Marketing Director - Heckington based

Zertus UK & Ireland - Hybrid, based close to any Zertus UK&I site (Fakenham, Heckington, Bromborough, Sherburn, London & Hull) with travel across all UK & Ireland locations and customers

Key Benefits: Competitive salary; up to 30% of salary annual bonus opportunity; £10,000 annual car allowance; Private Medical Insurance; Hybrid working

Closing Date: Friday 8th May 2026

Zertus UK & Ireland is home to an exciting portfolio of established brands including NOMO, Baileys Chocolate, The Fruit Factory, Kinnerton Kids, Yum & Yay, Guinness Chocolate and more.

We are looking for a Marketing Director who will take strategic ownership of our entire brand portfolio, assess brand positioning and define where each brand goes next. With a mix of well‑known, award-winning brands, as well as fast‑growing brands with great potential, this is a rare opportunity to shape the future of a diverse and much‑loved brand portfolio within the confectionery and snacking category.

You will create and deliver long‑term brand strategies, build category growth and ensure consistent brand identity, unlocking value from brands sold across major grocery retailers, ecommerce channels, export markets and selected foodservice customers. This role includes full Brand P&L responsibility and leadership of a talented central brand, digital, and design team.

• Take ownership of the full UK&I brand portfolio; define brand positioning, vision and long‑term strategy (3–5 years) for hero, challenger and underdeveloped brands.
• Reassess and reposition brands where required; create brand plans that unlock growth and value.
• Build plans for underdeveloped brands.
• Continue to scale hero brands including NOMO (UK’s No.1 Free From brand), Baileys Chocolate and The Fruit Factory.
• Lead development and delivery of an insight‑led innovation pipeline, using consumer and category data to identify opportunities.
• Drive an omnichannel marketing approach across retail, ecommerce, export and foodservice channels.
• Oversee digital, social, PR, media and trade marketing to maximise ROI.
• Manage full Brand P&L; deliver NSV, GM, brand share, penetration, ROS and overall profitability.
• Work closely with Sales, Category, Technical and Operations teams to ensure brand and commercial alignment.
• Lead and develop a high‑performing team: 1 direct report (Marketing Controller) and wider team of Brand Managers, Digital Marketing, Ecommerce, and Design Studio.
• Engage with licensors including Diageo; ensure strong licence management and brand guardianship.
• Build strong relationships with retailers and agencies.
• Act as an ambassador for the business, championing company values and leading with clarity, pace and strategic focus.
• Reporting directly to Zertus UK&I Chief Commercial Officer.

• Proven experience in FMCG marketing, ideally with exposure to similar food categories. This could include snacking, bakery, confectionery, biscuits, ready meals or related high‑velocity grocery categories.
• Significant experience building, repositioning and accelerating brands, including both established and challenger brands, with a strong track record of turning insight into brand growth.
• Strong understanding of the UK retail landscape and how major retailers operate, including what they require from brands in terms of category rationale, activation, value creation, commercial planning and shopper‑led execution.
• Demonstrated success in leading full omnichannel marketing plans, covering ATL, BTL, digital, social, ecommerce, PR and trade marketing, with a clear focus on measurable impact (ROI, ROS, penetration, share).
• Experience working with licensed brands is beneficial, including managing licensor relationships and ensuring brand guardianship and compliance.
• Deep grasp of consumer and category insight, able to translate data into clear brand strategy, identify white‑space opportunities and embed insight across decision‑making.
• Experience developing brand architecture, pricing strategies and innovation pipelines, with the ability to define portfolio roles, optimise ranges and drive profitable innovation.
• Highly commercially astute, with strong understanding of P&L ownership, profitability levers, promotional efficiency, return per SKU and how to maximise ROI across a diverse portfolio.
• Strong leadership capability, with experience building high‑performing teams.
• Comfortable with digital, ecommerce and AI‑enabled tools, capable of using technology to enhance brand planning, innovation cycles, consumer understanding and digital performance.
• Able to operate at pace, make decisive and courageous decisions, simplify complexity and deliver clear, outcome‑driven plans.
• Relevant marketing (or similar) qualification, ideally to degree level or equivalent professional standard.

• Competitive, thoroughly benchmarked salary and wider package
• Annual bonus plan of up to 30% of salary
• Annual car allowance of £10,000
• Private Medical Insurance
• 25 days annual leave plus bank holidays
• 4% employer and 5% employee pension contributions and Life Assurance at 4x basic salary
• Health Care Cash Plan via Paycare (includes dental, optical, therapy, counselling)
• Access to Paycare Perks for high street and retailer discounts
• Holiday Purchase Scheme – buy up to one extra week per year
• Cycle to Work Scheme and Electric Car Scheme (salary sacrifice, subject to criteria)
• Family-friendly policies, including enhanced maternity/paternity leave
• Annual calendar of engagement and wellbeing activities
• Opportunity to support your local community with one paid volunteering/fundraising day per year
• Access to staff shop discounts
• Monthly employee recognition awards
• Refer a Friend recruitment rewards
• Ongoing training and development opportunities

Zertus UK & Ireland comprises Humdinger Foods, Kinnerton Confectionery and Lir Chocolates, manufacturing a wide portfolio of snacks and confectionery across our UK and Irish sites. Our brands include NOMO, Sun Valley, Kinnerton Kids, The Fruit Factory, Yum & Yay, as well as collaborations with Baileys and Guinness. We are part of Zertus GmbH, a long-established European food group headquartered in Hamburg, employing more than 2,000 people across multiple markets. Our UK&I locations include Heckington, Sherburn-in-Elmet, Fakenham, Bromborough and Navan in Ireland, with office space in Hull and Holborn, London.