The Care Homes Marketing Manager will lead apetito’s marketing strategy in the care homes sector, driving both acquisition and retention. The role requires a balance of strategic planning, campaign execution, and people management, with a clear focus on measurable results.

This role plays a critical part in supporting apetito’s ambitious growth agenda: driving annual growth from £3m to £5m per year and contributing to the 5X growth ambition for Care Homes by 2030. The successful candidate will ensure marketing activities not only support sales growth and strengthen brand reputation, but also enhance customer engagement and advocacy across the care home market.

apetito 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 dieticians 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.

Strategy & Planning

• Own the development and delivery of apetito’s marketing strategy for the care homes sector.
• Align quarterly and annual plans with wider B2B business objectives, ensuring synergy with the “one B2B” approach.
• Define and monitor KPIs, creating clear ROI and measurement plans for all activities.
• Ensure marketing directly contributes to achieving annual growth from £3m to £5m and the 2030 5X growth target.
• Translate customer insights and market trends into value-driven marketing strategies and propositions.
• Partner with the Head of Proposition & Marketing to ensure storytelling excellence and alignment with apetito’s mission of “making a real difference.”

Acquisition Marketing

• Deliver structured campaigns to support lead generation and conversion.
• Collaborate with Sales to optimise lead nurturing and pipeline management.
• Oversee events, exhibitions, and digital campaigns targeting care home decision-makers (including C-suite executives).
• Own and deliver the National Account Account-Based Marketing (ABM) strategy.
• Support regional sales initiatives with tailored marketing activity.

Retention Marketing

• Drive customer loyalty and brand advocacy across the care homes sector.
• Lead initiatives such as:
• apetito Heroes Customer Engagement programme.
• Refer-a-Friend schemes and upsell campaigns.
• Resident engagement initiatives (activity packs, Afternoon Tea, Breakfast, themed events).
• Oversee customer communications:
• Monthly newsletters
• Regular HubSpot campaigns (automation, customer journeys, product launches).
• Support rollout of initiatives such as the Fixed Price Menu and digital learning solutions for training and onboarding.

Digital & Innovation

• Continue apetito’s digital transformation agenda in care homes marketing.
• Champion CRM and marketing automation (HubSpot) for acquisition and retention efficiency.
• Develop new tools, campaigns, and content to support sales and customer engagement.
• Ensure care homes marketing contributes to the broader B2B digital and CRM strategy, working in close partnership with the Head of Proposition & Marketing.

People & Team Leadership

• Lead and develop the marketing team focused on care homes.
• Support team members’ professional development and career progression.
• Foster collaboration across Sales, Proposition, Category, and wider Marketing teams.
• Ensure workload is prioritised effectively, balancing short-term needs with long-term projects.

Personal Attributes

• Results-driven with a focus on measurable impact and growth delivery.
• Creative thinker with a structured, analytical approach.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment.
• Passionate about improving the lives of care home residents through food and service.
• Supportive, empathetic leader who inspires confidence in their team.
• Collaborative and customer-first, thriving in cross-functional environments.
• Able to bring apetito’s mission to life through clear, engaging, and inspiring storytelling.

Essential Experience

• Proven experience in B2B marketing management.
• Strong strategic and commercial awareness, with experience in both acquisition and retention.
• Demonstrated success in CRM and marketing automation (HubSpot experience desirable).
• Excellent project management and organisational skills.
• Confident in stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.
• Strong communication skills, with the ability to present marketing strategy to senior leadership.
• People management experience with a track record of developing talent.

Desirable Experience

• Experience marketing to care homes or within the health and social care sector.
• Familiarity with running industry events, exhibitions, and roadshows.
• Experience aligning sector-level marketing strategies with wider business-unit or B2B objectives.

• 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
• apetito perks scheme including 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.