Marketing Lead - Paternity cover in Bristol

We have a core belief that our toxic, sedentary lifestyles are making humans, and the planet, sick. So we’re on a mission to change it. We are a footwear company, a health and wellbeing company, and we’re looking for a Marketing Lead with exceptional skills and talent to help us make this dream into a reality for a 7 month Paternity cover contract.

We’re looking for a naturally curious, energetically driven marketer who lives and breathes natural movement—someone who trains, gets outdoors, and genuinely believes in the power of feeling more to live better. You might come from an eCommerce or product marketing background, but what sets you apart is your ability to fuse creativity with commercial clarity, grounded in a strong digital foundation. You understand how content performs across Paid Media, CRM, PDPs, and Web, and you know how to build stories that convert without losing soul. You’re strategically minded, culturally switched-on, and inspired by regenerative values—not as a buzzword, but as a way of operating in the world. You bring a challenger spirit, a love for storytelling, and the confidence to simplify complexity into ideas that land. Most importantly, you’re someone who wants to help people reconnect with their bodies, their environment, and their natural potential—through bold, beautifully executed category marketing.

This is a 7 month paternity leave contract, starting in March 2026. You’ll need to be able to come into our beautiful Nature HQ in Wrington (just outside Bristol) around twice a week so location is important as in the right skills and experience.

What You Need To Apply

• Proven experience as a Marketing Manager (middleweight–senior), ideally within eCommerce or product‑led brands.
• Strong digital background with hands‑on experience creating and optimising content for performance marketing channels.
• Experience shaping and delivering campaign and category marketing strategies across multiple seasons.
• Demonstrated ability to balance creative storytelling with commercial performance.
• Comfortable leading cross‑functional planning with Product, Merchandising, Go‑To‑Market, and Commercial teams.
• A track record of interpreting data and insight to inform strategy, improve performance, and pivot when needed.
• Confident building structured plans and workflows (experience with Monday.com or equivalent is a bonus).
• A natural communicator able to articulate a clear category POV and inspire internal and external teams.
• Passion for training, natural movement, and an active lifestyle—with a genuine connection to Vivobarefoot’s regenerative values.
• Curiosity, courage, and a challenger mindset—willing to question norms, simplify the complex, and push for better.

What you’ll be doing

• Strategic Leadership
  • Develop and implement clear, compelling, and strategic marketing plans for the active category across four seasons.
  • Drive the campaign direction for seasonal stories with a strong category POV—ensuring bold, distinctive narratives aligned to Vivobarefoot’s brand essence.
  • Champion clarity and strategic simplicity in all planning and execution.
  • Build and maintain detailed project plans in Monday.com, providing visibility on key milestones across seasonal and evergreen activity.
• Creative + Campaign Direction
  • Co‑lead campaigns with Category Managers, balancing creative storytelling with commercial performance.
  • Be brave—bring campaign concepts to life that challenge convention and resonate with our communities.
  • Ensure creative output feels deeply relevant to each category’s audience—human, emotive, and culturally relevant.
• Channel + Content Strategy
  • Lead the active category content strategy across Paid Media, PDP (Product Detail Page), CRM, and Web, working closely with channel owners.
  • Direct category‑specific editorial and evergreen content to ensure year‑round visibility and resonance.
  • Collaborate with social and community teams to drive authentic engagement and advocacy within categories.
• Go-To-Market Planning + Execution
  • Align with Merchandising and Product to phase seasonal buys, ensuring product and marketing stories are mutually reinforcing.
  • Coordinate closely with Go‑To‑Market, Product Development, and Commercial teams to ensure seamless execution.
  • Lead the category sell‑in at Quarterly Conferences with clarity, confidence, and storytelling power.
• Reactive Trade (Longer‑Term Strategy + Short‑Term Tactics)
  • Own the reactive trade marketing strategy for your category—balancing long‑term brand positioning with immediate commercial opportunities.
  • Deploy short‑term tactical levers (e.g., rapid campaign pivots, tactical offers, all channel activation) to unlock performance opportunities without undermining long‑term brand equity.
  • Work with Merchandising and Commercial to identify underperforming products or categories and deliver smart, creative interventions to drive momentum.
  • Champion agility: ensure marketing plans remain flexible, responsive, and tuned into both data signals and cultural context.
• Budget + Performance
  • Partner with the Category Lead on budget planning, ensuring smart allocation across campaigns, launches, and BAU marketing.
  • Monitor category performance (both brand and commercial), adjusting plans based on data and insight.
  • Track and analyse performance across channels, campaigns, and product stories—balancing brand health metrics with commercial outcomes.
  • Provide regular performance readouts to the Brand Lead and wider team, translating data into actionable insight.
  • Use insights to inform both proactive planning and reactive optimisation, ensuring learnings continuously improve performance.
  • Partner with the Data & Insight team (where relevant) to elevate reporting from numbers into narrative—clear, compelling storytelling on what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next.