Trade Marketing Specialist UK & Nordics

Columbia Sportswear Company; Troutbeck Bridge; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A global outdoor apparel firm is seeking a Trade Marketing Specialist to enhance retail marketing execution in the UK and Nordics. The role involves translating global campaigns into retailer-specific formats, managing execution plans, and coordinating with agencies and partners. Ideal candidates will have trade marketing experience, strong organizational and communication skills, plus a customer-oriented mindset. This position requires regular presence in Windermere, and offers a collaborative team environment focused on achieving brand visibility across outdoor and sporting retailers.

Benefits

Multicultural work environment

Continuous learning culture

Qualifications

• Experience in trade marketing or retail activation.
• Practical knowledge of in-store campaign execution.
• Ability to manage timelines and prioritize tasks.

Responsibilities

• Translate global brand campaigns into retailer-specific formats.
• Manage seasonal execution plans across physical and digital channels.
• Coordinate assets, production, and installations.

Skills

Trade marketing experience

Visual merchandising

Strong organizational skills

Communication skills

Customer-oriented mindset

Tools

Power BI

Content Hub

Job description

Overview

The Trade Marketing team is spread across 3 European regions and supports the Columbia and Sorel brands by boosting brand and product visibility across key wholesale and retail partners. The UK & Nordics team is based in our Windermere showroom, working closely with Sales and collaborating with the wider Marketing Department located in Geneva (PR, Brand, Digital, Promotions). This position works in a close-knit regional team environment, where collaboration, reliability, and execution excellence are central to success., We are hiring a permanent Trade Marketing Specialist to strengthen retail marketing execution for the UK & Nordics. This role focuses on bringing global brand campaigns to life across retailers-in store and online-through precise, high-quality operational execution. You will work hand in hand with the Trade Marketing Manager to implement seasonal campaigns across partners such as JD Sports, Frasers Group, John Lewis, Selfridges, and other outdoor and sporting goods retailers of the region. The role is execution-driven: finding the right assets, adapting them to retailer requirements, coordinating installations, solving operational issues, and ensuring everything is delivered on time and in full. To fully integrate with the team and the showroom's daily activity, this position requires regular presence in Windermere (average of 3 days/week).

Responsibilities

• Translate global brand campaigns into retailer-specific formats (in-store, windows, POS, online).
• Manage seasonal execution plans across physical and digital channels (approx. 50/50 split, with growing emphasis on in-store and omni-channel).
• Coordinate assets, production & installations.
• Locate and deliver the correct assets to retailers and agencies.
• Ensure all materials (graphics, formats, measurements) are accurate and retailer‑ready.
• Follow up with agencies on production, printing, delivery, and installation.
• Solve operational challenges throughout the season.
• Support the region when product or asset delays occur.
• Work with retailers and internal teams to adjust timelines and execution plans.
• Ensure visibility and brand consistency.
• Bring global campaigns to life consistently across multiple retail environments.
• Support seasonal priorities with the right mix of visibility, storytelling and placement.
• Manage tools, systems & content flows.
• Use systems such as Power BI, Content Hub, Connect, Arriba to retrieve assets, track progress or consolidate information.
• Filter, organize and prioritize large amounts of content and seasonal inputs.
• Collaborate with sales & marketing teams.
• Work with Sales Managers on how campaigns translate into store space, windows, and partner‑specific requirements.
• Liaise with Digital, Brand, PR, and Promotions teams to ensure aligned execution across the region.
• Support campaign reporting; provide execution recaps and support quarterly business reviews with factual inputs.

Qualifications

• Experience in trade marketing, retail marketing execution, visual merchandising, or retail activation – either on the brand side, retailer side, or through execution agencies.
• Practical knowledge of in‑store campaign execution, VM, installation logistics, and/or digital retail activations.
• The ability to retrieve and handle assets across multiple platforms (Power BI, Content Hub, or similar tools).
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage timelines.
• Strong communication skills to work with internal teams, agencies, and partners.
• A background in the outdoor, sports, or fashion industry is a plus but not mandatory.
• Extremely detail‑oriented, especially with assets, measurements, formats, timelines, and documentation.
• Comfortable handling high‑volume information and managing several systems.
• Customer‑oriented, with a service mindset and a proactive, solution‑driven approach.
• Organized and methodical, able to keep track of many moving parts.
• At ease navigating situations where things may change, and able to adapt without losing quality.
• Collaborative and keen to integrate into an in‑person team environment.
• Comfortable working with agencies and retailers.
• Presentation skills are a bonus.

Culture & Benefits

We offer the opportunity to work for a US‑based company within a multicultural environment, where your job has an impact across different countries. The "Always Be Learning" culture of continuous learning enables our employees to identify and develop skills that will enable them to continue to grow within the company. The "Unlock Your Potential" spirit that characterizes our vision of employees' development: to offer them opportunities to grow, in their job, in their team or even to change jobs completely. We grow our people to grow our business.

At Columbia Sportswear, we’re as passionate about the outdoors as you are. And while our gear is available worldwide, we’re proud to be based in the Pacific Northwest, where natural wonders are our playground. Every product we make and every task we undertake is inspired by the famous words of our founder Gert Boyle: "It's perfect. Now make it better." As pioneers of relentless improvement, we are constantly evolving. We believe the outdoors is ours to protect and strive to keep our planet healthy. We believe in empowering people to experience the outdoors to the fullest. And we believe in you.

Team members serve as ambassadors for our brand, finding motivation in being part of an organization dedicated to activities they are passionate about. This dedication reflects our commitment to building a team that takes pride in our products and values.

At Columbia Sportswear, we value an inclusive and open culture that emphasizes the absence of barriers between team members. We are committed to fostering a sense of belonging by encouraging personal connections at all levels, which creates a cohesive and supportive work environment.