Head of Awards Engagement

This position is based in London and will require you to be in the office 3 days a week. As the Head of Awards Engagement you will work closely with the Global Director of Awards to inspire and support customers entering all LIONS Awards. Your focus will be on providing exceptional customer support, driving retention, and ensuring a seamless and satisfying experience through innovative engagement strategies. You will play a key role in executing the strategic vision for Awards, transforming high-level objectives into actionable engagement plans. You will lead initiatives to build meaningful relationships with the global creative community, inspiring participation and fostering a sense of connection and long-term engagement with the Awards.

Collaborating with Marketing and the Head of Awards Growth, you will leverage customer insights to address pain points, drive participation, and support sustainable growth. Additionally, you will deputise for the Global Director of Awards, making key decisions, upholding our standards, and representing the Awards globally as a brand ambassador, strengthening visibility and industry influence. This is a hands-on, delivery-focused role where you will create tailored initiatives to strengthen relationships with existing entrants, enhance the customer experience, and remove barriers to participation. You will ensure a consistent, customer-first approach across all engagement touchpoints.

Key accountabilities

• Develop and deliver engagement strategies to drive retention, increase participation, and enhance the overall customer experience across all LIONS Awards, ensuring alignment with broader business goals.
• Set clear annual and event-specific objectives for customer engagement, implementing targeted plans to strengthen relationships with existing customers, and drive ongoing participation.
• Establish and track measurable KPIs aligned with the customer engagement strategy, providing timely reporting to assess progress, optimise initiatives and identify areas for improvement.
• Manage and develop a high-performing team, setting clear expectations, supporting individual growth plans and fostering skill-building opportunities that align with team and organisational goals.
• Create customised engagement strategies for key customer segments, ensuring they are inclusive and resonate with diverse audiences while fostering deeper connections with the community and enhancing overall participation in the Awards.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align customer engagement efforts with broader business goals, ensuring seamless integration of engagement strategies into all relevant initiatives.
• Act as an ambassador for Awards, speaking and representing our neutral stance at events and in communications to uphold brand integrity and enhance visibility within the industry.
• Build and maintain relationships with key customers, ensuring their ongoing engagement, loyalty, and satisfaction with the Awards experience.
• Continuously assess and optimise the customer journey, identifying key touchpoints where engagement can be improved, barriers to entry can be reduced, and opportunities for personalisation can be leveraged.

If you don’t meet every single requirement, we’d still encourage you to apply. At LIONS, we are committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you are excited about this role, we would still like you to apply.

Skills, experience & qualifications required

• Strategic planner: skilled in creating and implementing engagement strategies that align with long-term organisational goals and drive measurable growth.
• Customer-centric: passionate about understanding customer needs and delivering exceptional service and experiences.
• Flexible leader: adaptable and results-focused, able to assess effectiveness, refine approaches, and report on progress.
• Data-led decision maker: adept at analysing data and finding insights to inform strategies and optimise performance.
• Insights driven: committed to understanding customer needs and continuously using feedback to improve engagement strategies based on actionable insights.
• Talent developer: proven experience in recognising growth potential, coaching, and supporting skill development to build a high-performing team.
• Detail oriented: capable of managing details meticulously while keeping broader goals in view.
• Engaging ambassador: exceptional presentation and facilitation skills, confidently representing the brand with enthusiasm.
• Relationship builder: skilled at establishing and maintaining strong relationships with stakeholders at all organisational levels.
• Industry-aware: understanding of the branded communications landscape, with a proactive drive to deepen knowledge of relevant sectors and trends.

We work hard to make sure Life at Informa is rewarding, supportive and enjoyable for everyone. Here’s some of what you can expect when you join us:

• Freedom & flexibility: colleagues rate us highly for the flexibility and trust they receive and most of us balance time in the office with time working remotely.
• Great community: a welcoming culture with in-person and online social events, our fantastic Walk the World charity day and active diversity and inclusion networks.
• Broader impact: take up to four days per year to volunteer, with charity match funding available too.
• Career opportunity: the opportunity to develop your career with bespoke training and learning, mentoring platforms and on-demand access to thousands of courses on LinkedIn Learning.
• Time out: 25 days annual leave, rising to 27 days after two years, plus a birthday leave day and the chance to work from (almost!) anywhere for up to four weeks a year.
• A flexible range of personal benefits to choose from, plus company funded private medical cover.
• A ShareMatch scheme that allows you to become an Informa shareholder with free matching shares.
• Strong wellbeing support through EAP assistance, mental health first aiders, a healthy living subsidy, access to health apps and more.
• Recognition for great work, with global awards and kudos programmes.
• As an international company, the chance to collaborate with teams around the world.

We’re not solely focused on a checklist of skills. We champion energy and ambition and look for colleagues who will roll their sleeves up, join in and help make things happen. If it sounds like a match and you have most - although not all - of the skills and experience listed, we welcome your application. At Informa, you’ll find inclusive experiences and environments where all perspectives and backgrounds are welcomed. As part of this approach and our diversity and inclusion commitments, we are also formally an Equal Opportunities Employer.