Section Lead, Strategic Marketing (2240)

Do you want to create a better world for animals? At the RSPCA, we believe all animals deserve kindness and respect. We work for the benefit of every animal – pets, farmed animals, wildlife, and animals used in science. Choose a career with us and make a difference for every kind.

Do you have the strategic vision and leadership skills to ensure we optimise our marketing activities, driving integration and alignment and dialing up our impact? Can you inspire millions to give their time, money, and voice to create a better world for every animal? If so, our Strategic Marketing Lead role may be the ideal position for you.

• Working hours: 35 hours per week - Monday - Friday. 
• Hybrid role: You will work from home and from our London and Horsham Hubs, as and when required. 
• Contract: Permanent.

The RSPCA, the UK's leading animal welfare charity, is seeking a dynamic and experienced Strategic Marketing Lead to spearhead the development and implementation of our overarching organisational marketing strategy. 

This is a fantastic opportunity to join a new and expanding team at a time when we have big opportunity areas to explore as we embed our new award winning brand. 

This pivotal role will allow you to shape how we connect with the public, build brand awareness and understanding, and drive engagement across all channels to inspire action and deepen our connection with our customers. It's an exciting opportunity for an experienced marketing professional to develop their skill set and take the next step in their career. 

As our Strategic Marketing Lead, you will craft impactful brand and marketing campaigns that resonate with our priority audiences and directly contribute to the delivery of our ambitious "Together for Animal Welfare" strategy.

We will look to you to lead and nurture a high-performing team of marketing specialists, fostering a culture of creativity, collaboration, and continuous growth.

You will partner with leading creative agencies to deliver best in class integrated campaigns that cut through the noise and build lasting brand consideration and trust. With a growth mindset you will drive innovation in our marketing approaches, embracing digital-first thinking and explore emerging technologies to maximise our impact.

You will collaborate with passionate colleagues across the RSPCA, from frontline operations to advocacy and fundraising, using your marketing insight and influencing skills to agree the optimum strategy ensuring an integrated approach and a unified customer experience. 

A key part of the role will be to empower teams across the RSPCA with the tools and guidance to apply best in class marketing practices and ensure brand consistency in their communications.

Turning data into actionable insights, working closely with our Strategic Planning and Customer Engagement functions, you will continuously refine our strategies and maximise effectiveness and you will manage a significant marketing budget with responsibility for ensuring every pound works hard to achieve our purpose.

To succeed within this role, the post holder must have extensive experience in developing and managing impactful brand and/or marketing communications strategies, along with a proven track record of developing and managing large-scale, multi-channel, multi-million-pound brand marketing campaigns and managing expenditure budgets.

You must have a deep knowledge of the tools and techniques required to deliver complex, multi-segment marketing and communications campaigns for diverse projects and audiences.

Exceptional written and verbal communication skills are essential, as is the ability to influence and inspire.

The post holder must have a highly collaborative working style and the ability to build strong relationships across departments and with external partners.

We are looking for candidates with these skills and capabilities, along with:

• A flexible and agile approach,with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and adapt to changing priorities.
• Demonstrated experience in establishing, growing, and motivating a high-performing marketing team, ideally in a remote setting.
• Strong influencing skills and the ability to build confidence and alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
• Excellent numerical fluency and the ability to interpret data to inform strategic decisions.
• An agile mindset with a passion for innovation and continuous improvement.
• The ability to work both independently and collaboratively to tight deadlines, demonstrating strong decision-making skills.
• In-depth specialist knowledge of strategic marketing, marketing best practice, and brand application.
• Proven experience in applying insights to create impactful campaigns and strategies.
• Extensive experience in managing multi-media channel campaigns and launching new initiatives.
• A strong understanding of fundraising, communication, and engagement approaches.
• Excellent copywriting skills, with the ability to produce clear and engaging copy in a consistent brand voice.

This is an exceptional opportunity to make a tangible difference to the lives of animals. If you are a strategic marketing leader, looking for the next step within your career, we want to hear from you.

Successful candidates for certain RSPCA roles will need to undergo a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check.

Applicants must have the legal right to work in the UK - We are unable to sponsor visas at RSPCA

First stage interviews will be held during the week commencing the 2nd of June and second stage interviews will take place during the week commencing the 9th of June. 

Due to high interest in some of our roles, we review applications as they are received. This can occasionally result in positions closing earlier than advertised. Therefore, we strongly recommend submitting applications early. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept applications after the posted closing date.

We want to ensure we do all we can to give you a positive candidate experience through our recruitment. Whilst we do try to give feedback where we can, sometimes due to receiving high levels of applications, this may not always be possible

We are building the future of a diverse Society, and our priority is to support animal welfare by finding people from all backgrounds who are committed  to our mission.  For this reason we actively encourage a wide diversity of applications - in particular from members of minority ethnic groups, and people with disabilities - as these candidates are currently under-represented at the RSPCA. Your transferable skills & lived experiences could make you a valuable addition to our RSPCA Family! 

Should you need any support with your application or interview process please contact resourcingteam@rspca.org.uk / 0300 123 0685.

Our mission is to ensure animals have a good life by rescuing and caring for those in need, by advocating on behalf of all animals and by inspiring everyone to treat them with compassion and respect