The pathway
How you actually get there, here
How you become one varies far more by country than what one does. This is the UK route. Most people take one of these ways in; the right one depends on where you're starting from.
- 1
Global Change Communications Manager (L5)
3-5 yearsSkills to master
- Mastering portfolio management, leading multi-manager teams, owning a significant P&L (£500K-£2M), and consistently delivering strategic impact for a large business unit. You'd need to show you can step up from managing a function to leading an enterprise-wide capability.
You're ready to move on when
- Consistently exceeds targets for business unit-level change adoption and sentiment scores.
- Successfully built and developed a high-performing team of 10-25 people.
- Proactively advises SVP-level stakeholders on comms strategy, not just execution.
- Demonstrates strong financial acumen and budget management for large programmes.
- 2
Director, Corporate Communications (Large Enterprise)
4-6 yearsSkills to master
- Transitioning from a focus on external brand and reputation to deeply internal, strategic change narratives. This means developing a nuanced understanding of employee psychology during change, internal stakeholder mapping at scale, and integrating internal comms with HR and IT strategies. You'd need to shift from 'telling our story' to 'shaping our people's experience'.
You're ready to move on when
- Proven ability to manage complex, sensitive external communications for major corporate events.
- Strong track record of advising C-suite on messaging for high-stakes situations.
- Demonstrated ability to pivot from external-facing to internal-facing strategic comms.
- Experience leading large teams and managing significant budgets.
- 3
Head of HR Communications / Employee Experience
3-5 yearsSkills to master
- Deepening expertise in employee engagement, culture transformation, and the full employee lifecycle. You'd need to integrate change communications within a broader employee experience framework, working closely with HR leadership to drive cultural shifts and talent retention strategies during transformation. This means understanding the 'people' side of change at a profound level.
You're ready to move on when
- Successfully led comms for major HR initiatives (e.g., new benefits, talent programmes).
- Demonstrated impact on employee engagement and retention through communication.
- Strong partnership with HR leadership on strategic people initiatives.
- Experience managing sensitive employee data and privacy considerations in comms.