Chief Marketing Officer – Drinks Startup

JD&Co; Liverpool City Region; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A dynamic drinks startup is seeking a Chief Marketing Officer to spearhead brand strategy and drive growth. The ideal candidate is a brand-first leader with a strong data background, comfortable in both strategic and hands-on roles. This position requires a passion for consumer insights and experience in startup/scale-up environments. Relocation to the North West is preferable.

Qualifications

• Proven experience as a comms leader with a standout portfolio.
• Strong understanding of performance metrics and ROI.
• Experience in both scale-up and start-up environments.

Responsibilities

• Champion the consumer and evolve brand positioning.
• Take accountability for marketing-driven growth.
• Drive digital and DTC growth with data insights.
• Build and mentor high-performing teams.

Skills

Brand-first communication

Data literacy

Strategic execution

Constructive challenger mindset

Hands-on delivery

Job description

Role Overview

JD&CO is partnering with a bold drinks startup that has been making a big name for itself over the past few years. Its drinks combine taste and refreshment, with a strong focus on planet and sustainability; established in the North West and backed by fresh investment, the business is looking to appoint a Chief Marketing Officer to deliver a step-change in brand marketing and unlock the next stage of growth.

Responsibilities

Brand & Consumer

• Champion the consumer: put insight at the heart of strategy and execution.
• Define and evolve brand positioning and the creative platform, making healthy refreshment simple, inspiring and irresistible.
• Own brand consistency across all touchpoints (packaging, comms, digital, retail, NPD).

Growth & Commercial

• Take full accountability for marketing-driven growth: awareness, penetration, revenue impact and rate of sale in partnership with commercial teams.
• Own the marketing budget, ensuring spend efficiency and ROI; set clear KPIs and dashboards.

Digital & Performance

• Drive DTC growth; optimise paid/owned/earned with rigorous test-and-learn.
• Own CRM, community and loyalty; turn audience love into advocacy and repeat.
• Leverage data & analytics to track performance and inform decisions.

Leadership & Culture

• Build, mentor and inspire a high-performing in-house team (plus agency partners).
• Create a tight operating rhythm with Sales, Ops, Finance and Innovation—fast decisions, clear accountability.

External Relationships

• Lead creative, PR, digital and media partners; set the bar for craft and results.
• Partner with retailers and key customers on joint business planning and trade marketing.
• Represent marketing in board/investor updates and appropriate public forums.

About You

• Brand-first comms leader. You set clear comms strategy, rally teams behind it, and deliver standout work in the real world. You can show a portfolio that proves it.
• Numbers & data-literate. Strong on performance levers and measurement - comfortable with dashboards, CAC/LTV, incrementality, media mix, ROI, and test-and-learn to move rate of sale week by week.
• Scale-up native. Strategically trained somewhere along the way, but steeped in start-up/scale-up life where strategy and execution blend. Pure big-global FMCG-only won’t be the fit.
• Constructive challenger. Evidence-led and pragmatic at Exec level; comfortable calling things out and improving plans in service of the consumer and brand.
• Player-coach. Happy switching from shaping the creative platform with agencies to hands-on delivery - answering customer emails, joining samplings, talking to shoppers.
• Founder’s partner, in person. You like sitting close to the action, on-site most of the week
• Living in, or willing to relocate to, the North West

Finally…

This is a targeted search. Please apply only if you meet the essential criteria, we expect high interest and may not be able to respond to everyone individually.

JD&CO is passionate about championing diversity and challenging unconscious bias; every application is reviewed with care.

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