Role Overview

Advance the JD brand worldwide by managing & delivering world-class, industry & category leading Third Party Brand & Product Marketing initiatives, positioning JD as the Partner of Choice for the world’s hottest & most iconic sports, fashion & lifestyle brands as well as the freshest emerging brands worldwide. Use your brand management skills to unleash the power of our Partner brands to gain front-of-mind-space with the consumer.

The JD Marketing team puts the consumer at the heart of what we do to develop campaigns, content, partnerships, activations & events that elevate the JD brand and maximise consumer impact. The marketers assigned to work on Partner Brands Relationships do this and even more as they dedicate their razor sharp skills to drive JD’s growth in close strategic partnership with assigned partner (third party) brands.

We are looking for exceptional, strategic & commercially minded brand marketers to own and lead development of our Partner Brands relationships & marketing aligned to the JD brand’s global vision worldwide.

Reporting to the Head of Partner Brands Marketing, with accountability to the Global Buying Director, the Marketing Manager Partner Brands is responsible for managing how assigned brands (& their products) are communicated across the full JD marketing mix. The successful candidate will be responsible for delivering coherence & consistency in how the brand is presented, working with our marketing & communications team, digital commerce (multichannel), retail, buying & merch teams and agencies to bring the assigned brand & product to life, devising unique propositions and reasons to believe in the brand partnership with and at JD.

The successful candidate must have a proven capability for working on complex matrix organisations as well as having worked with well-known lifestyle brands in an international context. They must also possess good business acumen (analytical and planning skills, a high-level of numeracy/budget planning etc.) in order to drive sustainable growth for the brand within the JD business. In this role, stakeholder management and teamwork is a must as is demonstrable capability to mobilise partners across regions.

This role is both strategic and hands-on, candidates must be process-driven, analytical and organised as well as having an understanding of sports lifestyle & youth culture that drives JD. They must develop, if they do not already possess a strong affinity for the brand to which they are assigned in order to champion them internally. This candidate is the ‘playmaker’ for the assigned brand within JD globally and must at all times own the helicopter view as well as driving detail.

This marketing expert will be at the forefront of significant relationships for the JD brand responsible for planning, strategy, reporting, operation and enhancement of the marketing partnership & initiatives for the assigned brands within the business. They will have proven capability of brand development & campaign planning

Key Roles and Responsibilities:

• 360 Ownership of Partner Brand Relationship Development from a marketing perspective
• Partner Brand Marketing Programme Development & Execution into JD
• Delivery of consistent presentation of assigned brand at JD
• Co-creation and active management of assigned brand’s calendar/schedule of activity on a 2.5 year rolling basis, feeding in to the JD planning cycle
• Support regional/local markets as required in order to maximise efficiency of relationship to JD
• Creation of key marketing initiatives for assigned brand and negotiation of key priorities into JD
• Budget Ownership – Co-creation in partnership with assigned brands of marketing budget (utilising Trade Terms and any other available resources to develop an effective and impactful plan), work closely with JD marketing finance team
• Control & monitor investment in line with brand activity & assigned budgets.
• Briefing in to JD brand team for all campaigns as appropriate, secure relevant content and support
• Work closely with assigned brand and JD team to ensure relevant programme development with KPIs, objectives, critical path, activation/roll up and wrap reporting.
• Deliver ongoing analysis with clear understanding of ROI measurement and growth opportunities to be integrated into future planning
• Consider global and regional/local market needs
• Understand JD commercial goals for assigned brand in order to deliver the right initiatives and track results,
• Develop & implement the appropriate process, way of working KPI setting, reviewing and measurements to enhance marketing performance in a Brand Partners context
• Collaboration with GHQ and regional peers & teams as required to ensure that JD retains a leadership position.
• Being accountable for the development & success of assigned Brand in the JD ecosystem

Skills/Experience Required:

• Relevant experience in a marketing role working with & developing consumer brands on a global/regional/international level
• Knowledge of brands, how they are managed, the methods and tools used to help define what a brand stands for, how it is communicated and how to help others working on/with the brand understand how to bring it to life in the most impactful way.
• Proven skills delivering brand growth through consumer initiatives – developing and managing brand marketing/communication campaigns with execution experience across the full marketing mix in an international context
• Demonstrable experience in footwear/apparel/lifestyle and working with Trade/Category Marketing and a Merch/Buying or Sales team to deliver consumer facing activity.
• Strong understanding of the touchpoint & media landscape relevant to JD consumers
• Aware of and socio-cultural nuances of key JD territories across regions
• Experience utilising research insights and presenting & deploying actionable recommendations
• Comprehensive experience pitching, converting and managing brand marketing partnerships
• Ability to influence internal and external partners
• Adept at driving cross-functional teams effectively, able to work in matrix organisations and with assigned brands
• Able to navigate complexity and thrive in a fast paced environment, able to work under pressure
• Outstanding project management experience, managing internal stakeholders, agencies, customers and other external partners.
• Strong analytical problem-solving skills. Demonstrated organisational, planning and analytical skills
• An innovative thinker, results oriented can understand how to achieve the ‘right balance’ to impact consumer perception
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills including in brief & presentation writing
• Highly proficient with all relevant computer software MS office, Keynote etc.
• Creative problem-solving mindset with the ability to leverage data to enhance creative solutions
• Analytical, possesses the ability to apply data and insights to strategy to drive results
• Budget: proven management & analytical skills, must be able to handle significant & complex budgets
• Fluent English, additional language skills are desirable
• An understanding and interest in sports lifestyle & youth culture preferred, coupled with a good understanding of the JD brand
• Retail experience is an advantage
• Willing to travel frequently across Europe & UK and occasionally further afield