Senior Commercial Sales Brand & Activation Manager

JLP Insights & Media website; Derby; Hybrid; GBP 59,000 - 93,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading retail services company is seeking a Senior Commercial Sales Brand & Activation Manager in Bracknell. The role involves managing brand design projects, building relationships with stakeholders, and delivering innovative solutions for Commercial Sales customers. Candidates should have strong project management experience and the ability to negotiate with third parties. The position offers a competitive salary of £59,000.00 - £92,500.00 per annum and a hybrid working model.

Benefits

Hybrid working model

Employee ownership

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Experience with design and/or branding roles is essential.
• Understanding of FMCG and Retail brands necessary.
• Experience in managing relationships with third-party stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the primary contact for brand design projects.
• Translate needs into actionable brand design briefs.
• Deliver promotional campaigns and brand pitches.

Skills

Project Management

Stakeholder Management

Brand Design Judgment

Commercial Negotiation

Innovative Solutions

Job description

Senior Commercial Sales Brand & Activation Manager page is loaded

Senior Commercial Sales Brand & Activation Manager

Apply locations Bracknell posted on Posted Yesterday job requisition id R-181972

ABOUT THE ROLE

Thank you for your interest in our Senior Commercial Sales Brand and Activation Manager position.

We are seeking a dynamic marketer skilled in relationship building and external stakeholder management. You will serve as the primary contact for all brand design and activation projects for Commercial Sales (B2B) customers and third parties in the UK, and internationally.

You will ensure an understanding of priorities and requirements between Commercial Sales customers and the Waitrose brand. Collaborating with Commercial Sales account teams and key stakeholders, you'll be responsible for activating the Waitrose brand with our third parties, encompassing areas like store design, point-of-sale materials, content, online brand representation, and toolkits.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate excellent brand design judgment, leveraging both external and internal resources to deliver innovative, market-leading, multi-channel solutions that build long-term brand value with a strong commercial focus. Your solutions will create trade opportunities for account teams, determining appropriate marketing assets and featured products.

You will manage Commercial Sales brand design projects from inception through implementation and guideline creation, overseeing all aspects including budgets, schedules, and stakeholder engagement. You will also own the rolling brand plan with Commercial Sales customers, covering category resets, NPD initiatives, seasonal offers, and sub-brand or CSR initiatives.

You will have dotted-line responsibility for Commercial Sales brand design and marketing budgets and provide advice for negotiation opportunities. This role often involves direct and autonomous work with senior third-party stakeholders, representing our brand on-site and in-market.

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At a glance:

• Salary: £ 59,000.00 - £92,500.00 per annum

• Contract type: This is a permanent opportunity

• Hours and location of the role:

  • 35 hours per week

  • Your home location will be our Bracknell Head Office with regular UK travel and potentially some overseas travel required

  • The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The team aims for around 1-2 days a week in the office to connect and additionally on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings.

Key responsibilities:

• Excellent communication and coordination between Commercial Sales and Brand Design, and the wider Customer Directorate

• Translation of the needs of Commercial Sales (B2B) Customers into actionable brand design briefs and a prioritised plan for Brand & Marketing and vice versa

• Establish and develop relationships and knowledge of target customers/territories/brand design assets and leverage to create innovative low cost solutions for branding and trade initiatives

• Acts as a key brand guardian, maintaining brand design guidelines, ensuring they are up to date, accessible for all stakeholders and Commercial Sales Customers

• Work with account managers and customers to ensure compliance with agreed standards, holding to account as required

• Reviews delivery of design work from external agencies and internal design team, giving feedback throughout the project. Coordinate approval from all stakeholders

• Deliver product catalogues, promotional campaigns and brand pitches in a timely and cost effective manner

• Work with marketing to develop trade driving opportunities, and brief assets accordingly to help drive brand growth and awareness, always ensuring brand design guidelines and standards are upheld

• Deliver the returns on investment and budget spend targeted for marketing or related trade driving activities for which they are accountable

Essential skills and/or experience you’ll need:

• Project Management

• Experience with roles encompassing design and/or branding

• Proven understanding of FMCG and Retail brands and how they trade in different markets

• Experience which demonstrates effective stakeholder management and influencing skills at all levels - internal & external experience of trading and/or marketing consumer products and delivering commercial returns

• Highly commercial with proven ability to negotiate with third parties and take decisions autonomously

• Regular UK travel and some overseas travel may be required

Desirable skills and/or experience you may have:

• Brand, Marketing or Account Management experience in FMCG, Retail or Fashion

• Knowledge of the brand toolkit guidelines and implementation

• Knowledge of the Waitrose brand and a passion for quality food

• International marketing and/or commercial experience

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To learn more about this role, please copy and paste this link into a new browser window: https://embed.wirewax.com/8114190

Closing Date:

August 17, 2025

Pay:

£59,000.00 - £92,500.00 Annual

Contract Type:

Permanent

Hours of Work:

35 hours over 5 days Mon - Fri. Exact rota pattern to be discussed at interview.

Job Level:

Partnership Level 6

Where You'll Be Working:

Bracknell Campus, Doncastle Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 8YA

ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect.

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective.

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.

Important points to note:

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.

At Waitrose, we LOVE food, and we’re all about creating truly extraordinary shopping experiences by sharing our passion with our food loving customers.

We don’t just give great service and stock shelves, we forge an emotional connection with our customers through our shared passion for great food. Setting us apart from other supermarkets.