Job Description

Frive

People Culture & Engagement Manager

Reports to: People Director

Function: People

Direct reports: People & Culture Business Partner

Contract: Permanent, full time

Location: Canary Wharf and Rainham

Minimum qualification: CIPD Level 7 (or working towards)

Role Purpose

Frive’s mission is to transform health by revolutionising eating habits and restoring food to its natural form. The Frive Company Strategy 2027–2030 sets the goal of becoming the UK’s leading natural food and personalised nutrition platform. Therefor this is a defining role in the future transformation of the business.

The People Culture & Engagement Manager reports to the People Director and leads the delivery of Frive’s culture strategy across all sites. The People Culture & Engagement Manager is accountable for:

• Delivering the culture plan that supports the Frive Company Strategy 2027–2030, phased across 2027 Strengthen & Accelerate, 2028 Scale & Commercialise and 2029–30 Lead & Transform
• A high-performance culture, where Frive’s values (Accountability. Clarity. Momentum.) show up in everyday behaviour at every level
• Bringing the four strategic pillars to life for every employee: Execution Excellence; People, Brand & Culture; Customer Obsession; and Capital Discipline
• Employee engagement, listening and action planning across office, manufacturing and frontline teams
• Internal communications, town halls and the leadership cascade, so every employee understands the strategy and their part in it
• Recognition, the Culture Champions network and the employee experience from onboarding to exit
• Keeping culture strong and people engaged through major change, including retail launch, the manufacturing partnership, ERP and preventative health

This is a hands-on delivery role. The People Culture & Engagement Manager works through managers and leaders and is measured on outcomes, not activity.

Key Responsibilities

Culture Plan and Roadmap

Own and deliver the annual culture plan, aligned to the company strategy. Responsibilities include:

• Translating the strategy’s mission, goal and pillars into a culture plan with clear priorities, owners and milestones for each year
• Setting the culture priorities and making sure culture plans are consistent across all three sites while reflecting the needs of each workforce
• Reporting progress against the plan to the People Director monthly and SLT monthly
• Develop the Culture Champions network

Change and Transformation Support

Keep culture strong while the organisation changes. Responsibilities include:

• Supporting the People Director and change owners with culture and engagement plans for each pillar of the strategy
• Protecting engagement and retention in manufacturing and frontline teams through operational change
• Supporting adoption of new technology, data and AI tools by building confidence and capability at all levels
• Helping integrate new commercial, creative, clinical, scientific and data/AI specialists into Frive’s culture

AI and Technology

Use AI and technology to make culture and communication work faster, smarter and more personal. Responsibilities include:

• Using AI tools (Claude, Granola) day to day to analyse survey and feedback data, draft communications and find faster, better solutions to culture and engagement challenges
• Partnering with Brand to create engaging, on-brand internal content, including video, visuals and digital campaigns, using AI and creative tools to produce it at pace
• Owning and managing the employee engagement platform as the main channel to communicate with every employee, including shift-based and frontline teams
• Driving platform adoption and using its data to measure reach, engagement and the impact of communications
• Role-modelling responsible AI use, in line with Frive’s data, privacy and AI policies

Values and High-Performance Culture

Make high performance and Frive’s values the everyday standard. Responsibilities include:

• Defining the observable behaviours behind Accountability. Clarity. Momentum. for each level, from frontline to SLT
• Building values and behaviours into recruitment, induction, objectives, performance reviews and recognition, with the People team
• Running a recognition programme that rewards delivery, customer focus and the right behaviours, not just effort
• Equipping managers to hold clear, regular and honest performance conversations
• Calling out behaviour that undermines the culture and escalating persistent concerns to the People Director

Execution Excellence and Customer Obsession

Connect culture to the outcomes the strategy depends on. Responsibilities include:

• Supporting Brilliant Basics by embedding consistent standards, operating rhythms and ownership of delivery in every team
• Connecting frontline, manufacturing and support teams to customer feedback, product quality and health outcomes
• Building pride in Frive’s mission so every employee can explain how their work improves customers’ health

Engagement and Employee Listening

Own how Frive listens to its people and acts on what it hears. Responsibilities include:

• Running the annual engagement survey, quarterly pulse checks and exit insight, with results shared openly
• Making sure every team agrees an action plan after results, and tracking delivery with managers
• Running listening forums and site visits so frontline and shift-based voices reach the SLT
• Identifying engagement and retention risks early and agreeing actions with leaders

Internal Communications and Town Halls

Make sure every employee knows where Frive is going and what it means for them. Responsibilities include:

• Owning the internal communications calendar, including leadership cascades, team briefings and site updates
• Planning and running quarterly town halls, including content, executive briefing and follow-up on questions raised
• Creating a clear, consistent story of the strategy and Big Bets that every employee can connect to their role
• Reaching shift-based, manufacturing and frontline teams through channels that work for them
• Making sure change messages are accurate, timely and appropriate for each audience, respecting commercial and investment confidentiality

Employer Brand, Employee Experience and Culture Champions

Make Frive a place people want to join, stay and perform. Responsibilities include:

• Building Frive’s employer brand and employee advocacy in step with national brand investment, in partnership with Brand
• Designing a culture-led onboarding experience so new starters understand the mission, values and standards from day one
• Leading and developing a Culture Champions network across all three sites, with clear objectives and accountability
• Planning culture and wellbeing activity, celebrations and community events within agreed budgets

Culture Data and Capital Discipline

Use data to target effort and prove return. Responsibilities include:

• Maintaining a culture dashboard covering engagement, turnover, absence, recognition and values data by site and team
• Working with Finance to show the cost of turnover and the return on culture initiatives
• Managing the culture budget with discipline, prioritising activity with the greatest impact
• Making sure all initiatives are consistent with UK employment law, Frive policy and good practice

How Success Will Be Measured

• Annual culture plan agreed with the People Director and SLT, with milestones delivered on time
• Employees understand the strategy and can connect it to their own role
• Values and behaviours embedded in recruitment, induction, reviews and recognition
• Engagement maintained or improved, including in manufacturing and frontline teams
• Every team has an agreed and tracked action plan after each survey
• Reduction in voluntary and early-tenure turnover against baseline
• Town halls and cascades delivered to schedule, with strong attendance and clarity feedback
• An active Culture Champions network across all three sites
• Engagement and retention protected through major change, including the manufacturing partnership and ERP
• Measurable improvement in manager, recognition, cross-site collaboration and customer focus survey scores

About You

Qualifications

• CIPD Level 7 Associate Diploma, or currently working towards it (essential)
• Coaching Qualification (essential)
• Psychometrics experience (desirable)
• Change management or internal communications qualification (desirable)

Experience

• Proven experience delivering culture, engagement or employee experience programmes in a growing business (essential)
• Experience in multi-site food manufacturing, FMCG, retail or consumer brand businesses, including shift-based and frontline workforces (essential)
• Track record of running engagement surveys and turning results into action that improves scores (essential)
• Experience planning and delivering internal communications and large-scale events such as town halls
• Experience supporting the people side of change, such as scale-up, restructure, new technology or a new operating model
• Experience building recognition programmes, employer brand or employee networks (desirable)
• Confident use of engagement, turnover and absence data to diagnose issues and show impact
• Working knowledge of UK employment law and good practice

Staff Benefits:

• Private Medical Insurance
• 25 days Holiday + Public
• 50% Discount off our amazing food
• Hybrid working pattern (where applicable)
• Enhanced mat/pat leave
• Vitality PMI