Brand Studio Manager

At Smart, our mission is to transform retirement, savings and financial wellbeing, across all generations, around the world.

THE ROLE

The Brand Studio Manager runs our internal agency team at Smart - working across our 3 core brands Smart, Smart Pension and Keystone. This is an area of huge importance to the business as we continue to grow across the globe, and we need to ensure consistency as we build value in our brand and our products. Within the internal Brand Studio team there is a brand designer, a copy writer and a multi-media specialist. As well as working with freelance or external resources where necessary, such as for animation or web development support. This critical role has stewardship and oversight of all creative assets that are produced to represent our brands. This capacity of brand steward is not designed to be a blocker or an approval process, but instead a support and leader. One of the Brand Studio team's critical deliverables is to create and manage brand, tone of voice and messaging guidelines that can be used across the business - to ensure assets are consistent across all touch points, regardless of their origins. Keeping these guidelines updated, running education sessions and monitoring delivery is vital. The Brand Studio Manager role is a leadership role, a strategic role, and a hands on designer role. With a lean, but impactful team - we need someone who is comfortable in the detail as well as the big picture. Assets that are created within the Brand Studio range from static print, to digital, to animation and video. The Brand Studio Manager reports directly into the Marketing Director.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Manage the Brand studio team, including prioritisation and trafficking of key projects.
• Creative Process Development & Management - develop the process for creative briefs from intake to delivery.
• Stakeholder management across the business - working closely with teams across the business to take designs from concept to completion.
• Brand and design internal and external marketing materials to ensure that they align with visual identities. This includes web and digital, brochures, communications, materials for events, merchandise and promotional materials.
• Manage Google Suite templates to support colleagues, such as Slides, Sheets and Docs.
• Develop and manage the brand identity and guidelines of all 3 of our brands - including any rebrand or evolution.
• Manage the marketing collateral library by organising and keeping materials up to date.
• Creative development pathway - outline development plans for the creative team. This would include identifying gaps in capabilities or new design development opportunities.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The skills, experience, and aptitudes we are looking for are listed below but please don’t be discouraged from applying if you don’t meet every single one of these criteria – having a ‘can do’ attitude is sometimes more important than being able to tick every box:

• Degree in Marketing, Design or a similar field.
• Advanced Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator skills.
• Experience in managing a brand, including visual identity.
• Portfolio of work demonstrating a clear ability to design resources for different mediums.
• Excellent Google Suite skills – Docs, Slides and Sheets.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Good communication skills to liaise with multiple stakeholders across the company.
• Experience in working to tight deadlines.
• Creativity and an ability to produce innovative and original ideas.
• Team management.

BENEFITS

• 25 days’ holiday per year, increasing with length of service.
• £500 annual training budget to spend on your professional development.
• Extensive private healthcare, including dental, eyecare and EAP.
• Enhanced sick leave (three months’ pay per year).
• Enhanced maternity and paternity (maternity – 6 months fully paid/paternity – 3 weeks fully paid).
• Death in service insurance cover.
• Fully-paid five-week sabbatical after five years of employment.
• In office wellbeing, such as manicures, massages and barbers.
• Smart employees also enjoy a 50% discount on orders from our sister company Arena Flowers, Britain's most ethical florist.

At Smart, we are committed to creating an inclusive and equitable workplace where everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to do their best work. We believe that diverse perspectives help us lead the way in transforming retirement, savings, and financial wellbeing. We welcome differences in background, experience, thinking, and identity, and we recognise that innovation is strongest when it is built on inclusion and fairness. We encourage applications from people of all backgrounds and experiences and do not discriminate on the basis of any protected characteristic. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the workplace, we encourage you to let us know - we are committed to supporting you. We think Smart is an awesome place to work. If it sounds like somewhere you’d like to work, too, and if you’re ready to play your part in our continued success in the future, then naturally we’d love to meet you.