Trade & Brand Marketing Manager

The Animal People Recruitment; Stafford; Hybrid; GBP 41,000 - 50,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working

Office three days a week in Stafford

Generous annual leave

Pension

Employee Assistance Programme

Staff discount

Pet-friendly office

Job summary

The Animal People Recruitment is partnering with a premium pet brand in Staffordshire to appoint a Trade & Brand Marketing Manager who will own key marketing activities across trade and consumer channels. You will lead campaigns, product launches, retail activation and external agencies to drive growth.

This role requires blending strategic thinking with hands-on delivery, influencing senior stakeholders, owning budgets, and prioritising work across a busy portfolio.

Qualifications

• Experience leading trade and brand marketing within consumer brands.
• Ability to manage budgets and demonstrate ROI.
• Proven track record of leading campaigns and product launches.

Responsibilities

• Lead across trade, brand, digital and events; build plans aligned to commercial objectives.
• Collaborate with sales and account teams to support retailers and customers.
• Manage campaigns, budgets and agencies; drive ROI and impact.

Skills

Trade marketing

Brand marketing

Leadership

Budget ownership

Campaign leadership

Stakeholder management

Project management

Strategy & delivery

Job description

Trade & Brand Marketing Manager Premium Pet Industry Staffordshire Up to £45,000 + Bonus Hybrid

Can you lead the marketing, champion it internally AND still roll your sleeves up and make things happen?

We're working exclusively with one of the UK's most respected premium pet brands to find a Trade & Brand Marketing Manager who can take ownership of an established brand and help shape the next stage of its growth.

This isn't a role for someone who wants to sit purely at strategy level.

It's for someone who can see the bigger picture, bring people together around it and then make sure it actually happens.

The opportunity This is a broad, commercially focused marketing role within an independently owned, growing pet business.

Around two-thirds of the business comes through trade, so you'll work closely with sales, retailers, wholesalers and buying groups, while also helping develop the wider consumer brand.

You'll take the lead across trade and brand marketing; campaigns; product launches; retail activation; PR; events; digital activity and external agencies.

But there's another important part to this role.

You'll be an advocate for marketing across the wider business.

You'll need the confidence to work with senior stakeholders, challenge appropriately, make the commercial case for marketing priorities and secure the support and resource needed to deliver them.

Resources aren't unlimited, so we're looking for someone who knows how to prioritise, delegate and get the best from the people around them.

What you'll be doing You'll lead and coordinate marketing activity across trade, brand, digital and events; build marketing plans around wider commercial objectives; work closely with sales and account teams to support retailers and customers; lead campaigns and product launches from idea through to execution; manage budgets and demonstrate ROI; oversee agencies and external partners; develop POS, trade press, editorial and PR activity; and help create clear priorities, ownership and accountability across the marketing function.

You'll also play an important role in developing the people around you, bringing different areas of marketing together and ensuring everyone understands what needs to happen, who owns it and when it needs to be delivered.

Who we're looking for You might already be a Trade Marketing Manager, Brand Marketing Manager, Marketing Manager, Senior Marketing Manager or Head of Marketing within a smaller business.

Your title matters less than the level you're operating at.

We're looking for someone who can demonstrate strong trade and/or brand marketing experience; leadership or people management; confidence influencing senior stakeholders; commercial decision-making; budget ownership; campaign and project leadership; excellent organisation and prioritisation; and the ability to move comfortably between strategy and hands-on delivery.

Experience within pet, pet food, animal health, veterinary, premium FMCG, food & drink, nutrition, retail or another consumer brand would be particularly relevant.

Direct pet industry experience would be fantastic, but it isn't essential. We're equally interested in people who can bring fresh thinking from another sector and genuinely want to build their career within pet.

About the business They're an established, independently owned premium pet brand with an excellent reputation.

Their products are trusted by retailers, breeders, industry professionals and thousands of pet owners across the UK.

They've built that reputation through education, integrity and helping pet owners make informed decisions, rather than sensational marketing or shouting louder than everyone else.

There's already a strong brand, brilliant content, passionate people and plenty of ideas.

What they now need is somebody who can bring all of that together and create momentum.

What you'll receive Salary up to £45,000 DOE plus performance-related bonus; hybrid working with three days per week in the Staffordshire office and two from home; generous annual leave with additional service-related holiday; Christmas shutdown; workplace pension; Employee Assistance Programme; staff discount; pet-friendly office; professional development and free parking.

Why this role stands out You'll have genuine ownership and visibility.

You'll work directly with senior leaders and have the opportunity to influence how marketing develops as the business grows.

This is a brilliant opportunity for somebody who has already started operating at leadership level but still loves being close enough to the work to see their ideas come to life.

If you're commercially minded, confident with people and want the opportunity to make your mark within a premium pet brand, we'd love to hear from you.