Social Media & Influencer Lead

Ocado Retail; Hatfield; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading online supermarket in Hatfield is seeking a Social and Influencer Lead to define and execute a social strategy. You will manage a team responsible for creating engaging content and developing talent partnerships. The role is crucial for enhancing the brand's online presence and includes responsibilities like creating a talent roster and leading influencer programmes. Candidates should have proven experience in social media strategy and exceptional creative skills. Join us and help shape our future in digital marketing.

Benefits

Private medical insurance

Annual bonus scheme

Hybrid working options

Discounted gym memberships

Electric vehicle leasing scheme

Qualifications

• Proven experience in-house or agency.
• Strong track record in implementing social media strategies.
• Expertise in developing a unique tone of voice for social channels.

Responsibilities

• Inspire and champion brand social media.
• Own the development and execution of the full creator and talent programme.
• Create a comprehensive talent roster strategy.

Skills

Experience in social media strategies

Influencer programme management

Creative content development

Agile project management

Tools

Sprinklr

CreatorIQ

Job description

About Us

Our mission is to deliver joy in every shop, through unbeatable choice, unrivalled service, and reassuringly good value. We’re Ocado Retail, a market-leading joint venture between Ocado Group and M&S, and the world’s largest dedicated online supermarket, ocado.com. We’re also the brains behind Zoom by Ocado, our same-day grocery delivery service.

About The Team And The Role

We are looking for a Social and Influencer Lead to join the wider Marketing Team. This role time for Ocado’s future plans in the social and creator space. You will have the opportunity to shape the future vision for our plans in this area as we turbo‑charge our commitment and make social and influencers an even more important part of our marketing strategy in FY27 and beyond. Joining now, you will have the license to define what good looks like and how we best set ourselves up for success. The perfect role for someone who wants to hit the ground running and be involved at the start of this next phase of our social journey.

This role reports into the Head of Communications and Social and leads Ocado’s social and creator programme. You will manage a team of three consisting of: Creative & Campaigns Manager, Influencers & Brand Ambassadors Manager, and Social Content & Influencer Creative. You will also work alongside our in‑house creative team, EAT, and collaborate with PR counterparts and external agencies across the brand marketing team. The role is responsible for setting the strategy and delivering Ocado Retail’s organic social and creator outputs.

What You’ll Do

Strategy & Leadership

• Inspire and champion brand social media. Lead the development of the overall social strategy to supercharge our brand in the social and creator space.
• Own and lead the development and execution of the full creator and talent programme for FY27 and beyond, partnering with the Head of Comms and Social on how this fits into the overall comms strategy.
• Create, define and implement a comprehensive talent roster strategy, including the right mix of content verticals (e.g., pro/home chefs, women’s health/culture, nutrition) and talent tiers (mega, macro, mid, micro‑influencers).
• Develop a talent flywheel approach to scale the programme, incentivising organic posting through a scaled gifting programme and retained contracts for the most successful organic creators.
• Establish goal setting and measurement standards for both organic social and our creator programme that correlate with business outcomes such as barrier breakdown, trial and acquisition.
• Partner with the Head of Comms and Social to ensure an integrated mindset applied to all briefs and content is better utilised across channels (e.g. CRM, paid digital, merchandising, print).

Content & Execution

• Take an engaging and inventive approach to ensure our organic social content resonates with current and prospective Ocado customers.
• Partner with your team to identify content opportunities and themes from across Ocado and existing partners like M&S and other smaller suppliers, including trading events and campaigns.
• Oversee organic social budget, working closely with your team and Ocado’s paid digital team to inform influencers and boosting decisions.
• Collaborate with the marketing team on an integrated content approach to Ocado Life, identifying ways we can be smarter with the content created and utilised across channels.

Management & Partnerships

• Line‑manage two direct reports (Creative & Campaigns Manager, Influencers & Brand Ambassadors Manager) providing clear direction and upskilling in line with their development plans whilst supporting the Head of Communications and Social.
• Manage external social media agency and other partners to ensure they are an extension of the in‑house team and delivering best‑in‑class work.
• Oversee relationships with key brand ambassadors and influencers, utilising content across channels for maximum input and return on investment.
• Responsible for content development and creation of organic BAU social content in line with overarching strategy alongside Creative and Campaigns Manager and in‑house creative team, EAT.
• Demonstrate cross‑functional alignment and horizon scanning by working alongside PR, commercial and broader customer teams to uncover trends, data and relevant consumer opportunities to showcase Ocado’s extensive product range.

Issues Management

• Partner with the Customer Hub and Ocado Logistics to advise on and mitigate potential reputational risks that emerge on social channels, leading on social messaging and responses in partnership with corporate comms colleagues.
• Develop and maintain issues and crisis communications protocols for social channels to ensure the business can respond effectively in line with broader existing issues management plans.

Who You Are

• Proven experience in-house or agency.
• Strong track record in implementing social media strategies and influencer programmes for a consumer‑facing brand that have led to clear and demonstrable success in achieving broader business goals (e.g. consideration).
• Expertise in helping a household brand develop a unique tone of voice and ownable look and feel across social channels.
• Proven ability in talent identification, using metrics such as audience overlap and core performance (follower growth, engagement rate) to select individual creators.
• Experience with creator management tools (e.g., Sprinklr, CreatorIQ).
• Creative, dynamic, confident in ideas and full of ideas for entertaining content.
• Agile, adaptive and comfortable working in a fast‑paced environment, with excellent problem‑solving, multitasking and time‑management skills.
• Constantly challenging what’s possible – the social space is fast moving and always evolving. You should be someone who is constantly thinking about what’s next and helping ORL stay ahead of the curve.

What’s In It For You

By joining Ocado Retail, you’ll have the chance to experience life at the world’s largest online retailer, work with an amazing bunch of people who challenge what’s possible each day, and grow your skills and career in online retail. You’ll also get access to loads of great benefits to sweeten the deal.

• Health & Wellbeing: Private medical insurance with option to add your family, digital GP appointments, market‑leading family policies, mental health support, discounted gym memberships, dental insurance, and more.
• Spend & Save: Annual bonus scheme split between personal and business objectives, recognition with reward platform, up to 7% matched pension contributions, 15% Ocado discount, 20% M&S discount, free breakfast every day in the office, electric vehicle leasing scheme, and free shuttle bus from Hatfield station to the office.
• Hybrid & Flexible: Hybrid working, 26 days holiday plus 8 flexible bank holidays, options to buy extra holiday, 2 weeks work from anywhere, and lifestyle break opportunities.

Our Hiring Process

We receive a high volume of applications and appreciate the time and effort invested by every candidate. Every application is reviewed by a member of our team. If your skills and experience are a strong match, a Talent Partner will contact you to discuss the role and guide you through the next steps of our hiring process.

Your Application and AI

In the spirit of innovation, we welcome you to use AI tools in your application, just as we use them in our own business at Ocado Retail. Ensure that your application still authentically conveys who you are and why you’re a great fit for us.

Everyone’s Welcome

We’re an equal opportunities employer. We want to ensure everyone has a fair chance to apply. If you need this job description in an alternative format, please reach out to us at [e-mail] and we’ll be happy to assist you. If you require reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know on the application form.