Creative Marketing Manager

We are the women of Sahara. We are unconstrained. Our adventurous spirit leads us beyond the High Street to destinations lesser known. For clothes that mean more. That add to the story of our lives.  We are unique. Try and pin us down, it doesn’t work. Label us and it won’t stick. We believe that demographics divide, age is just a state of mind and body type is what each one of us sees in the mirror.  

We are leaders. Visionaries in our own right. Creative, passionate - and only ever underestimated once.

What we do

Sahara makes clothes for the free-spirited, independent woman. It's a proudly independent, female-run, family business founded in the 1970s, it has 15 own brand stores and over 150 independent stockists across the UK and abroad. 

We are looking for a Marketing Manager to lead our growing Marketing Department. 

The Marketing Manager must bring creative ideas to the table, collaborate with senior management, company directors, and inspire and motivate their team as a whole. This role will stretch across multiple marketing functions within the business from paid digital, social and SEO management to web, print and retail design & communication and management of wholesale marketing materials.

The right candidate must be able to manage the day-to-day marketing activities of the business, and develop and drive a long-term marketing strategy for the company. As a fashion retail brand, Sahara has a wealth of creative marketing output, both digitally and in print.  A refined, creative eye is a must and a confident knowledge in Photoshop and InDesign are desirable. The role will require overseeing a both print and digital marketing campaigns and projects.

The role will require fast response to analysis of sales reports delivered by the Merchandising Team; with confident marketing solutions and strategies, the Marketing Manager must drive strategies created on the back of their findings, keeping the target customer in mind always.

              Key Responsibilities:

• Manage the day-to-day marketing activities for the brand, working closely with the Marketing Director, eCommerce Manager and Marketing Team.
• With the sign off from the Marketing Director, develop marketing strategies to help grow the brand in terms of: direct sales, expanding brand awareness, growing the customer email database, growing the customer online database and increasing sales.
• Attend weekly trade and performance meetings with Company Stakeholders and Directors, reporting on the weekly Marketing activity and drive reactive Marketing Projects in response to business performance.
• Be the sole strategist for creative content for seasonal campaigns, lookbooks etc and implement these projects with the shoot production team, always ensuring that Sahara’s Brand values are adhered to and communicated in accordance with the brand guidelines.
• Create, allocate, manage and oversee the Marketing Budget, making key decisions as to the best way to spend the budget to achieve growth in sales and brand presence. Ensure the Marketing Budget is being adhered to by the Marketing Team.
• Working closely with and managing work- flows, expectations, budgets, assets and lead times with external digital agencies across strategy, paid digital advertising, SEO and social.
• Where required, manage/attend photoshoots to ensure that campaigns are on brand and on concept.
• Ensure that models cast are on brand and represent Sahara brand values.
• With the Marketing Director, Graphic Designers inhouse Stylist, Copywriters and Content Editors, oversee all creative content produced for: retail marketing, website homepages and landing pages, digital newsletters (consumer marketing emails), seasonal catalogues, digital/online advertising, wholesale marketing, internal marketing.  
• Plan and deliver all printed marketing collateral (instore signage, catalogues, swing tags, carrier bags, tissue paper etc).
• Plan and deliver all advertising collateral for offline advertising, negotiating best rates with identified publications that appeal to the Sahara demographic.
• Plan and deliver brand events and in store promotions.
• Plan and deliver printed collateral to our direct marketing partners and oversee timely delivery to retail and online customers.
• Plan and deliver new marketing strategies to grow the business such as inserts, partnerships and door to door mail drops.
• Identify and manage strategic brand partnerships - approach and manage these relationships.
• Ensure the workflow of the Graphic Designer(s), Content Editor, Ecom Shoot Producer, Social Media Exec and Stylist is fluid and that everyone is working at their optimum to ensure that projects are being executed to budget and on time.
• Manage the output of the inhouse Graphic Designer(s), overseeing print and digital marketing projects. A knowledge of Photoshop and InDesign is integral to be able to fulfil this aspect of the role.
• Create and maintain the company Marketing Calendar, keeping all members of the team abreast of any changes.
• Manage, negotiate and execute the print buying for all printed collateral using existing suppliers and new if required, including but not limited to: seasonal brochures both retail and wholesale, sale collateral (postcards, POS, window graphics etc for wholesale and retail), company stationary, packaging materials etc.  
• Working with our digital agencies and internal CRM capabilities, ensure that Sahara’s customer data is being used to its maximum potential, ensuring that the business is compliant with current and/or relevant legislation.
• Build and maintain relationships with our printers and mailing houses.
• Alongside content creators, develop organic social media content and campaigns - strategy/planning and daily running of each appropriate channel (Instagram / Pinterest) and monitor progress of these with the Paid Social Executive.
• Management of PR for the brand to keep finger on pulse with blogger outreach, social media influencers, stylists and editors alike.

As a person you will:

• have a relevant creative or marketing degree or a transferable equivalent
• have a minimum of 5 years’ experience in a similar role, preferably brand side and in fashion
• Have a commercial mind with an acumen for numbers in order to analyse and understand marketing reports to present to the Board 
• Have experience in team management 
• be self-sufficient and a multi-tasker
• be adaptable
• pride yourself in your acute attention to detail and high levels of accuracy
• be a creative person brimming with ideas and suggestions for development and improvement
• demand high standards from yourself and those that you work alongside
• Have a positive, can-do attitude 
• Be a creatively thinking problem solver who thinks outside the box

We offer:

• a competitive salary
• a generous holiday allowances
• flexible start and finish times in a friendly office
• discretionary annual bonus, where company performance allows
• access to exclusive perks and discounts via Perkbox

Sahara is passionate about working with great people & building inspirational, creative teams. We know how important it is to enjoy your working day, we have beautiful offices with an abundance of natural light. We promote a friendly, non-corporate environment at our HQ; we are passionate and hard-working and enjoy socialising both in and out of the office.