Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Internal Communications Lead

🎯 Role Definition

The Internal Communications Lead is a strategic communications professional who partners with senior leaders, HR, IT and business units to design and deliver clear, motivating and timely internal messaging that aligns employees with organizational priorities. The role leads internal communications strategy, editorial planning, channel management (intranet, email, collaboration platforms, town halls), content production (copy, video, newsletters), change communications, executive briefings and measurement to improve employee engagement, culture and business performance.

Core keywords: internal communications, employee communications, change communications, executive communications, intranet strategy, internal messaging, employee engagement, communications analytics.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Internal Communications Specialist / Internal Comms Manager
Corporate Communications Manager or Specialist
Employee Engagement or HR Communications professional

Advancement To:

Head of Internal Communications / Director of Internal Communications
Head of Corporate Communications / Communications Director
Chief Communications Officer (for senior, enterprise-level roles)

Lateral Moves:

Change Management Lead
Employee Experience or People Experience Manager
Corporate Affairs or Brand Communications Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop, own and execute the annual internal communications strategy and editorial plan that aligns with company goals, culture initiatives and HR programs; set objectives, KPIs and measurable outcomes for employee engagement, awareness and behavior change.
Lead strategic change communications for large-scale organizational change (restructure, M&A, ERP/cloud implementations, new operating models), creating targeted plans, stakeholder maps, risk mitigation, FAQs and leader talking points to minimize disruption and build adoption.
Act as primary advisor to senior leaders and the executive team on internal messaging and communication cadence; craft executive briefings, speeches, town hall agendas and narrative frameworks that translate strategic priorities into compelling employee-facing messages.
Design and manage an integrated channel strategy (intranet/SharePoint, email newsletters, Slack/Yammer/Microsoft Teams, digital signage, podcasts, video, events) including governance, channel rules, tone of voice and measurement to optimize reach and engagement by audience segment.
Develop, write and edit high-quality employee content — including leadership messages, newsletter features, intranet stories, Q&A, scripts for video/podcasts and crisis communications — ensuring clarity, consistency and brand alignment across all internal materials.
Build and maintain a content calendar and editorial process; coordinate cross-functional contributors, subject matter experts and external agencies to ensure timely delivery and production quality of internal campaigns.
Lead internal campaigns that drive specific business outcomes (safety, compliance, diversity & inclusion, wellbeing, product launches) by creating integrated content, engagement tactics, and metrics to demonstrate impact on adoption and behaviors.
Measure and report on communications effectiveness using surveys, engagement analytics, open/click rates, intranet analytics, sentiment analysis and focus groups; translate insights into optimization plans and quarterly performance reports for leadership.
Develop and maintain crisis and issues communications protocols for internal stakeholders, including rapid response templates, escalation paths, executive briefings and post-incident communications to preserve trust and ensure information accuracy.
Train and coach leaders and managers on communications best practices, change messaging, town hall facilitation and cascading communications to ensure consistent delivery and two-way engagement across the organization.
Own employee listening programs (pulse surveys, focus groups, listening sessions), analyze feedback and collaborate with HR and business leaders to turn insights into targeted communications and action plans that improve engagement and retention.
Manage internal communication budgets and external vendor/agency relationships for video production, design, analytics and training; negotiate scope of work and ensure cost-effective delivery of high-quality content and platforms.
Establish governance around internal brand, tone of voice, legal/compliance review and records retention for internal messages; ensure all communications adhere to company policies and regulatory requirements.
Lead segmentation and personalization strategies to deliver relevant messages to defined employee cohorts (by function, geography, tenure or grade) and coordinate with HR/IT to leverage profile data for targeted delivery.
Own the intranet strategy and content architecture: set site taxonomy, content lifecycle, editorial owners, search optimization, and experience improvements to increase findability and self-service among employees.
Drive employee recognition and storytelling programs that highlight culture, values and role models across the organization—curate case studies, employee spotlights, video testimonials and leader endorsements that reinforce desired behaviors.
Partner with Talent Acquisition and Onboarding to build internal onboarding communications and new-hire welcome journeys that accelerate time-to-productivity and embed culture from day one.
Lead cross-functional project communication plans for major IT and HR systems launches, ensuring synchronized messaging, training resources, FAQs and targeted outreach to affected user groups to drive adoption.
Design and run internal events and town halls (in-person and virtual), including creative formats, speaker coaching, AV/production requirements and post-event follow-up to maximize participation and feedback loops.
Implement and govern employee advocacy and internal social programs that encourage two-way dialogue, peer-to-peer recognition and the responsible use of internal social channels.
Maintain up-to-date knowledge of internal communications best practices, platform features, analytics tools and accessibility standards; pilot and scale new tools (video platforms, employee apps, chatbots) to enhance employee experience.
Facilitate cross-functional communications forums and communities of practice across HR, IT, Legal and business units to ensure alignment on major announcements, coordinated timing and messaging consistency.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc communications requests and rapid-response content for business units, including executive Q&A, talking points and localized translations when required.
Assist HR and People teams with communication planning for talent programs, benefits enrollment windows, performance management cycles and policy rollouts.
Maintain and update internal communications templates, style guides and resources to support decentralized contributors and improve speed-to-publish.
Coordinate with IT and digital teams to implement basic intranet content updates, metadata tagging and search optimizations.
Support measurement initiatives by collecting analytics, preparing executive dashboards and recommending A/B tests for email and intranet content.
Participate in cross-functional change readiness workshops to provide communications counsel and ensure integrated adoption strategies.
Manage small projects and freelance content producers for short-term campaigns and employee engagement initiatives.
Contribute to continuous improvement by documenting post-campaign learnings, process efficiencies and content playbooks for repeatable programs.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Internal communications strategy development and execution
Change communications planning and stakeholder mapping
Executive communications, speechwriting and leader coaching
Channel strategy and omnichannel campaign execution (intranet, email, Slack/Yammer/Teams, digital signage)
Content creation and editorial skills: long-form, short-form, scripts, video briefs and microcopy
Content Management Systems (CMS) and intranet platforms (e.g., SharePoint, Interact, Jive)
Employee engagement tools and survey platforms (e.g., Qualtrics, SurveyMonkey, Culture Amp)
Analytics and measurement: Google Analytics (intranet), email metrics, reporting dashboards, A/B testing
Project management fundamentals and tools (Asana, Trello, JIRA, MS Project)
Basic multimedia production knowledge (video scripting, podcasting, working with production vendors)
CRM and segmentation knowledge for targeted internal distributions and personalization
Governance, compliance and records management for internal content

