Director of Consumer (Ref: 194699)

Job Title: Director of Consumer

Location: London

Salary: £110,000 - £130,000 + Bonus

Industry: Sport

Contact: james.gershfield@forsythbarnes.com

Forsyth Barnes are delighted to be representing one of the leading sport organisations in the hunt for someone to lead the consumer business across Marketing, Ticketing, Retail, and Licensing, supporting the development of the overall strategy, business plan, and delivery of commercial targets. The role includes managing third-party providers that support consumer functions and operating as a centre-of-excellence leader, working collaboratively across the organisation.

The Director of Consumer is responsible for shaping, executing, and accelerating the organisation’s global consumer strategy. This position oversees all fan-facing products and revenue-generating initiatives, with a mandate to grow audience reach, deepen consumer engagement, and maximise consumer-driven revenue.

Key Responsibilities:

Consumer Strategy & Leadership

• Develop and deliver a comprehensive consumer strategy aligned with our clients long-term commercial vision.
• Lead the evolution of the global fan value proposition, ensuring consistent, premium experiences across all touchpoints.
• Manage, mentor, and grow a high-performing cross-functional consumer team encompassing marketing, ticketing, retail & licensing.
• Lead our clients partnerships, including strategic projects, contractual negotiations, and annual consumer strategy for global events.
• Oversee alignment across Consumer teams and departments, ensuring collaboration, resource planning, and delivery against targets and budgets.
• Take the lead on future negotiations to optimise commercial outcomes.

Brand & Marketing

• Own the global marketing strategy for the group, ensuring clear, compelling, and consistent brand positioning across all markets.
• Lead the planning and execution of integrated marketing campaigns across digital, social, broadcast, CRM, and on-site channels to drive fan acquisition, retention, and conversion.
• Deliver end-to-end event marketing strategies for all tournaments, optimising promotional spend to grow attendance and associated revenue.

Digital & Fan Engagement

• Oversee the growth of all digital consumer platforms, including website, app, and membership products.
• Drive data-led segmentation, personalisation, and CRM initiatives to enhance fan acquisition, retention, and engagement.
• Collaborate with Content & Media teams to deliver compelling, insight-driven storytelling that grows fan connection with players, events, and competitions.

Ticketing

• Own the ticketing strategy for all events, maximising attendance, revenue, and yield.
• Working with event teams, assist in shaping on-site fan experiences, ensuring world-class event environments that appeal to both core fans and broader audiences.

Retail and Licensing

• Shape and drive the department’s strategy to maximise retail and licensing opportunities and deliver commercial growth.
• Oversee the delivery of retail, licensing, and merchandise programmes, ensuring progress against strategic objectives and identified opportunities.

Knowledge & Experience

• 10+ years in senior consumer, marketing, digital, or fan-engagement roles within sports, entertainment, or major event organisations.
• Experience leading integrated marketing and consumer teams with responsibility for strategy, planning, and delivery.
• Strong understanding of live event fan experiences: ticketing, merchandise, venue operations, and on-course entertainment.
• Demonstrated success increasing event attendance, digital reach, fan engagement, or brand metrics for a sports property.
• Experience running multi-channel marketing campaigns for live events, content products, or major announcements.
• Track record of brand-building and evolving brand identity on a global scale.