Marketing Operations Lead

Impact Food Group; Guildford; Hybrid; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food service provider in the UK is seeking a Marketing Operations Lead to support their mission of improving student food culture. This role involves implementing marketing strategies, engaging stakeholders, and developing impactful content across schools. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in marketing, experience with digital tools, and a passion for driving participation and customer experience. Join a team dedicated to making a genuine difference in students' lives through food.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in marketing, particularly in retail or foodservice.
• Ability to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders.
• Experience using video/photography to good standards.

Responsibilities

• Implement business-wide marketing plans and campaigns.
• Lead site-level food marketing activity.
• Develop creative content for various marketing efforts.

Skills

Experience in marketing

Understanding of customer experience

Confident communication

Stakeholder engagement

Flexibility for travel

Canva user

Tools

Digital Content Management Systems

CRM Systems

Video Editing tools (e.g. Capcut)

Job description

Through our industry-leading brands - Innovate, Hutchison, Cucina, and Chapter One - we cater for over 600,000 students and operate in more than 900 schools nationwide, growing every year.

We’re now looking for a talented and highly organised Marketing Operations Lead to join and play a vital role in supporting our business.

Guided by our values, integrity, bold, impactful, humble and community; you will help us shape a workplace and culture we can all be proud of.

The Marketing Operations Lead will bridge our central marketing team and operational business, rolling out best-practice marketing across all schools to drive participation, meal uptake, and customer experience. Reporting to the Head of Marketing & Communications with regular travel to IFG sites and 1-2 days a week at Head Office (Woking).

Role Responsibilities

Marketing Plans & Campaigns

• Implement business-wide marketing plans and campaigns that drive awareness, participation, and meal uptake across all sites.
• Support retention activity, added-value initiatives, and create/deliver toolkits and campaigns that drive measurable impact.

Food Marketing & Promotions

• Lead on site‑level food marketing activity including menus, meal deals, promotional campaigns, and theme days.
• Develop engaging, customer‑facing materials that drive awareness and uptake across students, parents, and staff.

Retail Excellence - Perfect Site

• Own the development and continuous improvement of IFG's Perfect Site model.
• Support operational teams with canteen layouts, merchandising, point-of-sale, and customer experience best practice.

Student Insight & Engagement

• Set up and run student panels, both face‑to‑face and digitally, to gather quantitative and qualitative insights.
• Analyse findings and translate them into actionable recommendations that inform menus, marketing campaigns, and customer experience improvements.

Client & Consumer Surveys

• Support delivery, analysis, and reporting of client and consumer surveys.
• Create toolkits and action plans to ensure insights are embedded into site-level operations.

Content Creation & Communications

• Develop creative, impactful content using Canva and other tools for campaigns, promotions, website updates, and awards submissions (local and national).
• Support with copywriting, design, and deployment of site-level communications, including school launch materials, digital signage, and online portals.

Qualifications

• Has proven experience in marketing, ideally in a retail, foodservice, or consumer-focused environment.
• Understands the power of great customer experience in driving participation and sales.
• Is confident engaging with different stakeholders - from students and parents to clients and site teams.
• Confident communicator, able to present ideas and influence at all levels.
• Flexible and willing to travel regularly to sites across the UK.
• Experienced user of Canva.
• Experience of working with digital Content Management Systems.
• Video/Photography to a good standard.
• Experience of using CRM Systems.
• Video Editing (e.g. Capcut).

If you’re a collaborative, solution-focused professional who thrives in a busy and purposeful environment, we’d love to hear from you. Join us and be part of a team that is transforming lives through the power of food, making a genuine difference for students across the UK.

At Impact Food Group, we’re more than just a school caterer. We’re on a mission to create a positive food culture and help more students enjoy healthier, better-quality food. Making a positive social impact is at the heart of everything we do. We’re constantly learning, evolving, and improving - every way, every day.