Job Description
We are recruiting a Head of Media Buying and Planning to be at the forefront of our global growth! Based at Head Office in Leicestershire, offering a competitive starting salary of £89,000 alongside great benefits such as Company car, Private Medical Insurance, Management Share options to name a few! This is a 12 month FTC (maternity cover).
At NEXT, not only are we one of the UK’s largest fashion retailers, but we’re also one of the largest listed companies, full-stop. Selling our products and thousands of world-famous brands, both in-store and online UK and Internationally. What’s more, we’re growing. Fast. And it’s the kind of growth and investment that is exciting for everyone in our business.
The Digital Marketing team at NEXT play a key role in driving growth for the business. They combine data-driven insights with creative thinking to run high-impact campaigns across channels like paid search, social media, email and SEO. It's a hands-on, fast-moving team where testing, learning and optimising are part of the everyday approach. We’re focused on reaching the right customers, boosting performance, and constantly finding smarter ways to grow online.
About the role:
Reporting to the Head of Marketing and sitting at the heart of our Digital Marketing eCommerce team, the
International Head of Media Buying and Planning will drive the success of our digital media campaigns across key channels, from PPC and PLA to Display and Paid Social - in markets outside the UK. In this high impact role, you'll be the go to expert for all things media buying and planning, spearheading performance driven strategies that acquire new customers and maximise value from existing ones. You'll also lead Retail Media activation (including Zalando Marketing Services and Amazon), fuelling growth through our third-party partners across international markets. Working closely with your UK counterpart and collaborating with the Head of International Sales and Trading, plus regional managers, you'll ensure every campaign aligns with commercial priorities and sales forecasts, helping us expand our international footprint with precision and power.
What else is involved?
- Implement strategy for Digital advertising for NEXT International (across 40+ markets)
- Drive planning, creation and optimisation of digital campaigns for NEXT International
- Utilise first party customer & product data to personalise campaigns in order to improve channel performance.
- Continuous analysis and optimisation of all elements of advertising creative, from marketing message to ad template to layouts of individual components, in order to improve customer engagement with and purchases from advertising
- Leads cross channel reporting to inform key stakeholders and in order to optimise future activity and improve budget allocation decisions
- Highlight opportunities for further growth in channel performance whilst maintaining profitability
- Manage relationship with media agencies, ad platforms and key partners
- Keep up to date with latest innovations in digital media in order to enable NEXT to develop a market leading position in digital marketing including ad platforms not used in the UK such as Line.
- Delivering sales, new customer targets within the £70 million annual budget
- Keep Head of Marketing informed with performance, projects and industry developments
- Encourages productive collaboration with the International Trading team.
You’ll be doing all this from our Leicestershire Head Office. Our offices are inspiring, yes. But we understand that life happens. So, we’re big on making sure your work, works for you which is why we offer flexible working.
Bring your energy. Play to your strengths. Make things bigger and better than before. Let’s Take It On.
About you:
- Degree, equivalent qualification or experience.
- Experience in managing large and complex Paid Search /or Paid Social campaigns across multiple countries.
- Experience of managing budgets of £25m+
- Be results orientated, highly focussed on hitting business targets and profitable sales growth.
- 8+ years of media activation experience with a deep focus in digital media.
- Strong ability to think strategically across all channels - search, social, programmatic, CTV, digital direct, DOOH, offline, etc.
- Ability to make strategic budget recommendations based on business objectives.
- Expert level experience within 2 platforms with strong hands-on experience (i.e. Social and Search) with a strong working knowledge of the larger landscape.
- Strong understanding of the media activation process - including ad servers, tracking, taxonomy, etc.
- Strong working knowledge of ad platforms such as, Google Media Platform (i.e. SA360, DV360, CM360, etc.)
- Ability to analyse insights and translate them into recommendations.
- Team worker - Relationship building skills internally and externally with the ability to quickly establish strong working relationships.
- Positive, approachable and friendly attitude.
- Pro-activity and openness to take responsibilities and be fully accountable.
- Being flexible, adaptable and organised to meet tight deadlines.
- Excellent analytical skills.
- Ability to manage a number of stakeholders internal and external including director level.
- Comfortable with deriving insights from data,and taking action on those insights.
- Passion for new ideas and opportunities and ambition to innovate.
- Ability to think creatively and solve problems.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Ability to work at ease under time and commercial pressures.
About Us
You know Next, but did you know we’re a FTSE-100 retail company employing over 35,000 people across the UK and Ireland. We’re the UK’s 2nd largest fashion retailer and for Kidswear we’re the market leader. At the last count we have over 500 stores, plus the Next Online and it’s now possible to buy on-line from over 70 countries around the world! So we’ve gone global!
About The Team
- 25% off most NEXT, MADE*, Lipsy*, Gap* and Victoria's Secret* products (*when purchased through NEXT)
- Company performance based bonus
- Sharesave scheme
- On-site Nursery available; OFSTED outstanding in all areas
- 10% off most partner brands & up to 15% off Branded Beauty
- Early VIP access to sale stock
- Access to fantastic discounts at our Staff Shops
- Restaurants with great food at amazing prices
- Access a digital GP and other free health and wellbeing services
- Free on-site parking
- Financial Wellbeing - Save, track and enhance your financial wellbeing
- Apprenticeship - Grow and develop on the job whilst gaining a qualification
- Direct to Work - Discount online and instore, collect your items the next day for free from your place of work or local store
- Support Networks - Access to Network Groups to empower and celebrate each other
- Wellhub - Discounted flexible monthly gym memberships, with apps, PT sessions and more
Conditions apply to all benefits. These benefits are discretionary and subject to change.
We aim to support all candidates during the application process and are happy to provide workplace adjustments when necessary. Should you need support with your application due to a disability or long-term condition, feel free to get in touch with us by email
[email protected] (please include 'Workplace Adjustments' in the subject line), or call us on 0116 284 2486 and leave a voicemail.
