Brand Manager in Manchester

We are looking for a commercially minded Brand Manager to lead brand coordination and go-to-market activity for K3's Restructuring & Insolvency (R&I) vertical, the unified KR8 Advisory brand.

R&I is a relationship-led, trust-driven market: referrers are the dominant route to instruction, named experts carry the conversation, whilst brand and PR also reach distressed businesses directly.

You will act as the central point of coordination for brand planning, go-to-market delivery and stakeholder management for the vertical, and you will own the programmes of activity that deliver the R&I Category Framework through the Relationship Marketing System.

You will build and shape marketing plans that drive authority, demand generation and engagement, both to create new opportunities and to raise KR8's profile and deepen engagement across its referrer and relationship network.

Working alongside discipline specialists across PR, SEO, content, paid media and creative, you will ensure the Framework is translated into effective, on-brand execution.

Reporting into the Chief Growth Officer, you will drive brand reach, demand generation, referrer engagement and revenue performance for KR8.

This position is aligned to our hybrid workstyle, with 3 days a week in our Manchester office and 2 from home.

Occasional travel to other sites (e. g.

London) or events may be required.

• COMMERCIAL OBJECTIVES
• Drive new instruction opportunities for KR8 through the Relationship Marketing System - referrer-led demand, with brand and PR also reaching distressed businesses directly.
• Raise KR8's brand profile and category authority through named-leader PR, thought leadership and a consistent editorial presence.
• 3rd party brand & demand gen expansion to support business reach, including referrer, association and panel routes to market.
• Grow the depth and engagement of the tiered referrer network, measured on lead flow and repeat referrals rather than agreements signed.
• MD & business stakeholder management & performance reporting across the department.
• Department coordination of all deliverables related to lead & revenue targets.
• ICP, USPs & media list management for effective demand gen activities.

Key Responsibilities

• Leadership & Management
• Owns the coordination of the GTM for the R&I vertical, working in conjunction with all discipline / channel leads to drive a full funnel GTM strategy, with responsibility to directly increase reach through 3rd parties.
• Acts as the vertical owner of the R&I Category Framework (the eleven components): keeps it live, ensures every programme traces back to a framework component, and feeds learnings to Growth Operations so the framework flexes where R&I needs it.
• Single point of coordination between the R&I MDs and named experts, the BDM and Group Sales, and the Growth Operations disciplines, so that expert-led and signal-led activity run as one engine.
• Relationship Marketing Programmes
• Build and own the annual and quarterly R&I marketing plan from the Category Framework - market & category, ICP & buying triggers, category positioning, service-to-value architecture, offer architecture and demand & channel strategy - so every programme has a clear framework component, audience, objective and measure
• Translate the distress-cycle GTM angle and trigger chain (distress signals, realisation, need, outcome) into messaging, content and campaigns that make KR8 the credible, named adviser that referrers and directors turn to first
• Run the six-pillar R&I channel mix as coordinated programmes, each with an owner, calendar and KPIs: named-leader PR & thought leadership; named-leader Linked In; referrer newsletter (email + Linked In); quarterly distress report; events & roundtables (e. g.
• R3); and panel strategy (FCA & lender panels)
• Deliver R&I activity against the Group Relationship Marketing roadmap (proactive PR, editorial schedule and referrer model expansion from March 2027, relationship demand marketing from April-May 2027, and the data-led Group Sales & Partners as a Channel model from June 2027)
• Position named MDs and experts as commercial distribution assets: agree a defined conversation for each, build the spokesperson pipeline, and run the editorial board and PR programme with one clear primary name per topic
• Build category authority beyond people who already know the advisors - using thought leadership, earned media, guest commentary, awards, speaking slots and the quarterly distress report to widen demand beyond brand and advisor-name searches, in coordination with Web & Digital on technical SEO and domain authority
• Plan and deliver relationship demand programmes - named-account ABM, sector plays, referrer webinars/CPD and roundtables - that move referrers and prospects from awareness to engagement to conversion
• Work with the Partnerships Account Manager, Group Telesales and the BDM so R&I referrer activity plugs into the Partners as a Channel model (Tiers 1-3), and referral volume, conversion and repeat referrals are tracked in the CRM and reported through Rev Ops
• Identify and flag cross-sell and reciprocity opportunities (e. g.

K3 Advisory / Wealth Management conversations with directors, K3 Law on contract and employment fallout) in line with the Client Growth & Cross-sell framework component

• Ensure all R&I marketing respects applicable insolvency licensing and professional body requirements, client and case confidentiality, and the information barriers between R&I and Business Sales / Deal Advisory; route case-related content through the agreed sign-off before use, and keep tone appropriate for distressed audiences
• Functional Responsibilities
• Functional Ownership - coordinate across the entire department consolidated plans for the R&I vertical giving the MDs a proactive GTM plan - managing this on a calendar into Monday for effective department coordination, with the R&I Category Framework as the guide for every programme.
• Own value prop macro messaging, USPs, ICPs and media target lists for R&I (distress-signal ICPs, referrer segments by tier, trade and business press) to support all team channels in delivering GTM deliverables and campaigns.
• Source award entries, sponsorship opportunities and 3rd party membership association opportunities (e. g.

R3, and wider professional communities) draft directory submissions for expanded reach and demand generation to drive business growth - working with the department coordinator to turn into tasks for the team to deliver.

• Personally manage any spot initiatives through sales-led demand gen programmes such as Meet Alfred, targeted at named accounts and referrers in support of MD and BDM priorities.
• Manage and execute CEO Linked In newsletters and the R&I referrer newsletter (email + Linked In), leveraging content from the editorial calendar.
• Focus on BOFU / MOFU case studies and sector thought-leadership (including distress-cycle insight and the quarterly distress report), in coordination with the Head of Demand - ensuring there is a robust content calendar delivering full market coverage.
• Manage all suppliers related to the brand, ensuring an ROI proforma is followed to deliver performance for all new investments.

Maintain supplier contracts, ensuring renewals are managed and don't auto-renew without sign off.

• Working with the entire department, coordinate monthly MD board packs covering performance E2E by all channels using a consistent template across the group, including referrer and relationship engagement metrics.
• Media & competitor monitor developing unique insights, including distress-cycle and sector signals, to support GTM campaigns such as thought-leadership, PR, or single channel deliverables.
• KEY PERFORMANCE MEASURES
• Demand gen targets - MQL, SQL, Wins, Revenue (pipeline coverage).
• Brand & PR: increases in media share with targeted news sources, proactive guest commentary, and named-expert profile growth.
• Digital: improved domain authority and online market share, and engagement rates (webinar, email, social media).
• Partners: referrers actively referring across all tiers, referral conversion and repeat referrals.
• New opportunity identification for expansion, including cross-sell and upsell driven from the centralised CRM.
• Delivery of the R&I plan against the Category Framework and Group roadmap, with department coordination for full market coverage activities.
• Stakeholder satisfaction regarding performance, deliverables and SLAs met.
• CEO and named-leader comms engagement & performance.
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