Branding Project Director in London

• Role Title: Project Director - Rebrand
• Number of Roles: 1
• Contract Length:6 Months
• Engagement Type: Contractor
• IR35: Outside IR35

This role demands someone who understands brand at its deepest level - not just how it looks, but how it is constructed, what systems and patterns make it work in practice, and how the components of a design system fit together across a complex organisation with multiple teams and channels.

You will be the connective tissue between the creative leads, the design team, digital, operations, and the wider business - ensuring every workstream is moving in the same direction at the same time.

You will need to be as comfortable in a brand strategy conversation as you are in a production planning meeting.

You will need to earn the trust of designers, directors, and senior business stakeholders simultaneously, and keep a highly visible, high-stakes programme on track across months of complex, interdependent work.

• The Job Requirements
• Programme leadership & brand programme ownership
• Own the end-to-end rebrand programme as the single point of accountability - from initial brand strategy and identity development through design system build, rollout planning, and full deployment across all touchpoints
• Build and maintain the master programme plan - mapping all workstreams, dependencies, milestones, and sign-off points across creative, digital, operations, and the wider business
• Lead programme governance - chairing workstream reviews, tracking progress against plan, and producing clear reporting for senior stakeholders across The Exchange Group
• Act as the connective tissue between The Exchange's creative and design team and the business - translating between creative language and business requirements in both directions
• Brand understanding & design system knowledge
• Bring a deep understanding of how brands are constructed - positioning, personality, values, visual identity, tone of voice, and the systems that govern how these elements are applied consistently across every channel
• Understand design systems in practice - what components, patterns, and guidelines a robust brand system requires, how they are structured, and how they enable consistent execution at scale
• Be able to assess design work critically and meaningfully - not to make design decisions, but to judge whether the work is meeting the brand brief and programme objectives, and to articulate clearly when it is not
• Understand the difference between brand identity, brand guidelines, campaign creative, and production execution - and know what is needed at each stage of a rebrand programme
• Be comfortable in detailed creative and brand conversations with the Design Lead, Brand Designer, and Principal Creative - asking the right questions and keeping creative momentum without overstepping into creative decisions
• Cross-functional collaboration & internal stakeholder management
• Build trusted relationships with all teams involved in the rebrand - creative, design, digital, copywriting, strategy, account management, and the wider business teams
• Manage stakeholder expectations at every level - from day-to-day creative team conversations to Exec-level programme updates - communicating clearly, proactively, and without jargon
• Work closely with the business to understand their requirements, constraints, and priorities; bring them on the creative journey rather than presenting finished work for approval
• Facilitate alignment across workstreams that involve multiple teams with different priorities and timelines - making sure nothing moves forward in isolation
• Multi-workstream delivery & dependency management
• Manage multiple parallel rebrand workstreams simultaneously - including brand identity, design system, digital brand rollout, customer communications refresh, retail and OOH, and internal brand launch
• Map and manage dependencies across all workstreams rigorously - understanding what must be resolved before the next phase can begin and building this logic clearly into the programme plan
• Ensure the design system and brand guidelines are completed and approved before downstream production teams begin work - protecting quality and preventing rework
• Manage the handover from brand creation to brand rollout with precision - ensuring all teams receiving brand assets have exactly what they need, in the right format, with the right guidance
• External partner & supplier management
• Brief, manage, and hold accountable any external agencies, specialist consultancies, or production partners contributing to the rebrand programme
• Ensure external partners are fully integrated into the programme governance structure and working to the same brief, timeline, and quality standards as internal teams
• Manage external partner costs and contracts in line with Group procurement and financial procedures
• Cost control & commercial management
• Own the rebrand programme budget across all workstreams - tracking spend, forecasting to completion, and reporting clearly to senior stakeholders
• Manage purchase orders and supplier spend in line with Group financial procedures; ensure all expenditure is authorised before commitment
• Identify budget risks and efficiency opportunities throughout the programme; flag overspend risk before it becomes a problem
• Risk, quality & governance
• Maintain a live programme risk register; identify, assess, and mitigate risks across all workstreams proactively
• Implement quality checkpoints throughout the programme - ensuring brand outputs are reviewed and approved at each stage before downstream work begins
• Ensure all rebrand outputs meet Group brand, legal, compliance, and accessibility standards
• Conduct a thorough post-programme review - capturing learnings for future large-scale brand programmes within The Exchange
• The Skills Required

Essential experience

• 8+ years in senior project or programme management, with direct experience managing brand or creative programmes of significant scale and complexity
• Deep understanding of brand - how visual identities are created, what design systems require, and how rebrands are planned and executed across large, complex organisations
• Experience managing multi-workstream creative programmes involving design, digital, copy, strategy, and production teams simultaneously
• Strong track record of senior stakeholder management in complex, matrix organisations - able to operate confidently at Exec level
• Commercial management experience - budget ownership, cost tracking, and supplier management across large programmes
• Experience working closely with design teams and the ability to engage meaningfully with brand strategy and visual identity work
• Experience managing external agency or specialist consultancy partners
• Highly desirable
• Previous experience managing a full brand refresh or rebrand programme end-to-end
• Working knowledge of design systems, component libraries, and brand guidelines documentation
• Experience in consumer telecoms, technology, or retail - categories with high-volume, multi-channel brand execution requirements
• Previous experience working within or alongside an in-house creative agency
• Familiarity with digital brand rollout including web, app, email, and social brand application

Education & professional development

• Degree-level education or equivalent professional experience; background in brand, design, marketing, or a related discipline an advantage
• Project management qualification (PRINCE2, PMP, or equivalent) desirable but not essential
• Active interest in brand, design, and the creative industry

LA International is an award-winning partner of choice for many of the world's most influential companies and government organisations.

Holding Enhanced Government Security Accreditation, we are recognised as the European market leader in the delivery of Security Cleared talent to organisations that demand the very highest levels of security, compliance and assurance.

A multiple award-winning organisation, having secured the prestigious Queens Award for

Enterprise: International Trade over consecutive years.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive, equitable and accessible workplace where everyone feels valued and supported.

We welcome applications from all individuals, regardless of background or identity, and we encourage candidates who may not meet every listed requirement to still apply.

If you require any adjustments or support during the recruitment process, please let us know and we will work with you to ensure a fair and accessible experience.

Please Note: If a high volume of applications is received, only candidates shortlisted will be contacted.

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