Vacancy Introduction

We are looking for a Corporate Communications Manager to join our team on a fixed term 12-month basis.

Our members and customers are our north star and as a Co-op we are a purpose led and values driven business.  We are here to make a bigger difference.  This role will help shape and share our stories that are so important for us to tell.  Through harvesting, organising and delivering the stories of all of our businesses you will help us be the best we can be.  We are looking for an experienced and interested team member who enjoys working as part of a bigger team that is used to working with varied and interesting subjects at pace.  

This is a hybrid-working position which will require you to balance time in our office (Wherstead Park, Ipswich) and working from home, the arrangements of which will be discussed at Interview.

Role Responsibility

Our Communication Manager is responsible for:

• Supporting our retail businesses through great communications and marketing.
• Understanding what really matters to our customers and members, and how we can generate more value from them.
• Supporting our members, customers, and communities by showing the power of modern co-operation.

Principle Accountabilities

1. Media relations
2. Monitoring reputational footprint – inc. social media
3. Developing key messaging and lines to take for internal and external projects
4. Provide support for colleagues in the department
5. Plan and deliver key corporate events with the wider team
6. Project manage key projects from inception to delivery and beyond
7. Be able to respond to enquiries (on call rota)

The Ideal Candidate

• Excellent written skills for a range of communications channels
• Ability to communicate ideas clearly and effectively and build consensus
• Excellent stakeholder and relationship management
• Ability to build strong relationships that are win-win
• Resilient, positive outlook and growth mindset
• Project management experience, including events
• Self-aware 
• Full UK driving licence

Package Description

What’s in it for you

At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential. How do we do this?  

• Competitive rates of pay
• 20% discount in our food stores, along with other discounts across our family of businesses
• 25 days holiday (plus bank holiday entitlement) which increases with service
• 5% employer pension contribution
• Death in service benefit
• Access to our colleague communications app, The Loop
• Enhanced* family leave and pay arrangements
• Opportunities to grow, with award-winning training and apprenticeship programmes
• Great deals and discounts across 100’s of high street and online retailers
• Financial wellbeing support, including Wagestream®

Check out the detail of all our colleague benefits here.

* Enhanced on statutory terms, subject to service criteria.

We recognise the challenges people face trying to balance commitments both in and out of the workplace -  perhaps studying, caring commitments, or other employment. We therefore aim to be as flexible as possible, to create shift patterns that work for both our co-op and our colleagues.

About the Company

The East of England Co-op is the largest independent retailer in East Anglia, with over 230 stores and branches across Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

Owned by over 260,000 members – including our colleagues – our vision is to be the most valued organisation in our region, by being a better kind of business and using our profit to make a positive impact on our communities.

Our Community Cares Fund provides hundreds of thousands of pounds to support groups and good causes, with a focus on mental health and wellbeing, food justice for all and creating community spaces. 

With a focus on environmental sustainability, we’re proud to have led the way on reducing food waste, being the first major retailer to sell food past its Best Before date for just 10p. 

At the East of England Co-op, we strive to be the best place to work. We invest in our colleagues to help them to progress in their careers and achieve their full potential, whether in food retail, funeral services, property investment, travel, security, stonemasonry, events, or our support functions. 

Find out more at www.eastofengland.coop

Our Recruitment Process

If this is the job for you, simply click ‘apply’. You will be required to register a profile on our careers page. To do this simply click apply. The good news is you’ll only have to register once – after this, it’ll be easier and quicker to apply for any roles in the future too.

Please note that our working patterns are non-contractual. The advertised working pattern represents the normal working pattern for the role at time of advertisement and is subject to change.

East of England Co-op