A leading multi-category FMCG group is hiring its first Marketing Director for its rapidly growing £53m Health, Wellness and Sports Nutrition division. This is a rare opportunity to step into a business that already has huge brand recognition across the UK market, strong retailer penetration, and an entrepreneurial culture that moves at speed, but has never had a dedicated marketing function. The role exists to bring clarity, structure and strategic direction to a division that is scaling quickly. You will work closely with the Divisional Lead, supporting both senior stakeholders and junior marketers, and will become a key influence on how the business approaches brands, consumers, digital, NPD and retail partnerships.

You will own the full marketing strategy, create the frameworks and standards the business has never had, and set clear goals that the senior leadership team can understand and get behind. The role is hands-on, not managerial from a distance: you will roll up your sleeves, work closely with NPD, digital, category and commercial teams, and bring coherence to areas that historically operated in isolation, particularly the digital and ecommerce teams.

Culturally, the organisation blends PLC scale with SME agility. It’s flat, informal and low-ego. People succeed here by being down-to-earth, resilient, strong-minded and able to create structure in the midst of pace and change. You must have experience across both large-scale FMCG environments and smaller, entrepreneurial settings, with enough breadth to understand big-brand thinking but enough practicality to build from scratch. The ability to influence sceptical stakeholders is essential; while the Divisional Lead fully believes in marketing, others in the senior team will need to be shown the value through your communication, clarity and delivery.

Responsibilities
• Own and build the full marketing strategy for the £53m Health, Wellness & Sports Nutrition division
• Create structure, standards and clear goals for a marketing function that currently doesn’t exist
• Work closely with the Divisional Lead, digital team, NPD, category, commercial and junior marketers
• Mentor and develop the Brand Manager, providing guidance, structure and career support
• Bring together historically siloed teams, particularly digital/ecommerce and brand
• Drive consumer-first thinking and create compelling brand stories that cut through
• Lead agency relationships, ensuring strong execution and accountability
• Present confidently to major UK retailers across grocery, high street and discounters
• Improve cross-functional communication and align stakeholders who aren’t used to marketing as a discipline
• Use data and insight to drive decisions, execute the basics brilliantly and deliver commercial results
• Manage spend with a value-driven mindset, making small budgets work effectively
• Be hands-on in delivery, working at pace and supporting teams in a fast-moving environment

Requirements
• Experience in both big-brand FMCG and fast-paced SME or entrepreneurial environments
• Proven ability to build or transform a marketing function, not just run an inherited one
• Strong strategic capability paired with a willingness to be hands-on
• Highly organised, structured and able to cut through chaos with clarity
• Confidently influencing senior stakeholders and winning buy-in from sceptical audiences
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills, particularly in bringing digital, brand and NPD teams together
• Ability to present to major UK retailers and understand category and commercial levers
• Consumer-led mindset with a track record of building brands and delivering results
• Down-to-earth, low-ego personality with resilience and a “treat it like your business” mentality
• Comfortable operating without big budgets and able to make smart, efficient decisions
• Strong communication skills and the ability to create alignment and momentum across teams

If you want to shape a division’s direction, build a marketing capability from the ground up and make a visible difference to a fast-growing business, this role offers the chance to do exactly that. The position is Manchester-based with an in-person culture, and is ideal for someone who thrives in an environment where autonomy, pace and ownership are the norm.