Head of Brand Marketing

Institute of Grocery Distribution; Watford; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job description

Do you have a passion for the UK food and consumer goods industry?

We are seeking an enthusiastic and multifaceted business-to-business brand and product marketing expert with expertise in building brands and bringing unique benefits and features to life for clients and customers. This is an exciting opportunity to join an organisation at the forefront of the food industry, where you will work with and across some of the biggest names in the food system, including industry partners, government, NGOs, and farmers. You'll play a key role in driving our purpose to unite and inspire a sustainable and thriving food system and have a meaningful impact on the future of the industry.

Job Overview:

This is a senior leadership position responsible for developing and driving IGD’s unique brand proposition and creative marketing for its products and services across all channels and touchpoints. This role ensures that the IGD brand and what it does and sells is positioned effectively in the marketplace and delivers compelling messaging that resonates with target audiences.

The individual will work with creative professionals, driving strategy, innovation, and execution of the brand’s proposition, bringing to life the unique benefits and attributes of IGD’s products and services. This role will be responsible for how the brand shows up across all our touchpoints, overseeing how we talk about our products and services under the IGD brand, finding creative solutions for how we package and present our business to the outside world, and helping the sales team define profitable propositions for clients and customers that sets IGD apart from other competitive brands and businesses. This role will work collaboratively with the channel marketing team who are responsible for delivering channel marketing plans to ensure clients' and customers' needs are being met.

This role will help shape our marketing and sales strategy, define our proposition, and support the business in its drive to grow revenue and profitability.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Brand Proposition Development: Define and evolve the brand's core proposition for our products and services under the new brand and TOV to ensure it is relevant, compelling, and differentiated in the marketplace. Align the brand proposition with the company’s overall business strategy, ensuring a consistent and cohesive message.
2. Consumer Insights & Market Research: Lead market research and client and customer insights activities to identify their needs, perceptions, and trends. Utilise insights to refine the brand’s core proposition: product, price, place, and promotion.
3. Brand Strategy Leadership and Innovation: Develop long-term strategies for brand growth and visibility, including brand positioning, value proposition, and competitive differentiation. Collaborate with senior leadership to ensure brand strategies align with business goals and market opportunities. Bring innovation to how we talk about our brand and our products and services that make IGD a unique and valued partner.
4. Creative Direction & Campaign Oversight: Oversee the creative direction and execution of campaigns that reflect the brand’s proposition, working closely with the channel marketing team and communications. Ensure consistency across all brand communication touchpoints, including digital, print, events, paid media, and public relations.
5. Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with product, sales, customer experience, and other teams to ensure the brand proposition is consistently communicated across all consumer touchpoints. Partner with the teams to ensure that product offerings align with the brand's promise and customer needs and expectations.
6. Brand Equity & Performance Tracking: Establish KPIs and metrics to track the performance of the brand strategy and ensure its impact on brand equity and business growth. Regularly monitor and report on brand performance, adjusting strategies as needed based on consumer feedback, market trends, and performance data.

Qualifications:

Experience: 7-10 years of experience in brand management, marketing, or related fields, with at least 3-5 years in a leadership role. Proven track record of developing and executing successful brand strategies in business-to-business sectors; food and drink, retail experience would be a bonus. Strong understanding of consumer behaviour, market trends, and competitive landscape. Digital savvy and able to bring relevant and engaging content to our website and appeal to subscribers and non-subscribers.

Skills:

Exceptional strategic thinking and ability to translate insights into actionable brand strategies. Strong leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills. Ability to manage and inspire cross-functional teams. Experience in data-driven decision-making and performance analysis. Expertise in brand storytelling and creative direction.

Preferred Attributes:

Creative mindset with a passion for branding and enhancing the client and customer experience. Ability to navigate and lead in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills. Experience working with senior executives to shape company-wide brand strategies. Strong analytical skills to interpret data and make informed decisions. Proficiency in digital marketing strategies, SEO, and website marketing.

Technical Skills:

Proficiency in marketing and analytics tools; experience with digital marketing strategies, SEO, and website marketing.

The rewards:

We offer a range of benefits, including a market leading pension, a bonus scheme, the ability to buy and sell annual leave plus a generous medical insurance package. At IGD, we have a great work-life balance, where you are empowered & trusted to manage your time.

The location:

We are operating a hybrid approach to working with a mix of home and office-based working. We are based in a very accessible location within the M25, just 20 miles from central London.

More about our people:

We’re looking for inspiring professionals; talented people who seek personal and career growth and are ambitious to develop their potential and unlock opportunities for society, for our clients and themselves. We seek and attract the very best people and create an environment that supports and includes them. We aim to encourage a culture where people can be themselves and be valued for their contribution. We therefore welcome applications from diverse candidates. This includes people with disabilities, so please discuss any adjustments that you may require throughout the selection and assessment process.

More about IGD:

IGD is a truly unique place, we connect and inspire, provoking and leading constructive debate that creates impact. Together we are working to make a tangible difference for Society, Business, and the Individual. We use in-depth commercial understanding to uncover rich insights and data, leading to action that powers success. We reinvest profit from our Trading company into delivering Social Impact, through the Charity, aimed at uniting and mobilising our industry around the most crucial issues affecting society and business today.

#GrowInspireChange: Join our team to help us make a positive impact. Get in touch – we’re looking forward to working with you.