Marketing Director Blackburn, England
Job description
Daniel Thwaites is looking to recruit a new marketing director to join the senior leadership team. This person will be a critical part of the team, playing a pivotal role in developing a strategy focussing on making the most of all the opportunities which are open to it, both those which are obvious and those which we cannot yet imagine.
About us
Daniel Thwaites is a family owned hospitality and brewing business, based in Mellor Brook, Lancashire. The company relocated from its historic brewing site in Blackburn to a new purpose built head office and craft brewery on the edge of the Ribble Valley just 5 minutes drive from J31 of the M6 in 2018.
The purpose of our business is to provide superb hospitality in outstanding properties in great locations and in the process succeed in making our customers feel at ease. Consequently, over the past few years the Company has strategically focused on adding to its hotels and inns, as well as completing an intensive programme of investment to improve and premiumise the offering in its existing properties. Over the last few years the Company has been acquiring new hotels and inns, which together with its investment into the core business has seen total investment of over £70m and has resulted in an estate of well positioned, high quality properties.
We have a collection of c.25 hotels, spas and inns individually branded but promoted as being part of Daniel Thwaites and we would now like to market this family of properties more widely, both in the UK and overseas. The properties are geographically spread around England. The properties are positioned to make the most of their own individuality and character and each trades under its own name; however they are marketed collectively as a part of the Company
With over 200 years of Company history there is a wealth of heritage and a rich history for the brand to play on, as well as a good level of company awareness on the national stage.
In addition to the managed properties there are c.200 tenanted pubs which are run by individual tenants, but which are supported through the company’s central infrastructure.
Your responsibilities
The successful candidate will have ownership of all aspects of marketing the hotels and inns and will work closely with the brewery operations on beer branding. This will include:
- Management of the marketing team, which currently comprises c.18 people
- Working closely with the operations directors and hotels commercial director to conceive and execute campaigns to drive sales
- Build Group Brand awareness and support in the awareness campaign for all properties
- Be the guardian of brand standards across the whole business
- Create and execute a loyalty scheme across all of the House of Daniel Thwaites
- Implementation and management of the CRM systems including utilisation of the information generated by CRM system to identify potential new customer groups
- The creation and maintenance of the websites for the company, the managed properties, the tenanted pubs and the brewery
- Marketing of rooms, meeting and events to both leisure and corporate customers, including marketing materials both externally and within the properties
- Oversee social media marketing
- Work with our inhouse Photographer and videographer to develop and curate the photographic library and imagebank
- Communications and PR with local and national trade and consumer press
- Management of the online booking engine systems through the websites
- Commercial analysis of the success of marketing spend
- Co-ordination of project work through the marketing team
About you
The successful candidate will have demonstrated the ability to attract and retain top quality team members and will be able to build and manage small teams.
You will have exceptional leadership skills and be able to deliver projects on time and with energy. You will be able to evidence working with shared leadership in cross functional teams and will be able to demonstrate alignment to our guiding principles; warm hospitality, an eye for quality, craftsmanship and innovation.
You will understand and be able to bring value to our consumer proposition - Small Details, Big Difference… You will understand a sophisticated consumer and understand the route of travel of consumer trends and be able to guide how the Company adapts its’ offering to get ahead of the curve.
You will be able to demonstrate an enthusiastic and solution focussed approach with good organisation skills as you will need to manage many workstreams at the same time across different disciplines. Whilst you will have a team of people to support them, you will also recognise that you will need to roll their sleeves up and get involved when necessary.
You will most likely already have experience in a consumer facing business, possibly already in the hospitality industry, but in any event will understand how to understand and segment customers in order to create bespoke campaigns.
You will demonstrate good commercial awareness, understanding how to assess the commercial effectiveness of spend, alongside being able to objectively analyse all the relevant data to form a pragmatic judgement. In addition you will show flair and the ability to be creative, with a high level of awareness of competitor activity and success and you will show a keen interest in industry trends and constantly re-evaluate how the company moves with the market.
You will be highly literate and able to draft and write appealing customer communications in a way that is aligned with the brand.
The geographic spread of the properties means that you will be required to travel, although the role will be based at our head office in Lancashire, the role will require overnight stays.
What you'll get in return
Competitive salary with excellent bonus potential
33 days annual leave
Private medical insurance
Health cash plan with access to discounted perks and high street discounts
Pension scheme Life assurance
Access to a free confidential 24/7 virtual GP service (included your children up to age 16)
Enhanced maternity and paternity pay
Discounted accommodation, food and drink in our beautiful properties across the country
Long service awards
Wagestream - ability to access up to 40% of your pay each week
Free parking
Daniel Thwaites has a proud heritage, delivering warm hospitality for over 200 years. Alongside its brewery and pubs which are known throughout the world, it also runs hotels, inns and spas throughout the country under the brand of The House of Daniel Thwaites.
Behind the scenes is a support crew in its Head Office that helps the smooth day to day running of all its operations. It's a wide and varied team, comprising of many different characters and skill sets. They’ve only recently moved into a new, purpose-built home in Mellor Brook, surrounded by ancient woodland, so it's a great time to join them.
