Senior Communications Manager in Watford

We're looking for a Senior Communications Manager to join our Corporate & Internal Communications team, leading the internal communications team and activity across Wickes and making sure colleagues stay informed, engaged and aligned to business priorities. You’ll work closely with the Director of Corporate & Internal Communications, leading communication planning and delivery across key business initiatives, supporting corporate communication activity and providing strategic communication counsel to senior stakeholders. You’ll also help ensure communications are clear and coordinated across change programmes, and work with our employer brand and events teams to deliver engaging colleague and brand experiences.

What You'll Be Doing

• Leading Internal Communications: Lead the planning and delivery of internal communications across Wickes, keeping messaging clear, consistent and aligned to business priorities and colleague needs.
• Supporting Corporate Communications: Work with the Director of Corporate & Internal Communications on external and corporate communication activity, including leadership messaging, announcements and reputational communications.
• Building Stakeholder Relationships: Build and maintain strong relationships with senior leaders, ensuring alignment of messaging and effective communication planning across the business.
• Driving Change Communications: Develop and deliver communications plans for business change programmes, ensuring colleagues are informed, engaged and supported through change.
• Partnering on Employer Brand & Events: Work closely with the employer brand and events teams to provide communications counsel, content development and messaging support for key colleague and brand initiatives.
• Creating Content: Produce high‑quality, engaging content across written, digital and visual formats, tailored to different audiences.
• Managing the Comms Calendar: Maintain an integrated communications calendar so activity is coordinated, timely and aligned across the organisation.
• Lead the team: Provide day‑to‑day leadership and coaching to an Internal Communications team, supporting them to prioritise workload and ensure high‑quality delivery.

What We're Looking For

Significant experience in internal communications, with some exposure to corporate communications and executive messaging. Excellent stakeholder management skills and confidence in influencing senior leaders, along with strong planning and organisational skills in a fast‑paced environment.

You’ll Also Be

• A strong writer, editor and storyteller.
• Commercially aware, with a good understanding of business priorities.
• Comfortable working both strategically and hands‑on.
• Experienced in supporting or managing team members within a communications function.
• Ideally, someone with experience in retail, multi‑site or customer‑facing organisations, and exposure to employer brand or employee engagement campaigns.

What Can We Offer You?

You’ll be supported with fantastic learning and development and have the opportunity to grow and develop your career with us. We also have an early careers network to support you if you’re in your first few years of your career. We’ll also equip you with a benefits package that includes:

• Competitive bonus
• Save‑as‑you‑earn scheme
• Private Medical and Life Assurance
• Enhanced contributory pension scheme
• Colleague discount
• Discount platform including savings and cash back at numerous retailers, savings on gym membership, cycle‑to‑work scheme

Our widely recognised wellbeing strategy is something we’re proud of at Wickes. As part of this, we offer a range of health and wellbeing benefits and support, including an Employee Assistance Programme, financial education & loans, and access to parental, menopause and fertility support. By giving you the support you need to do well at work, and the flexibility to make life work for you. We are giving you a career that doesn’t put your life on hold. Where you can be yourself, do your best work, and make a positive difference every day. We aim to create an inclusive workplace with colleagues’ wellbeing at the heart of everything we do. We’re a Disability Confident Employer and committed to building a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We welcome applications from disabled people and are committed to providing an accessible recruitment process and workplace for everyone. If you require any support or reasonable adjustments, please let us know here.