Local Marketing & Events Lead

About The Role
Thank you for your interest in our Local Marketing and Events Lead opportunity. This pivotal leadership role is responsible for the strategic vision, development, and execution of integrated local marketing strategies and impactful events programs that drive brand engagement, customer loyalty, and sustainable commercial growth and revenue return. The role demands a dynamic and influential leader with exceptional strategic acumen, a proven ability to navigate complex stakeholder landscapes, and a passion for creating innovative and commercially successful customer experiences. A high degree of commercial astuteness is essential to maximise the return on investment of all programs and initiatives. They will lead a high-performing team to deliver best-in-class local marketing initiatives, including new store launches, refurbishments, and proactive competitive defense strategies, as well as a diverse portfolio of events that enhance brand positioning and drive revenue and profitability.
At a glance:

• Salary: £70,900 – £111,000 per annum
• Contract type: This is a permanent opportunity
• Hours and location of the role:

• 35 hours per week
• Your home location will be our Bracknell Head Office with frequent site visits required
• The Partnership supports agile and flexible working practices, such as when, where and how we work. We have several different ways to work flexibly, including part-time, flexible or compressed hours, and job sharing. Head office areas also support a blended working approach. The team attend the office 2 to 3 days a week to connect and attend key meetings on more of an ad-hoc basis

Key responsibilities:

• Sets the strategic direction for all events and experiences, ensuring alignment with overarching brand and commercial objectives, and maximizing ROI and revenue generation
• Drives the development of innovative event concepts that enhance brand positioning, create memorable customer experiences, and benefit partner happiness
• Leads the development and implementation of comprehensive local marketing strategies that support the business\’s growth ambitions
• Directs the creation of robust local marketing plans, ensuring effective resource allocation, clear governance, and alignment with national campaigns and customer plans, while optimising budget allocation to maximise impact and ROI
• Oversees the development and execution of proactive competitive defense strategies, leveraging data and insights to mitigate competitor impact and protect market share, with a strong emphasis on delivering profitable growth
• Provides strategic guidance and support for marketing of new store openings and refurbishments, ensuring impactful launches that generate excitement and drive customer acquisition, while carefully managing costs and maximising revenue potential
• Builds and maintains strong, influential relationships with senior stakeholders across the organisation, acting as a trusted advisor and collaborator, with a focus on aligning marketing and events activities with overall business objectives and financial targets
• Leads, mentors, and develops a high-performing team of marketing and events professionals, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement, with a strong emphasis on target delivery
• Empowers the team to take ownership and accountability, providing clear direction, ongoing feedback
• Establishes and monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the effectiveness of local marketing and events initiatives, ensuring data-driven decision-making and a strong focus on financial performance and ROI
• Analyses market trends, competitor activity, and customer insights to identify opportunities for optimization and innovation, with a constant focus on maximising revenue and profitability

The ideal candidate will have the following skills:
Entrepreneurship:

• Takes ownership and looks for creative opportunities to promote services and products to increase sales and create commercial value

Stakeholder Management:

• Identifies key stakeholders, their motivations and priorities, and considers these when building and managing relationships. Anticipates stakeholder challenges and proactively plans for these, displaying strong communication

Influencing:

• Outstanding communication and presentation skills, with the ability to convey complex information clearly and persuasively, and to inspire and excite audiences, while also effectively communicating the financial implications of marketing and events plans

Commerciality:

• Deep understanding of retail business, market dynamics, and financial performance, with the ability to make data-driven decisions that maximize ROI, drive revenue, and enhance profitability

Win Hearts and Minds:

• Exceptional leadership skills, with the ability to build, motivate, and develop high-performing teams, fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement

Essential skills and/or experience you’ll need:
Qualifications:

• Degree level

Experience:

• Extensive senior leadership experience in marketing
• Proven track record of developing and executing successful marketing and events strategies in a multi-channel retail environment, with a strong emphasis on delivering measurable commercial results
• Demonstrable experience of influencing cross functional stakeholders up to board level
• Experience of managing large teams and working collaboratively
• Confident working in a high pressure, challenging environment with high accountability
• Strong commercial acumen and financial management skills, with the ability to manage budgets, optimize resource allocation, maximize ROI, drive revenue, and enhance profitability

Desirable skills and/or experience you may have:

• Local marketing experience
• Retail experience (either in a head office or in shops)
• Executing change and innovation
• Professional Marketing qualification

About The Partnership
We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.
We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.
As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.
We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.
As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.
Important points to note:
It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.
We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.
We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview. #J-18808-Ljbffr