Head of Marketing in Manchester

Do you want to lead the creative firepower behind the Bee Network's standout, integrated campaigns that help more people choose public transport, support Vision Zero and make everyday journeys better across Greater Manchester? You'll set the marketing vision, inspire multi-disciplinary brand, creative and digital teams, and deliver high-profile campaigns that genuinely matter to the region. You'll also help bring rail into the next chapter of our integrated transport journey, a once in a generation opportunity to make a difference.

Your Role

As Head of Marketing, you'll write and deliver a bold, insight-led strategy to grow patronage and revenue while strengthening the Bee Network brand. You'll lead the annual go-to-market plan, oversee campaign performance, and champion customer-first creative across all channels. You'll direct a talented marketing, design, brand and digital team, manage a budget, and enhance our targeted marketing activity to drive measurable behaviour change.

Who are we?

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) delivers the Bee Network, our joined-up, London-style system that connects people and places across all ten districts. Marketing is central to that mission: we help residents choose sustainable travel, support fare and product launches, and amplify initiatives. This is a visible, high-impact leadership role at the heart of a modern public organisation, combining creative excellence with commercial outcomes for a network used by millions.

What You’ll Bring

What you do and how you do it is important whatever type of role you work in at TfGM and even small behaviours and actions can have a really big impact. At TfGM, our behaviours bring to life our values of Deliver, Care and Adapt. You're a creative, innovative marketer who thinks outside the box and knows how to turn insight into effective campaigns. You've led behaviour-change and brand campaigns at scale, managed agencies, and built high-performing teams. You're fluent in performance marketing and CRM, comfortable with complex data and increasing ROI, and confident presenting compelling stories to senior stakeholders. You don't need a transport background, what matters is your track record of delivering growth, customer satisfaction and standout, multi-channel campaigns.

What You’ll Lead (at a Glance)

• Strategy & growth: Bee Network brand and marketing strategy, go-to-market planning, KPIs and continuous optimisation.
• Team & culture: day-to-day leadership of marketing, brand, design and digital teams; building a high-performance, values-led culture.
• Campaigns & channels: best-in-class integrated campaigns across paid, owned and earned; web and social strategy; creative and channel management oversight.
• Partnerships & profile: agency roster management, value for money and social value; senior engagement including liaison with the Mayors office.
• Budget & accountability: optimisation of a significant budget, with transparent post-campaign evaluation.

What We Can Offer You

A senior platform to lead a vibrant, creative function – brand, digital, design and campaign delivery, with a significant budget, high profile and the space to do your best work for Greater Manchester. You'll join a supportive leadership community, collaborate widely across operations, and shape work that improves daily life in our region. A permanent role with a salary of £70,906 - £79,805 per annum depending on skills and experience. At TfGM we encourage candidates to discuss flexible working options at any stage of the recruitment process. We are happy to #talkflexibleworking to help colleagues maintain a healthy work life balance.

Our Benefits Include

• Generous annual leave starting at 28 days (plus bank holidays), increasing with service, with options to buy more.
• Free travel on buses across Greater Manchester, plus rail or Metrolink travel to and from work.
• Local Government defined pension scheme with life cover of 3x salary and options to boost your contributions.
• Enhanced family-friendly leave policies, including those supporting fertility treatment, alongside flexible and hybrid working and a special leave policy to support a range of unexpected events.

Please note that qualification criteria may apply, including a requirement to have been employed with the organisation for a minimum specified period of time. Discover more benefits including wellbeing support, Personal and Career Development, Flexible working, financial support and more on our website.

What’s next?

If you’re excited by leading creative, data-driven marketing that helps more people choose public transport and you’re ready to help write the next chapter of the Bee Network, we'd love to hear from you. Our short-listing process is anonymised, so please do not include your name or contact details on your CV or cover letter. We embrace AI to enhance our operations and to innovate our services. However, we value human talent and are looking for passionate individuals to join our organisation. Please ensure you personally complete your application and read all the instructions carefully to maximise your chances of success. Applications that rely too heavily on AI may be rejected during shortlisting, however we understand that AI may be used as a reasonable adjustment, if using AI to support your application, please give a brief explanation why to help ensure fair selection process.

If you have completed the GM Elevate (Leadership Development) Programme, please indicate this within the About You or Supporting Statement section of your application.

Priority Recruitment Scheme for At Risk NHS GM Colleagues

If you are currently employed by a Greater Manchester NHS organisation and have been formally identified as at risk, please indicate this within your application for the role. If you select Yes and provide evidence that your experience meets the essential criteria described in the job advert and role profile, you will be guaranteed progression to the next assessment stage. Please ensure your application clearly demonstrates how you meet these essential requirements, as the guarantee only applies to candidates who meet them.

TfGM is proud to be an equal opportunities employer that encourages and celebrates diversity. We want to recruit and retain a workforce that reflects the communities we serve and welcome individuals from all backgrounds by committing to providing a fully inclusive and accessible recruitment process. We will offer support and reasonable adjustments if required and we also have a Guaranteed Assessment Scheme which you can find out more information on here.

For this opportunity, you must be able to prove you have the right to work in the UK – if in doubt please visit the following link Employers' right to work checklist - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). Please note we are not a licensed sponsor. Please note we may close the advert early if we receive a high volume of applications.