Head of Internal Communications

At Syngenta Group, we're a global community of 56,000 innovators across 90 countries, united by a 250-year legacy of agricultural excellence. As the world's most local agricultural technology partner, we create tailor-made solutions that transform farming while protecting our planet, driven by our commitment to innovation, ethics, and integrity. Through our inclusive environment and diverse perspectives, we pioneer breakthrough solutions for farmers, society, and future generations. Join our worldwide teams of agricultural pioneers in creating a more resilient and equitable food system for all.                                                                                                                                  

Syngenta has been ranked as a top employer by Science Magazine and it has been awarded with the "Friendly Work Space" label to all its Swiss sites.

At Syngenta, our goal is to build the most collaborative and trustworthy team in agriculture, providing top-quality seeds and innovative crop protection solutions that improve farmers' success. To support this mission, Syngenta’s Communication Team is seeking a Head of Internal Communication in Basel, Switzerland. 

The Head of Internal Communication is a senior enterprise leadership role, accountable for shaping and driving Syngenta’s internal narrative at Group level, and guide and align the cascading within the business units. The role defines how strategy, performance, transformation, and external market context are understood and lived by employees globally.

Operating as a close partner to the COO, GLT members, and an important role of the global communications leadership team. The role plays a decisive part in enterprise transformation, cultural evolution, and leadership effectiveness. It ensures internal communication is not only enabling execution, but actively shaping enterprise alignment, trust, and momentum—particularly critical in a listed company environment.

Scope: Group-wide accountability for internal communication across all functions, businesses, and geographies, with direct involvement in the most material enterprise priorities, transformations, and reputationally sensitive topics.

Complexity: highly complex environment that requires shaping alignment and engagement in a global, matrixed, listed organization undergoing ongoing transformation and external scrutiny.

Accountabilities

• Enterprise Strategy & Narrative Ownership• Own and shape Syngenta’s Group internal narrative, ensuring employees understand how strategy, performance, transformation, and purpose connect.
• Act as the enterprise integrator of internal messaging, aligning corporate strategy, business priorities, and external market context into a single, coherent story.
• Ensure sustained alignment between internal and external narratives, influencing how the organization interprets and responds to external expectations.

• Enterprise Transformation & Change Leadership• Provide enterprise-level leadership for communication across major transformation programs, acting as a core member of transformation governance where appropriate.
• Shape communication approaches that accelerate adoption, reinforce accountability, and sustain momentum through complex, multi-year change.
• Anticipate engagement and trust risks during transformation and proactively address them through targeted communication interventions.
• Guide and align with the business on the transformational narratives to clearly cascade the communication into the different geographies.

• COO & GLT Advisory• Serve as a senior, trusted advisor to the COO and GLT on internal communication, engagement, and leadership visibility.
• Shape COO and GLT messaging for enterprise-critical moments, including strategy shifts, performance discussions, and periods of uncertainty or disruption.
• Influence leadership behaviour and communication effectiveness at the top of the organization.

• Listed Company, Governance & Market Sensitivity• Own the internal communication framework for market-sensitive topics, ensuring disciplined alignment with disclosure, governance, and regulatory requirements.
• Partner closely with Investor Relations, Finance, Legal, and Corporate Affairs to manage internal communication around results, strategy, and capital markets events.
• Protect the organization’s credibility by ensuring internal communication supports trust, compliance, and responsible information flow.

• Enterprise Engagement, Culture & Leadership Communication• Shape enterprise-wide approaches to employee engagement, leadership communication, and listening.
• Use insight and data to influence enterprise decisions on engagement, leadership effectiveness, and culture.
• Actively reinforce Syngenta’s purpose, values, and leadership expectations through consistent, authentic enterprise storytelling.

Critical Leadership Capabilities:

• Enterprise Leadership & Judgment: Operates as a peer to senior enterprise leaders, with sound judgment in high-stakes, high-visibility situations.
• Strategic Narrative Shaping: Ability to craft and sustain an enterprise narrative that drives alignment, trust, and execution.
• Transformation Authority: Recognized authority in leading communication for large-scale, enterprise transformation.
• Executive Influence: High-impact advisor to CEO, COO and GLT, able to challenge, shape, and elevate leadership communication.
• Systems Thinking: Sees across the enterprise, connecting strategy, culture, performance, and external context.
• Resilience & Composure: Operates effectively under pressure, scrutiny, and ambiguity.

Critical Technical, Professional & Personal Capabilities

• Extensive experience leading internal communication at enterprise level within large, complex, global organizations.
• Proven track record of shaping enterprise-wide transformation and change, not just supporting it.
• Senior experience in listed company environments with deep understanding of governance, disclosure, and capital markets sensitivities.
• Strong business and financial acumen, with credibility engaging at CEO, COO and GLT level.
• Experience leading senior teams and influencing across highly matrixed organizations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English; additional languages an advantage.

What We Offer

We offer a variety of financial and non-financial benefits including:

• We offer a position which contributes to valuable and impactful work in a stimulating and international environment 
• The opportunity to make a difference to process safety, both within Syngenta’s global operations, and in shaping safety legislation and culture worldwide
• A superb working environment with an open culture and diverse workforce where new ideas are always welcome
• The opportunity to work with and learn from highly qualified and experienced employees and gain scientific and technical excellence
• Learning culture (Together we Grow) and wide range of training options
• You will profit from a competitive pension fund plan, flexible working, attractive bonus system, onsite doctor, fitness room, canteen, and other benefits (Family friendly initiatives, Child and Family allowance…)

 

Please send your complete application with CV, diploma and work certificates (if applicable).

Syngenta is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate in recruitment, hiring, training, promotion or any other employment practices for reasons of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, marital or veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected status. 

#LI-Hybrid