Head of Brand Marketing

Head of Brand Marketing. Hybrid Remote. London (West End). ££Competitive

AKT (pronounced "act") is The Personal Performance Company with multi award-winning body care that may change your life. Founded by West End stars Ed Currie and Andy Coxon, AKT is by and for those who are "Born to Perform" — on the stage, at work, or in life.

In 2020, The Deodorant Balm made its stunning debut to rave reviews and awards from Vogue, GQ, Esquire, and Harper's BAZAAR. Plastic-free, aluminium-free, and gender-free, The Deodorant Balm instantly resonated with those looking for a natural deodorant that genuinely worked. Seven fragrances and over 700,000 happy armpits later, The Deodorant Balm is already becoming a household name.

To this day, every new AKT product is put through its paces by London's hard-working theatre community to ensure it lives up to the high standards of its founders. As a rule, AKT's products don't break character — ever. It's this effectiveness that has propelled AKT from the backstage to bathroom cabinets, bedside tables, duffel bags, and carry-on luggage worldwide. And the good news is — the performance is just getting started.

Here's the script for the part you'll play: the key lines you'll deliver, the ensemble members you'll collaborate with, and the backstage perks that come with it.

The Part: Contribute to the development of the AKT purpose & mission through working with the Founders and CMO. Galvanise the brand heartbeat, ensuring timely production, execution and delivery for 360 Channel Activation driving sustained engagement and growth across the  channels.

We're opening a new casting call 

As Head of Brand Marketing you will report directly to the CMO and will manage the operational delivery of all Brand and creative production at AKT.  You will be  accountable for ensuring that projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest standard aligning with the brand ethos. 

You will also be responsible for Brand Creative, PR, Purpose, Owned Social, Brand Partnerships, Creative Community Mngt plus Wholesale and Trade Campaigns. You will organically build a world class Brand Marketing team and influence stakeholders to manage workflows, schedules, and resource allocation. 

This role is critical in bridging the best possible creative with efficient execution, ensuring communication across all teams involved in campaign and content creation such as marketing, product, and creative. Following the appointment of our CMO this is a new role for AKT. This role will join a new sister role of Head of ACQ and both these roles will work closely with the CMO to grow the Marketing team to deliver against the ambitious business plans.  This role will have 4 direct reports as part of a team of 9.

• Overarching Strategy, Implementation, Budgeting, Reporting: Contribute to the development of the overall AKT brand marketing strategy, working with the CMO and CBO/Founder. Ensure all global marketings and trade calendars are maintained and maximised for brand and commercial value. Ensure all campaigns are clearly budgeted and delivered within spend thresholds. Ensure all campaigns have clear commercial and brand KPIs with timely reporting. Ensure all working streams within brand marketing contribute useful commercial insights for the monthly trading report. Work with the CMO to develop brand health KPIs and tracking mechanisms.
• PR: Work with the CMO and BMM to drive in country PR agencies to build brand awareness, founder and product placement (UK, US, DE, ANZ)
• Brand Creative: Campaign Planning & Execution:  Act as Brand Ambassador and Guardian to ensure all creative and copy reflects brand guidelines. Support the Producer and CBO in the delivery of on brand campaigns, to deadline and within budget - produced internally or via an external production agency. Work with the BMM to deliver comprehensive content briefs suitable for the full channel mix. Work with the BMM to own end-to-end campaign and content planning, defining timelines, milestones, and deliverables. Drive project execution across teams, ensuring delivery is on time, on budget, and to brand standards. Lead status meetings, monitor progress, identify roadblocks, and adjust plans proactively to keep projects on track.
• Social & Influencer Strategy: Develop and deliver a data-informed, always-on social media strategy to grow engagement and following. Develop and deliver a strategic influencer programme to drive brand awareness, engagement & overseeing sourcing, relationship management and contract negotiations. Analyse the performance of social and influencer initiatives to identify key engagement levers, refining strategies to maximise impact to drive sustained engagement and growth across channels. Support BMM and the Creative Community Exec to implement an 'on Brand' gifting programme for the creative industry, predominantly in the UK and US including the West End and Broadway but also the overall community, with a secondary focus on DE and AU.
• Strategic Leadership & Brand Partnerships: Trade Marketing: Develop and oversee the strategic plan for trade marketing activities to increase brand visibility, drive sales, and build strong retailer relationships across all sales channels. 
• Operational Excellence . Design and implement efficient workflows, critical paths, and collaboration tools to streamline creative production. Continuously improve processes to enhance team efficiency, mitigate risks, and resolve production bottlenecks.
• Team Management: Lead, coach, and develop direct reports, setting clear goals and fostering a high-performance, growth-oriented culture. Manage team resourcing, balancing workloads to meet shifting priorities
• Stakeholder & Budget Management. Act as the main point of contact for internal and external stakeholders, ensuring clear communication and feedback. Collaborate with Producers and team reports to manage budgets effectively, maximising ROI without compromising quality.
  
  

Spotlight on You: {About you} 

• Strong background in managing ATL and OOH campaigns 
• Deep understanding of social media platforms, trends, algorithms, and analytics tools (e.g., Sprout Social, Later, Meta Business Suite) & experience of using data to guide choices
• Proven track record growing engagement and reach through owned and earned social
• Knowledge & Experience of influencer marketing practices, contracts, and disclosure regulations 
• Understanding of brand equity and customer psychology & experience launching integrated brand campaigns at scale across multiple regions - navigating cultural nuances as appropriate
• Experience implementing or improving operations
• with proven ability to streamline content creation or asset development processes
• Led a team of creatives and/or marketers building a positive team culture
• Experience of managing budgets for campaigns without compromising the quality of the outputs
• Experience influencing and aligning with C-suite or senior stakeholders through clear communication
• Experience in Brand Marketing in a beauty, skincare or personal care background

Backstage Perks: 

• Make a real impact on our next act by joining AKT at an exciting stage of growth, following our recent USA, Australia and New Zealand launches.
• Flexible working: work from home, at our Oxford Circus office (which comes with gym access), or in co-working spaces across the UK. We'll reimburse you if you prefer a co-working space over working from home.
• Monthly team days in London to connect with the AKT ensemble.
• Be part of a collective of creatives where the arts underpin everything we do.
• A funny, kind, and inclusive work environment — we are banter, but we get sh*t done.
• Discounts on our products for ensemble members to give you the confidence to step onto the stage and perform. 
• Intervals encouraged: 36 days holiday, including bank holidays (Pro-rata for part-time roles)
• Pension contribution matching via salary sacrifice up to 5% of your salary.
  

Doors Open to All

AKT London is for everyone. We believe that an inclusive work environment and a diverse, empowered team are key to achieving our mission. Our products are gender free and built for every BODY to help give them the confidence to step onto their stage – whatever that may be – and PERFORM. Our work environment is no different. 

AKT London is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate based on race, colour, ancestry, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital or family status, disability, gender identity or expression, veteran status, or any other legally protected status. We commit to a focused and sustained action to dismantle racist systems, policies, practices, and ideologies within ourselves and our networks. We have zero tolerance for intolerance. With our Founders belonging to a minority community, we commit to difference and diversity from the beginning, and we know what a rich and creative work environment can cultivate.