Gymkhana Fine Foodsis a fast-growing, premium Indian pantry brand, born from the kitchen of the two Michelin-starred Gymkhana restaurant in Mayfair. We’re on a mission to elevate Indian home cooking with a range of unrivalled cooking sauces, marinades, condiments, that bring restaurant-quality flavour to your kitchen.In our first 24 months, we’ve landed listings with Whole Foods Market, Selfridges, Waitrose, Sainsburys and Ocado. With the backing of world-class investors and expansion planned across the UK and USA, we’re building a category-defining brand and looking for a Head of Marketing to help lead that charge.
This is a leadership role for a commercially minded, creatively led marketer ready to take full ownership of marketing at a premium CPG brand entering its next phase of scale. You will be responsible for full-funnel marketing; leading brand strategy, campaign execution, retail activation, communications, and the strategic oversight of digital performance and CRM, while tracking effectiveness and managing spend. You’ll thrive in a fast-paced environment and be comfortable operating across strategy and execution.
You’ll bring demonstrable experience of accelerating brand growth, ideally having played a key role in scaling a challenger consumer brand toward £15m+ RSV through a combination of commercial acumen and brand-led marketing.
This is a role for a well-roundedHead of Marketingwho is 12–18 months away from becoming a Marketing Director. Our ambition is to support and invest in your development toward that promotion, should you demonstrate the right blend of leadership, creativity, values, and growth mindset. As part of that journey, you’ll also have access to mentorship from a senior marketing leader, available to support your development as needed.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Brand Leadership & Guardianship:
- Own and evolve the brand strategy, ensuring consistent and elevated execution across all channels
- Champion consumer insight and ensure the brand resonates meaningfully with our target audience
- Act as brand guardian, protecting and enhancing the brand’s premium identity at every touchpoint
Marketing Strategy & Campaigns:
- Develop and execute the annual marketing calendar, aligning brand-building and commercial objectives
- Lead full-funnel marketing campaigns that drive brand awareness, engagement, trial, and loyalty
- Oversee creative development, messaging, and visual expression across media, packaging, and retail
Retail & Trade Marketing:
- Lead shopper marketing strategy and deliver high-impact retail activations across UK and international (excl North America) grocers
- Work closely with sales and retail partners to develop premium in-store experiences and promotions
- Align marketing activity with retailer priorities, category trends, and shopper behaviour
Experiential Marketing & Events
- Own and manage all brand-led events which could include anything from sampling activations, trade shows, to supper clubs
- Identify the right opportunities to sample the product both high-impact and at scale to drive trial and awareness
CRM (Oversight):
- Provide strategic direction for CRM and email marketing, ensuring e-communications are brand-aligned and commercially effective
- Work with your direct report to implement testing, segmentation, and content strategies to drive retention and repeat purchase
Organic Social, Content, Influencer & Partnerships (Oversight):
- Oversee the brand’s organic social strategy, ensuring alignment with overall marketing priorities and brand positioning
- Provide strategic direction across content, community, influencer marketing, and partnerships (with execution led by the Social Media & Partnerships Manager)
- Ensure all activity across social and influencer channels reinforces the brands positioning, drives engagement, and contributes to broader commercial goals
D2C & Performance Marketing (Oversight):
- Provide strategic oversight of the D2C performance marketing programme, working closely with the Head of Growth
- Ensure alignment of digital acquisition activity with brand goals and positioning
- Support the optimisation of key metrics including CAC, ROAS, conversion rate, and retention
PR:
- Oversee PR strategy in partnership with the brand’s PR agency to drive awareness, credibility, and consideration
- Develop briefs and story angles that align with brand priorities and product launches, ensuring coverage supports both the brand and commercial goals
- Focus on securing high-quality feature-led PR that not only builds brand but also drives product discovery and sales conversion
Marketing Operations & Efficiency:
- Take full ownership of the marketing budget, planning, allocating, and tracking spend.
- Implement robust KPI tracking across all marketing activity, with a strong emphasis on performance, ROI, and commercial impact
- Report on marketing effectiveness with insight, rigour, and accountability; learning fast, testing often, and optimising constantly
Team Leadership and Agency Management:
- Manage and develop a growing in-house team, including Marketing Manager, Social Media & Partnerships Managerand Graphic Designer
- Demonstrable experience of managing a range of agency partners, from creative to performance, ensuring they deliver against clear objectives, on time and on brand.
ABOUT YOU
- 8+ years of marketing experience, with a strong track record in CPG
- Ideally worked within a challenger brand or high-growth premium FMCG environment
- Full mix experience: brand, D2C, digital, CRM, trade, and activations
- Strong creative mind and natural flair for brand storytelling, with an instinct for what makes a brand visually and emotionally compelling
- Commercially minded with a deep understanding of performance marketing and marketing efficiency metrics
- Proven success in managing marketing budgets and delivering measurable ROI
- Equally comfortable with high-level strategy and hands-on execution with sleeves rolled up when needed
- Operates effectively in fast-paced, entrepreneurial environments with evolving priorities
- Passionate about premium food, brand storytelling, and delivering excellence
- Values-led, collaborative, and motivated to grow into a Marketing Director role within 12–18 months
- Skilled at building teams and leading with clarity, positivity, and pace
(NO AGENCIES, PLEASE)