Brand & Marketing Director - Hospitality and Leisure

About our client

Our client is one of the UK's best-known Hospitality and Leisure brands, operating a national network of experience-led locations. It's a business with strong brand awareness, genuine emotional equity and a product people remember.

The opportunity

This is a senior role with real scope to shape how the brand is seen, talked about and bought. You'll bring together what customers want, what the business can deliver and where the market is heading, and turn that into marketing that drives growth.

What you'll lead

Brand strategy & guardianship. Senior custodian of a distinctive, trusted, commercially effective brand. Set the principles for how the brand shows up across every customer touchpoint, from campaigns and CRM through to signage, merchandise and on-site materials.

Always-on marketing, campaigns, creative & content. Move the business beyond isolated "summer campaign / autumn campaign" thinking into a year-round rhythm. Build a stronger in-house content and creative engine across social, paid creative, UGC, video, photography and PR. Raise the bar on briefs, output and post-activity learning.

Organic social, influencer, PR & partnerships. Own organic social strategy and earned reach. Develop creator, influencer and partnership-led activity that grows relevance and demand without leaning solely on paid. Connect national brand-building to local site-level relevance.

Paid acquisition & demand generation. Lead paid acquisition strategy in partnership with internal specialists and selective external partners. Work closely with the Customer & Sales Director, e-commerce, SEO/GEO and data teams to ensure paid activity ladders into conversion and commercial performance.

Proposition & experience influence. Bring the brand, customer and market lens into product, proposition and experience decisions. Influence naming, hierarchy, messaging, launch planning and on-site experience so products are not only operationally sound but compelling enough to market and easy enough to choose.

Commercial growth & non-ticket revenue. Use brand, content and channel activity to support merchandise, gifting, events, B2B and corporate revenue streams.

Team leadership. Lead, focus and develop a 12-person Brand & Marketing team. Build a culture of pace, creativity, accountability and commercial awareness. Use agencies selectively, where they add genuine specialist edge.

Executive contribution. Operate as a senior leader, contributing to strategic discussions across brand, customer, product, trading and growth. Provide clear recommendations, not just updates.

What success looks like

• At 3 months: trust built with the executive and site leaders, time spent in locations experiencing the product, a clear view of what's working and where the biggest opportunities sit, and a practical plan for the next trading cycle.

• At 6 months: a more connected brand, content and marketing engine; sharper creative standards; a clearer, more confident in-house team; and a healthier connection between brand activity, demand and trading outcomes.

• At 12 months: a more distinctive, modern and commercially effective Brand & Marketing function; stronger relevance with growth audiences (young adults, groups, families, gifting, corporate); and a 2027 plan built on brand, product, customer insight and operational delivery working as one.

About you

You're an experienced consumer brand marketing leader who knows how to build distinctive brand energy, create compelling content, grow earned and paid demand, and connect creative work to commercial outcomes. You could be an established Brand & Marketing Director, or a high-performing Head of Brand or Head of Marketing ready for a broader director-level remit.

Essential

• Senior brand marketing leadership experience in a consumer-facing business

• Strong track record across always-on marketing, campaigns, creative and content

• Experience leading or strongly influencing organic social, PR, influencer, partnerships and earned media

• Solid understanding of paid acquisition, performance marketing, digital, CRM, e-commerce and SEO/GEO, even if you haven't owned every channel directly

• Experience leading and developing internal teams, and managing external partners without becoming dependent on them

• Ability to influence product, proposition and customer experience decisions through a brand and customer lens

• Strong commercial awareness and the confidence to challenge constructively across functions

• Excellent written, verbal and visual judgement

Helpful

Experience in leisure, hospitality, travel, tourism, entertainment, attractions, sports, active lifestyle, retail, subscription, family, youth, outdoor or other experience-led consumer brands. Multi-site or location-led experience. Seasonal trading. Merchandise, branded environments or physical touchpoints. B2B, groups or corporate alongside B2C. Entrepreneurial, founder-led or purpose-driven environments.

You as a person

Creative but commercially grounded. High energy, positive and collaborative. A genuine people leader. Strong enough to challenge Operations, Customer & Sales and Trading without creating friction. Customer-obsessed and brand-sensitive. Comfortable moving between annual brand strategy and the detail of merchandise, signage or campaign copy. Pragmatic, hands-on, non-corporate, and genuinely energised by the outdoors and adventure. Willing to get out into the business, experience the product and spend real time with site teams and customers.

Why this role

A rare chance to lead the brand marketing agenda for a loved British brand. You'll shape how millions of customers discover and remember the experience, lead a talented in-house team, and play a central role in the business's next phase of growth.

Our client is an equal opportunities employer and is committed to building a diverse and inclusive workplace. Applications are welcomed from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender identity, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. We are committed to ensuring that our recruitment process is fair and accessible to all, and we encourage applications from candidates of all backgrounds and experiences.

Due to the high volume of applications we receive, we are unable to respond to every applicant individually. If you have not heard from us within two weeks of submitting your application, please assume that your application has not been successful on this occasion. We appreciate the time and effort taken to apply and wish you every success in your search.

Remote with regular UK travel to sites

Reports to: Managing Director

Compensation: Competitive base + performance bonus (LTIP planned launch Jan 2027)