Location: London
Working days: 3 days a week (In office)
Collinson is a global, privately‑owned company dedicated to helping people travel with ease and confidence.
The Group Director, Brand & Marketing is accountable for defining, stewarding and elevating The Collinson Group’s brand, reputation and external voice. Sitting within the Group’s Executive Office, the role ensures a coherent, compelling and purposeful identity across its five operating companies, geographies and stakeholder audiences.
Key Responsibilities
Group Brand Strategy & Governance
- Own and evolve the Group brand strategy, ensuring a clear, consistent and compelling identity aligned to purpose, values and long‑term ambition.
- Maintain and develop Group brand architecture, principles and guidelines, influencing adoption across operating companies through credibility, dialogue and best practice.
- Act as senior guardian of brand consistency across geographies, businesses and external touchpoints.
- Provide strategic brand input into major external moments, including acquisitions, partnerships, executive profiling and capital or corporate announcements.
External Communications & Thought Leadership
- Oversee the Group’s external communications strategy, including media relations, executive profiling, industry commentary and corporate narrative.
- Build and sustain strong relationships with key media, industry bodies, trade associations and external stakeholders.
- Develop and curate the Group’s thought leadership agenda, ensuring Collinson’s voice is distinctive, relevant and credible in industry conversations.
- Oversee the Group’s digital presence, including the corporate website and Group‑level social channels.
Group Marketing Leadership & Community Building
- Convene and champion a strong, collaborative marketing community across the five operating companies.
- Create the conditions for shared thinking, storytelling and collaboration without formal authority, using influence, trust and quality of leadership.
- Identify and progress Group‑wide marketing initiatives where collective effort delivers greater impact than isolated activity.
- Challenge siloed or “not invented here” thinking and foster a culture of creative generosity and shared success.
Events & Strategic Presence
- Oversee and coordinate the Group’s presence at major industry events, conferences and thought leadership forums.
- Lead the strategy and delivery of selected Group‑level events, such as partner summits, executive roundtables and brand moments.
- Ensure all events align with the wider brand and communications strategy and reflect the quality, values and ambition of the Group.
Internal Alignment & Executive Support
- Partner with the Group Executive Office, People function and operating company leadership to embed brand and purpose into internal communications and culture.
- Support senior executives with external‑facing narratives, speaking engagements and key stakeholder communications.
- Act as a trusted adviser to the Group Managing Director and Group leadership on brand, reputation and market positioning.
- Work in partnership with the Chief of Staff to support alignment between brand values, customer experience and Group standards.
Person Specification
Experience & Expertise
- Extensive senior experience in brand strategy, marketing leadership and/or corporate communications, ideally within complex, multi‑brand or group structures.
- Proven ability to link brand and communications investment to business outcomes, with strong commercial credibility at executive level.
- Demonstrated success leading through influence rather than hierarchy, navigating matrix or federated organisations without direct authority.
- Experience building and sustaining collaborative marketing or cross‑functional communities.
- Background in relevant sectors such as travel, financial services, loyalty, payments, premium B2B2C or consumer technology is advantageous.
- Experience in external communications, media relations, executive profiling and events is desirable.
Personal Attributes
- High emotional intelligence with the ability to build trust quickly, read complex dynamics and navigate competing priorities with warmth and confidence.
- Influential leadership style founded on credibility, judgement and quality of thinking rather than formal power.
- Low ego and strongly outcome‑focused; motivated by impact over recognition.
- Purpose‑led and values‑driven, with a genuine commitment to operating in line with Good Beyond Profit.
- Clear, precise and compelling communicator in writing, conversation and formal settings.
- Energised by building community and enabling others to do their best work.
- Comfortable with a portfolio or part‑time executive role, motivated by meaningful contribution rather than progression or scale.
Collinson is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes differences in all their forms including: colour, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, neurodivergence, family status, age, individuals with disabilities and people from all backgrounds, cultures and experiences as we strongly believe this contributes to our on‑going success.
