Communications Manager

At apetito | Wiltshire Farm Foods, we are on an ambitious journey. With bold growth targets ahead, how we communicate with our people and through our leaders will be critical to our success. That is where this new role comes in.

As Communications Manager, you will shape how we connect, engage and inspire colleagues across apetito and Wiltshire Farm Foods. You'll lead internal and leadership communications that build belief, clarity and trust in our strategy, helping every colleague understand their role in making a real difference and delivering our vision for growth. From modernising our channels to sharpening our messages, you will sit at the heart of how we strengthen alignment, engagement and culture across the organisation.

You will work in a complex environment with a diverse and often non-digital workforce, ensuring communications land effectively with colleagues in factories, distribution, franchise teams and frontline roles as well as office-based staff.

Reporting to the Head of Brand & Communications, you'll work closely with senior leaders, Human Resources, our Executive Board and teams across the business to create communications that are clear, timely, transparent and inspiring.

This is a high-profile, fast-paced role where you'll bring consistency and coherence to how we speak to our people. Most importantly, you'll help ensure every colleague feels informed, connected and motivated by our shared purpose to make a real difference.

apetito | Wiltshire Farm Foods is the UK's leading food supplier to the health and social care sectors serving more than 1,300 care homes, health care and education settings.

Our meals are expertly crafted by our dietitians and chefs, and then frozen to lock in the goodness. Wiltshire Farm Foods, our sister company, is the UK's largest ready meal supplier cooking and delivering over 330 different delicious frozen ready meals across the UK.

• Internal Communications Strategy: Design and deliver apetito's internal, leadership and group communications strategy to support our growth vision, values and priorities, ensuring messages land effectively across a complex, multi site organisation with diverse and often non digital colleague groups.
• Leadership and Change Communications:
  Partner with senior leaders to craft clear and engaging messages and cascades that reach and resonate with colleagues in factories, distribution, franchise teams and frontline roles as well as office-based teams.
• Channel Optimisation:
  Streamline and modernise communication channels to create a single source of truth for all colleagues, optimising digital and non-digital touchpoints to ensure updates are accessible to everyone across the organisation.
• Storytelling and Content:
  Lead the creation of compelling, purpose led stories that celebrate success across the whole workforce, ensuring content engages colleagues regardless of role, location or digital access.
• Measurement and Feedback: Use data, insight and colleague feedback to measure communication reach and engagement, driving continuous improvement across all activity.
• Collaboration and Alignment:
  Work closely with Brand and Communications, Human Resources and Learning and Development to ensure a consistent voice and reinforce apetito's purpose, culture and leadership behaviours.
• Wider Business Support: Support the delivery of key internal events and forums, contributing to business-wide campaigns, change programmes and cross-functional initiatives.

Essential:

• Significant proven experience in developing and delivering internal or corporate communications strategies in complex organisations.
• Proven experience designing and delivering communications that reach non desk-based colleagues and front-line teams, ideally in a complex, multi-site or operational environment.
• Strong writing and storytelling skills, with the ability to translate strategy into engaging and accessible messages.
• Demonstrated success in supporting senior leaders and managers with impactful communication.
• Experience managing digital communication channels and internal platforms.
• Experience using data-lead insights to make informed decisions 
• Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• An adept collaborator: Works effectively across teams, functions and leadership levels, building strong relationships and trust.
• Demonstrate a calm and assured under pressure: sensitive, principled, pragmatic and inclusive approach to communications 
• Proven ability to measure and improve communication effectiveness.
• Organised and delivery-focused: Balances creativity with precision across multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Strategic and purposeful communicator
• Demonstrates integrity, care and accountability, consistently role-modelling apetito's culture and commitment to making a real difference.

Desirable:

• Line management or mentoring experience.
• Experience within the food, manufacturing or healthcare sectors.
• Familiarity with employee engagement or cultural transformation programmes.
• Professional qualification in communications or engagement.

• Competitive salary – accredited Living Wage employer

• 25 days holiday per year, plus bank holidays

• Option to purchase up to 5 additional days holiday per year

• Discretionary annual bonus scheme

• Pension scheme - employer matched contributions up to 4%

• Life assurance scheme worth at least 1x annual salary

• Subsidised canteen

• Free parking

• Free turkey or voucher at Christmas

• Access to employee benefits including Perkbox with salary sacrifice options and retail discounts

As a family-owned business, we take great pride in being a company that makes a real difference and is dedicated to creating outstanding meals to be proud of.

We develop a range of products designed to enhance health and well-being for all our customers.

We are driven by a passion for service and dedicated to feeding some of the UK's most vulnerable people.

We proudly support British food and farming, focusing on using the best ethical and sustainable produce in alignment with our goal to reach Net Zero by 2040.

Our ethical standards are recognised by the ETI and we are an accredited Living Wage employer.
Learn more about apetito's commitment to a more sustainable future.

We embrace inclusion, empowering individuals from diverse backgrounds.

Our commitment to making a real difference extends to customers, communities, and staff and we're on a mission to build an inclusive workplace where everyone reaches their full potential.