Activations Manager

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an Activation Manager at JD Sports. The ideal candidate will have experience in planning & executing Brand & Partnership Activations within an Omnichannel business.

A creative & methodical thinker who can confidently manage & lead a team whilst heroing success. You will be a beacon for excellence & focused on driving brand awareness for JD & its third-party brands through premium activations.

·       Job Title – Activation Manager

·       Location – Bury, BL9 8RR

·       Working rota – Monday to Friday

·       Working hours – 40hrs per week

What You'll Be Doing:

• Manage the planning & delivery of JD’s UK & Ireland activations, ensuring that they are executed as per JD’s key business focus.
• Ensure all activations are executed to a world class standard, managing strict budgets, adhering to deadlines & delivering a positive ROI.
• Ownership of the events & activations calendar, identifying all key moments of relevant activity across the year.
• Support on strategy & tiering of activations/moments throughout the year that JD need to focus on across UK & Ireland.
• Be the key contact alongside management with all external agencies to lead on the JD tone of voice across all activations.
• Lead on activation ideation with wider teams to ensure we have a considered approach to each event whilst keeping up to date with industry trends.
• Deliver multiple brand activations with our third-party Brand Managers e.g., Nike & adidas.
• Manage the delivery of rights & planning of JD Partnerships activations with our chosen sponsorships e.g., Ibiza Rocks Hotel & Live Nation.
• Execute an expertly plan Omnichannel campaign for all JD Activations.
• Plan & execute of all event operations & logistics, including health and safety requirements, permits etc.
• Create & present activation concept decks to wider marketing channels to ensure that all activations have clear objectives & KPIs.
• Create detailed event, content and brand briefs for the JD’s internal creative studio and external agencies.
• Be the first to market with innovative ideas when it comes to activations, exploring new opportunities to ensure that we have an edge over our competitors.
• Prepare and conduct all pre-activation briefings for all staff attending upcoming activations; set clear objectives, roles & responsibilities as well as providing clear concise briefing documents.
• Lead on post-activation reporting, organisation & collation of a full team de-brief, analysing the success of the activation by compiling results for both online & offline channels.
• Attend JD activations and be the lead on the ground to ensure the activation runs smoothly.
• Senior stakeholder management to ensure swift sign off on all briefing, creation and event roll out.
• Forecast & manage activation budgets, ensuring that KPIs are delivered on time and within budget.
• Partnerships; actively seek & suggest the onboarding for JD partnerships in accordance with JD’s key pillars.
• Work with the Activation Lead to organise, plan, and prioritise staff resource to meet activation objectives and deadlines.

What We're Looking For:

• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in events/activation management.
• Excellent people management skills: a leader who has experience in developing a successful team.
• Strong event planning, project management & execution skills required.
• Strong verbal & written communication skills.
• Proven track record of delivering multiple brand activations for industry leading global brands.
• Exceptional organisational & time management skills including effective multi-tasking with the ability to prioritise & self-manage.
• Financial experience in maintaining strict budgets, forecasting & reconciling in line with ROI.
• Strong stakeholder management with internal & external stakeholders at all levels; systematically identifying stakeholders; analysing their needs and expectations; and planning and implementing various tasks to engage with them.
• Flexible approach to work with the willingness to work evenings/weekends as and when required.
• Solution orientated approach to tasks with the ability to work independently as well being an integral part of the team.
• Ability to inspire & motivate by maintaining a positive working attitude that brings an optimistic, can-do approach to all their tasks & responsibilities.

The Company:

The JD Group is a leading omnichannel retailer of Sports Fashion, Street & Premium Fashion, Outdoors and Gyms with over 60,000 colleagues over 3,400 stores across several retail fascia's in over 30 markets around the world.

We are an equal opportunities employer who embraces and values differences. We recognise the importance of an inclusive workplace culture in which everyone can thrive irrespective of their background or identity.

To be a part of this successful and continuously growing company, you will have the desire to ingrain our strategic goals of being a people first, a digital leader and customer focused organisation which provides operational excellence and is continuous with identifying new areas of growth into our day-to-day.

We know our employees work tirelessly to make JD Sports the success it is today and in turn, we offer them some amazing benefits:

• Incremental Holiday Allowance
• Staff Discount on qualifying purchases across Group retail stores and online
• Exclusive Colleague Bike Discount scheme
• Discounted Gym membership
• Personal development opportunities to learn and develop at work
• Access to Apprenticeships and accredited qualifications

Interested?

If you are interested in this position, then press the Apply Now button.

Due to the high volumes of applications our opportunities attract, it takes time to review them all. If you don't hear back within two weeks of your application, please consider your application to have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

Applications that meet the skills criteria will be contacted for a 1st stage meeting with the talent team. Shortlisted candidates will then be invited to interview with the hiring manager.

Thank you again for your time.