivity, effectiveness and cohesion across German and Irish contexts
Leadership
Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing Communications and Engagement team
Foster a culture of accountability, innovation, learning and continuous improvement
Ensure a collaborative culture between the IT team and the rest of the organisation as well as partners to enhance efficiency and enablement
Ensure robust succession planning across the team and use talent strategies to build and retain capability
Capability & Governance
Establish clear governance, standards, frameworks and measurement for communications effectiveness
Build and lead internal capability (directly or through partners) as the function matures
Leverage data and insight to continuously improve engagement outcomes
Innovation
Develop innovative solutions to support strategic objectives and the needs of the Executive Team
Implement creative methods to regularly assess organisational progress and sentiment
What you will need to be successful in the role
You will bring a combination of strategic mindset, narrative strength, creativity and executional excellence, with credibility at senior leadership level.
Proven track record leading communications in a complex, multi-stakeholder, multi-national environment
Excellent track record in internal communications, culture, engagement, and change management
Experience advising executive teams and operating at enterprise level
People Developer - proven leadership excellence to inspire and passionate about team development, fostering a culture of excellence, learning, and inclusion
Exceptional communicator - written and verbal communication
Compelling storyteller – with the ability to simplify complexity and create compelling, authentic narratives
Experience in cross-country and cross-cultural environments, preferably including German-speaking contexts
High emotional intelligence and stakeholder management capability
Strategic Visionary - ability to align communications strategy with business goals and long-term vision
Change Agent - ability to manage transformational change at scale, including cultural shifts
Data-Driven Leader - experience leading data and analytics programs to unlock insights
Collaborative Partner - strong stakeholder engagement and executive relationship-building skills
Results driven mindset with a passion for outperformance
Commercial with the ability to leverage business value from communication capabilities
Resilient with proven ability to prioritise and deliver under pressure, with strong project management skills.
Demonstrable expertise in digital marketing, social media, and content marketing and event planning and execution
Strong interpersonal, influencing, and collaboration skills
Ambitious, curious, and committed to driving positive change
Ability to successfully navigate within varying degrees of ambiguity in a fast-paced environment
A minimum of 10 years' experience in internal communications, with at least 5 years in a leadership role within a fast-paced environment
Other requirements
Desirable
Fluency in English and German (written and verbal)
Experience across German and/or Irish business contexts
Experience in financial services, insurance, or another regulated industry
Success Metrics
Strategic Clarity
Employees understand and can explain the strategy
One clear, consistent narrative across leaders and markets
Engagement & Culture
Improved engagement and trust-in-leadership scores
Positive movement in eNPS and participation in listening forums
Values and behaviours visibly shaping day-to-day decisions
Leadership Communication
Leaders rated as clear, authentic, and aligned communicators
High engagement in leadership-led events, townhalls and forums
Change Effectiveness
Strong change readiness and confidence scores
Faster adoption of transformation initiatives
No issues caused by miscommunication or uncertainty
Cross-Market Alignment
Shared group identity across Germany and Ireland
Consistent cultural understanding with local nuance
Reputation & Employer Brand
External perception reflects internal reality
Stronger talent attraction and advocacy
The company reserves the right to draw up a shortlist as part of the selection process.
Where Agency assistance is required the Canada Life Recruitment Team will engage directly with suppliers.
Unsolicited CVs / profiles supplied to Canada Life by Recruitment Agencies will not be accepted for this role
Even if you don't see yourself reflected in every job requirement listed on the posting above, we encourage you to reach out and apply if you feel you are a good fit for the role.
We are committed to creating a more equitable, inclusive and diverse company, and we strongly encourage applicants of all genders, ages, ethnicities, cultures, abilities, sexual orientation and life experiences to apply.
Canada Life Group Services is proud to be an Equal Opportunities employer.
We have created an environment of inclusion and growth to help people achieve their potential, to ensure they can bring their whole selves to work and to feel valued.
We celebrate diversity of thought and perspective and want all of our employees to feel valued, respected and supported.
We have built a culture that promotes equality and inclusion for all of our current and future employees and strive to ensure that our behaviours, processes and practices are aligned to this culture.
If you require any accommodations during the recruitment process please contact and we will be delighted to ensure you are fully supported to be your best.
CLGS supports Equal Opportunity and is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.
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