Communications & Media Relations Manager – Helicopters

Job Description:

Salary Range: £44,000 - £55,000

Leonardo UK operates a grade-based salary framework with broad bands. The salary range shown reflects the approved grade band for this role, or a narrower hiring range published within that band, and is benchmarked against the external market. Exceptions above the standard range are managed through governance controls to protect internal equity.

Your Impact

Leonardo UK Helicopters is the UK's only end-to-end helicopter provider, designing, manufacturing and supporting helicopters entirely in-country. With over 100 years of heritage in Yeovil, officially recognised as the "Home of British Helicopters," the business employs around 3,300 people and plays a vital role in delivering advanced rotorcraft capabilities to customers in the UK and around the world.

As a member of Leonardo’s Communications team, you will help shape how our UK Helicopters business and its products are perceived by key audiences. Based within a small, supportive team, you’ll enjoy a varied and rewarding role with significant autonomy, including hybrid working, while spending at least three days per week at our Yeovil site to build strong relationships across the business.

Working closely with senior sales, business development and technology experts, you will develop compelling stories and key messages, translating complex business and technical information into engaging content for external media, digital platforms and internal channels.

Strong writing and relationship-building skills are essential, enabling you to uncover stories, manage stakeholders and deliver high-quality communications that support business objectives.

You will also play a key role in media relations, strengthening existing relationships with national, trade and broadcast journalists while identifying new opportunities to increase Leonardo’s profile. Collaborating across the UK and internationally, including with colleagues at Leonardo’s headquarters in Rome, you will ensure communications campaigns are aligned with wider business priorities and delivered consistently across all channels.

• Key responsibility areas  

• Work across the Leonardo Helicopters UK business to identify stories, write and approve content; support the production of multimedia content (videos, podcasts, infographics) with the support of the relevant functions/dedicated teams at corporate level;  

• Be a point of contact for the corporate business communications team (Rome head office) for Leonardo’s UK-based helicopters business;  

• Support the development of the global Leonardo brand and the team in Rome where relevant, for example with stories that originate internationally but have a UK impact (e.g. Air Ambulance services, which are provided in the UK using Leonardo helicopters manufactured in Italy); 

• Work with the Internal Communications team to support the Managing Director Helicopters UK with external messaging.  

• Work with national, trade and broadcast media to package, sell and develop positive stories about Leonardo. Ensure that subsequent media coverage is analysed and widely distributed with respective teams;  

• Attend trade shows in the UK and abroad on behalf of the team when relevant;  

• Coordinate with the wider communications team on events being held on-sites, and abroad, ensuring opportunities are maximised; 

• Maintain relationships with senior figures across the business, reporting and creating a vital network through which to maintain a flow of information; 

What you'll bring

• A qualification and/or experience in journalism, communications, public relations or English would be an advantage. 
• Experience in Media Relations.

• Exceptional writing, editing and proofreading skills are essential, as well as the ability to source stories from employees.  

• Familiarity and a good level of ability with social media and video channels. 

• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills to interface comfortably at every level of the business and coordinate with the rest of the UK communications team and the corporate communications team in Rome. 

• Creativity to enable you to devise and implement communication strategies. 
• Ability to attend our Yeovil site and least 3 times per week.

This is not an exhaustive list, and we are keen to hear from you even if you might not have experience in all the above. The most important skill is a good attitude and willingness to learn.

Security Clearance

This role is subject to pre-employment screening in line with the UK Government’s Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS). An additional range of Personnel Security Controls referred to as National Security Vetting (NSV) may apply, this could include meeting the eligibility requirements for The Security Check (SC) or Developed Vetting (DV). For more information and guidance please visit: https://careers.uk.leonardo.com/gb/en/security-and-vetting

Why join us

At Leonardo, our people are at the heart of everything we do. We offer a comprehensive, company-funded benefits package that supports your wellbeing, career development, and work–life balance. Whether you're looking to grow professionally, care for your health, or plan for the future, we’re here to help you thrive.

• Time to Recharge: Enjoy generous leave with the opportunity to accrue up to 12 additional flexi-days each year.
• Secure your Future: Benefit from our award-winning pension scheme with up to 15% employer contribution.
• Your Wellbeing Matters: Free access to mental health support, financial advice, and employee-led networks championing inclusion and diversity (Enable, Pride, Equalise, Armed Forces, Carers, Wellbeing and Ethnicity).
• Rewarding Performance: All employees at management level and below are eligible for our bonus scheme.
• Never Stop Learning: Free access to 4,000+ online courses via Coursera and LinkedIn Learning.
• Refer a friend: Receive a financial reward through our referral programme.
• Tailored Perks: Spend up to £500 annually on flexible benefits including private healthcare, dental, family cover, tech & lifestyle discounts, gym memberships and more.
• Flexible working: Flexible hours with hybrid working options. For part time opportunities, please talk to us about what might be possible for this role.

For a full list of our company benefits please visit our website.

Leonardo is a global leader in Aerospace, Defence, and Security. Headquartered in Italy, we employ over 53,000 people worldwide including 8,500 across 9 sites in the UK. Our employees are not just part of a team—they are key contributors to shaping innovation, advancing technology, and enhancing global safety.

At Leonardo we are committed to building an inclusive, accessible, and welcoming workplace. We believe that a diverse workforce sparks creativity, drives innovation, and leads to better outcomes for our people and our customers. If you have any accessibility requirements to support you during the recruitment process, just let us know.

Be part of something bigger - apply now!

Primary Location:

GB - Yeovil - Lysander Rd

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hybrid Working:

Hybrid