Wells Enterprises

Director of People Experience

Wells Enterprises  •  $162k - $224k/yr  •  Chicago, IL (Hybrid)  •  2 days ago
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Job Description

About Wells Enterprises

Wells Enterprises, a Ferrero company, is one of the largest ice cream manufacturers in the United States and the maker of well-loved brands including Blue Bunny, Halo Top, Bomb Pop, and Blue-Ribbon Classics and today Trolli, Butterfinger 100grand, Baby Ruth, Nutella and Kinder Bueno

Wells Enterprises is a 2 billion company employing 4.000 employees, across 4 production plants and 2 main hub locations, Chicago and Le Mars Guided by innovation, quality, and a people-first mindset, Wells is committed to delighting consumers and developing exceptional teams.

As part of the Ferrero Group, Wells combines its strong U.S. heritage with Ferrero’s global standards of excellence, offering a unique opportunity to grow within a dynamic, values-driven, and international environment.

At Wells, our people—and their experience—sit at the heart of our ambition.

The role

In alignment with Group Strategies, Policies, and Guidelines, the Head of People Experience is responsible for designing, building, developing, and delivering a People Experience function that will inspire, inform, and equip our teams to thrive while advancing Ferrero’s global objectives across Wells. This is a hands‑on, highly visible role for a builder who can turn strategy into simple, engaging experiences on a scale.

The Opportunity

You will lead the local implementation of our global People Experience strategy, ensuring communications and tools are timely, consistent, and aligned to business priorities. You’ll engage local teams around Wells Ferrero objectives supporting the change management and the harmonization within The Ferrero Ice Cream Division. You’ll provide clear and speedy business information, tools, communications support / advice and inspiration to the local personnel.

What You’ll Do

People Experience Plan

  • Implement the Group People Experience plan locally and translate it into clear, practical initiatives.
  • Ensure all communication methods reflect organizational priorities and local needs.

Communication Excellence

  • Own and execute the annual internal communications plan and manage all local channels.
  • Partner on corporate content that enables business goals; ensure initiatives and projects are communicated effectively to employees and stakeholders.
  • Manage local creative and production partners (e.g., videos, brochures, posters, roll‑ups).
  • Support crisis communications at the local level with speed, clarity, and empathy.

Digital Workplace

  • Drive adoption of the digital workplace to create a single, intuitive point of access to content, documents, and applications.

Engagement Survey

  • Lead local execution of the engagement survey and results analysis.
  • Coordinate cross‑functional action plans; project‑manage and monitor follow‑through.
  • Involve employees in follow‑up activities that build commitment and momentum for change.

Culture of Compliance

  • Champion continuous improvement in our communication strategy; promote a strong compliance culture (e.g., Code of Ethics, Integrity Helpline).

Internal Events

  • Plan and deliver impactful internal events that strengthen culture and connection, aligned to Group guidelines.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)

  • Support the implementation of the Group DEI vision and strategy; foster a culture where every employee feels welcomed, valued, and able to grow.
  • Ensure Talent & Diversity objectives are embedded across geographies; monitor and report progress against KPIs.

Wellbeing

  • Help create a healthy, positive workplace; anticipate and address well-being needs.
  • Ensure the Wellbeing framework is implemented within the broader P&O strategy and aligned with People Experience priorities; monitor progress.

Sustainability

  • Oversee local implementation of sustainability topics and embed them into communications and moments that matter.

#LI-LN1

What You’ll Bring

  • 10+ years in Employee Experience, Internal Communications, or related P&O/HR roles within complex, multi‑site organizations.
  • Proven change management capability and the ability to translate strategy into simple, scalable experiences.
  • Demonstrated success managing multi‑channel internal communications and agency partners.
  • Experience with engagement surveys (design, execution, analytics, action planning).
  • Fluency with digital workplace platforms; comfort with data, KPIs, and dashboards.
  • Strength in DEI, wellbeing, and compliance communications.
  • Executive presence, excellent writing/storytelling, and strong project leadership across functions and levels.

Director of People Experience - Wells Enterprises
Company: Wells Enterprises (a Ferrero company)
Location: Chicago, IL (Hybrid/On site) with periodic travel to key sites
Functional Area: People & Organization (P&O)

The base pay range for this position is $161,980 to $223,654 annually. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors permitted by law. This pay range represents the anticipated salary for this position at this time.

Wells Enterprises

About Wells Enterprises

Headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa, Wells Enterprises, Inc. is the largest privately held ice cream manufacturer in the United States. Founded in 1913 by Fred H. Wells and run by the Wells family for generations, the company is an independent operating company of the Ferrero Group, one of the global leaders in sweet packaged foods. We produce more than 900 ice cream and frozen novelties treats. Wells produces Blue Bunny® ice cream, frozen novelties and specialty frozen desserts along with the iconic Bomb Pop® brand. So much ice cream is produced in Le Mars by Wells that the city was designated as the Ice Cream Capital of the World® by the Iowa legislature!

Blue Bunny branded items are distributed across the nation. Ice cream enthusiasts can find their favorite Blue Bunny products in grocery, convenience and club stores, on mobile vending trucks and in foodservice settings (such as educational institutions, hospitals and restaurants). The company’s corporate office and two ice cream plants are located in Le Mars. Our two other ice cream plants, one in Henderson, NV and the other in Dunkirk, NY help supply our frozen treats across the United States.

Over 4,000 production, sales, office, and support personnel make up the Wells family. With its state-of-the-art production facilities the company is cited by many industry experts as one of the most technically advanced in the industry.

Industry
Food & Beverage
Company Size
1,001-5,000 employees
Headquarters
Le Mars, Iowa
Year Founded
Unknown
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