Associate Director of Marketing - Partnerships, Activations & Retail Marketing in Bury St Edmunds

The Associate Director of Marketing will play a pivotal senior leadership role within JD Sports, responsible for shaping and delivering best‑in‑class third‑party brand partnerships, activations, and external collaborations that reinforce JD’s position as the leading global destination for sportswear and youth culture.

This role is accountable for leading and owning the UK‑based Marketing Centres of Excellence, specifically across:

• Activations
• Partnerships
• Third‑Party Brands
• Retail Marketing

From these UK Centres of Excellence, the role will define strategy, frameworks, standards, and ways of working. Delivery into international markets will be achieved in close collaboration with in‑territory EMEA market teams, whose execution is overseen by the Associate Director of Marketing – EMEA, ensuring globally consistent yet locally relevant outcomes.

The Associate Director will lead centre‑led marketing strategy across strategic brand partners, elite football clubs, global sports brands, and cultural collaborators, while owning the long‑wave retail marketing approach that is scaled and deployed across JD’s international store estate.

Operating at pace within a fast‑moving, entrepreneurial retail environment, the role requires a deeply commercial, culturally fluent marketer who can connect brand, sport, retail, and community at scale, balancing strong central ownership through the Centres of Excellence with effective influence across EMEA markets.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Brand & Third‑Party Partnerships

• Lead the development of strategic third‑party brand partnerships through the UK Marketing Centres of Excellence, covering key global sportswear brands, lifestyle partners, and cultural platforms.
• Own senior‑level relationships with key partners (e.g. global sportswear brands, licensors, rights holders, and agencies), acting as a senior ambassador for JD Sports.
• Set partnership strategy, frameworks, and standards that are adopted by EMEA markets and executed locally in collaboration with the Associate Director of Marketing – EMEA.
• Ensure all partnerships align to JD’s brand positioning, youth‑led strategy, and commercial objectives across key territories.
• Identify partnership opportunities that elevate cultural relevance, drive footfall and digital engagement, and unlock incremental commercial value.

Partnerships & Activations

• Provide central leadership and governance for large‑scale partnerships and strategic collaborations spanning global brands, cultural partners, licensors, and third‑party platforms.
• Lead the conception and centre‑led planning of multi‑market activations across retail, digital, social, experiential, events, and community touchpoints.
• Partner closely with EMEA market teams to adapt and land activations locally, ensuring speed, cultural relevance, and consistent expression of JD’s brand, energy, and tone of voice.
• Work cross‑functionally with Legal, Commercial, Trading, and Procurement teams to manage rights, contracts, compliance, and risk at PLC level.

Retail Marketing & Long‑Wave Rollout

• Own the long‑term retail marketing strategy and rollout across JD’s store estate, ensuring consistency, scalability, and local relevance within the UK.
• Work hand‑in‑hand with Retail Operations, International Markets, and VM to land campaigns effectively in‑store.
• Lead the development of playbooks, toolkits, and ways of working that allow markets to execute at pace without diluting brand quality.
• Ensure retail marketing supports seasonal moments, key drops, trading priorities, and major brand launches.

Leadership & Cross‑Functional Influence

• Act as a senior marketing leader within JD Sports, helping set the bar for delivery, pace, and standards across teams.
• Influence across Brand, Creative, Social, Digital, Trading, Retail Ops, and international teams to ensure alignment from strategy to execution.
• Lead, inspire, and develop high‑performing internal teams and agency partners in a fast‑paced, high‑expectation environment.
• Present confidently to senior leadership, articulating strategy, performance, risks, and opportunities clearly.

Commercial, Budget & Performance Ownership

• Own and manage significant marketing budgets across partnerships, activations, and retail delivery.
• Ensure all activity delivers measurable ROI and aligns with JD’s performance‑driven culture.
• Embed strong reporting, evaluation, and learning loops to continually optimise performance across markets.

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Senior‑level marketing experience within sportswear, retail, youth culture, or consumer brand environments.
• Proven track record leading high‑profile brand partnerships and large‑scale activations, ideally involving sport and football.
• Strong understanding of retail marketing across large store estates and multiple international markets.
• Experience operating at pace in complex, matrixed organisations with multiple stakeholders.
• Commercially astute, with strong budget ownership and performance accountability.

Desirable

• Experience working with global sports brands such as Nike, adidas, Puma, or equivalent.
• International or EMEA market exposure.
• Background within fast‑growth, founder‑led or entrepreneurial retail brands.

Leadership Profile

• Deeply connected to sport, street culture, and youth trends.
• Bold, confident, and collaborative leader who thrives in a fast‑moving environment.
• Comfortable balancing long‑term strategy with hands‑on execution.
• Resilient, solutions‑focused, and accountable.