Maria Mander
People, Engagement and Culture Lead @MBDA
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WORK HISTORY
People, Engagement and Culture Lead @MBDA
Continuously improve and shape the employee experience by enhancing the onboarding process to ensure new starters feel welcomed, supported and set up for success. Monitor onboarding feedback, identify gaps and lead actions to enhance the overall new starter experience.Responsible ‘time to competence’ strategy to reduce the time it takes for new starters to reach full productivity and effectiveness in their roles.Lead, plan and execute engagement programme and initiatives across all UK sites to strengthen connection, collaboration, wellbeing, belonging and inclusion for high performance.Chair of Employee Engagement Committee to enhance the culture, driving improvements that support retention and performance. Lead the end-to-end planning, communication and delivery of events, ensuring quality content and delivered within budget. Key interface to the wider business to drive best practice and align, enhance, embed and champion global and local initiatives.Partner with members of the Leadership Team to design, execute and embed culture change initiatives across the function.Organise micro training sessions, attend team meetings and put feedback loops into place to ensure cultural initiatives are understood and embedded across the function.Develop and deliver clear, timely, consistent and engaging communications that supports objectives and delivery.Collaborate and build strong relationships with key stakeholders across the organisation to ensure alignment on engagement, culture and communication initiatives.
EDUCATION
Sunshineology
Reiki 3rd Degree Master Teacher
Study House
Life Coaching - NCFE Level 3
Centre of Excellence
Mindfulness Diploma
MHFA England
Trained Mental Health First Aider
Centre of Excellence
Gut-Brain Connection Diploma
Centre of Excellence
NLP Foundation Skills Diploma (Distinction)
ABOUT MARIA MANDER
An expert in employee engagement, culture change, wellbeing and EDI, with over eight years’ experience delivering high-impact initiatives aligned to organisational strategy. Recognised for a strong track record of turning ideas into action and achieving measurable results.In her current role as People, Engagement and Culture Lead, Maria has made a significant impact by driving cultural change that supports operational efficiency, employee engagement and long-term organisational success. She partners with the leadership team, working collaboratively to build a healthy, engaged culture that attracts and retains top talent and future-proofs the workforce. Her work focuses on creating inclusive, high-performing environments that support both people and commercial outcomes.Maria brings a solid commercial background, having worked with a wide range of private and public sector organisations across the UK and globally.Maria was the Founder of Mander Wellbeing, a consultancy supporting HR and business leaders to create positive, high-performing working environments. Through this work, she developed practical frameworks aligned to people strategies and business goals, enabling organisations to build sustainable cultures for the future. She was an award winner on the 2016 NatWest Entrepreneur Accelerator Programme, recognised for her outstanding commitment.A recognised thought leader in wellbeing, engagement and culture, she has shared her insights through writing, podcasts and speaking engagements. Maria is a former judge for the UK Company Culture Awards and the Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter, was a regular panellist for Pro Manchester and was invited as a guest speaker at the MOVE Manchester Wellbeing Festival, led by Joe Wicks celebrity fitness coach.Committed to best practice, she stays up to date with legislation and market trends and is a lifelong learner. Forward-thinking, results-driven and highly energetic, she is passionate about creating great places to work.Known for her clear communication style, she builds strong, long-term relationships with clients and colleagues who value her friendly, down-to-earth and positive approach.
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