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Marketing Director Natures Menu - Maternity Cover
Description
Your Role
As the Marketing Director, you are a key member of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT), reporting directly to the General Manager UK & Ireland. You will lead a diverse team of six people to elevate our brand from a niche specialist in raw feeding to a powerhouse across multiple technologies (Raw, Wet, Dry, Freeze-Dried, and Treats). Your mission is to secure "local autonomy" for the UK market—crafting brand strategies that win with British pet parents—while maintaining strong stakeholder alignment with our parent company, Affinity. You will bridge the gap between global R&D innovation and UK commercial execution, ensuring marketing is a primary driver of sales growth. You will need to be a strategic thinker who can craft the vision for the brand long term but also have the executional grip and local understanding on how best to execute this marketing plan within the UK.
What you will do
- Consumer Voice: Your responsibility is to fully immerse and understand the various nuances of the UK pet owner and become the key voice of the consumer within the organisation. You need to understand local consumer trends, shopping habits and consumers preferences in order to translate these into insights and actionable outcomes for the marketing teams.
- Marketing Strategy & Vision: Build the three-year marketing roadmap that accelerates the evolution and modernisation of the brand both through marketing communication through to innovation development. You will define the strategic pillars that allow us to accelerate our Core business (Raw) and compete in ambient (Dry/Wet) and premium specialty (Freeze-Dried) categories without diluting our naturalness heritage. You will ensure brand consistency across every consumer and POS touchpoint, from B2B (Trade/Grocery) E-Commerce and D2C, managing the delicate balance between supporting our retail partners and growing our own digital platform.
- Masterbrand & Portfolio Architecture: Lead the evolution of the Masterbrand visual identity. You must determine how our "Raw-first" DNA informs the positioning of new technologies to ensure we maintain a premium price point and high consumer trust. Responsible for new Masterbrand campaign development, execution and measurement and consistent evolution over the coming years.
- Multi-channel strategy and point of sale execution: Develop bespoke marketing strategies for different sales channels. This includes driving footfall in the independent trade, winning at the "point of purchase" in Grocery, and building a high-conversion marketing communication assets for E-Commerce and D2C channels. Trade marketing will be critical responsibility ensuring point of sale is designed for our freezers, our trade partners and also customised for channels online and offline. Consistency across every POS element to land the new visual identity will be important.
- Strategic digital marketing: Act as the strategic bridge between our B2B Trade channels and our D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) team, ensuring that our consumer insights are at the heart, improving consumer experience of our digital presence, leading edge digital marketing and data insights fuel growth across the entire business ecosystem.
- Commercial Sales Development: Work in lockstep with the Commercial Director B2B and D2C to ensure trade marketing activities drive physical availability and support new channel entries.
- D2C Collaboration & Synergy: Partner with the D2C team to leverage "first-party data" (subscriber habits and preferences) to inform B2B marketing tactics and new product development. You will ensure the D2C platform acts as a premium brand "flagship" that drives overall category awareness.
- Global Stakeholder Management: Act as the primary liaison with Affinity Marketing and R&D teams. You will negotiate the balance between global brand consistency and the specific local execution needs of the UK/Ireland market.
- Innovation & R&D Pipeline: Partner with global R&D to localize product innovation. Turn complex nutritional science into compelling consumer narratives for raw, dry, wet, and freeze-dried ranges.
- Advocacy & Education: Oversee the Nutrition & Breeders communication and innovation strategy to ensure our brand remains the "expert's choice," leveraging professional endorsements to build mass-market trust.
- Budget Accountability: Full ownership of the UK marketing budget, optimizing spend across digital, trade, and brand awareness to deliver maximum ROI.
- Team Leadership: Lead and mentor a team of six: Masterbrand Manager, Trade Marketing Manager, Digital Brand Manager, Head of Innovation, Veterinary & Breeders Manager and a Marketing Assistant.
What we are looking for
- Senior Marketing Leadership: Proven experience as a Head of Marketing within a high-growth FMCG, Pet Care or D2C-heavy business.
- Omnichannel Expertise: A deep understanding of how to manage a brand that operates simultaneously in traditional retail, grocery, and direct-to-consumer digital platforms.
- Strategic Transformation Expertise: Experience leading a brand through a major strategic shift and Masterbrand re-launch.
- Matrix Management Skills: Exceptional ability to influence stakeholders in a global parent-company structure and across internal cross-functional teams locally.
- Data-Driven Mindset: Comfortable using D2C performance metrics and consumer data to pivot marketing strategies and justify commercial investments.
- Innovation & Agility: A passion for pet health and the ability to move from high-level SLT strategy to hands-on support for major events.
What we offer
● Hybrid working model in London (2 days in the office, 3 days from home)
● Flexible working hours
● Breakfast and fresh fruit
● 33 days holiday (including bank holidays)
● Modern co-working office at the heart of Southwark (London).
● Discount to the Hoxton hotels worldwide.
● Discount to gym classes in our offices, offered throughout the day
● Plenty of events and activities.
● Meet ups that include free drinks and food in our bar area.
● Access to Happibenefits Platform for shopper discounts, Cycle to work, Online GP Service, Employee Assistance Program and online health portal.
● Staff Discount on Natures Menu and Natures Variety Products (up to 50% off) and Hapi Employee Benefits
● Free Parking in Snetterton
● Salary Sacrifice Pension
● Affinity University platform: Professional development opportunities for employees at different stages of their careers, acknowledging diverse career paths.
● Pet-friendly office
● Celebrations & Fun
If you don’t meet all the requirements, don’t worry. We value diverse backgrounds and encourage you to apply anyway. Your application will be thoughtfully reviewed!
We cultivate an inclusive culture that celebrates diversity. We firmly believe that embracing a variety of perspectives is integral to both our company’s success and the strength of our team. That’s why we are committed to providing equal opportunities for all.
Our Company
Natures Menu, part of Affinity Petcare S.A, is a rapidly growing pet food company with a state-of-the-art facility in Snetterton, Norfolk. Real in every way. Others claim it. We live it. Real ingredients, real expertise and a real passion for making a difference to your pet's wellbeing.
We have assembled a brilliant bunch of animal-loving people, all passionate about providing the nation's pets with natural, real meals they will love.
Affinity Petcare is more than an international petfood company. For more than 60 years, we have been dedicated to nourishing healthy bonds between dogs, cats, and people to make the world a better place.
Currently, we have over 1,200 professionals working for this purpose from Barcelona, Paris, Milan, and London, as well as 4 production sites through which we supply the 70+ countries where our brands have a presence.
So, what are you waiting for? Join our team to leave your footprint!
Want to know more about us?
Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest updates and job opportunities. You can also follow us on Instagram 👉 @affinitycareers to learn more about life at Affinity and hear from our team.