Soft Skills

Strong storytelling and persuasive writing tailored to diverse employee audiences
Stakeholder management and influencing without authority at senior levels
Leadership and coaching skills for preparing executives and managers to communicate
Strategic thinking with an ability to translate business priorities into clear employee actions
High emotional intelligence, empathy and active listening for employee-facing work
Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail under tight deadlines
Collaboration and facilitation skills for cross-functional workstreams and workshops
Adaptability and resilience when managing crisis communications and changing priorities
Analytical mindset to interpret data and convert insights into content decisions
Creative problem-solving and innovative approach to drive engagement with limited budgets

(Combined, the above provide more than 10 in-demand skills drawn from common Internal Communications Lead job requirements.)

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Communications, Public Relations, Journalism, Marketing, Business, Human Resources or related field.

Preferred Education:

Master's degree or postgraduate qualification in Communications, Organizational Psychology, Corporate Communications, MBA or related discipline.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Communications, Journalism, Public Relations
Organizational Development, Human Resources
Marketing, Business Administration
Media Studies, Digital Media

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–10+ years of progressive internal or corporate communications experience, with demonstrated ownership of strategy, channels and measurement.

Preferred:

7+ years in internal communications or corporate communications with at least 2–3 years leading a team or major cross-functional programs; experience in large, matrixed organizations, professional services, technology, healthcare or finance preferred.
Proven track record of managing change communications, executive messaging and integrated internal campaigns that drove measurable business outcomes.