Brand Planning Lead

About Us

The FT has an uncompromising mission: delivering independent, quality information, news and services to individuals and companies around the globe. It’s the cornerstone of our reputation and the heart of our ambitions for the future. But for our people, the FT offers so much more than what we do. FT people come from all kinds of backgrounds and work across a huge range of disciplines and locations, and find an empowering, warm and welcoming culture that values curiosity and rewards smart, ambitious thinking. Those who are willing to unite around our mission and live our values will find plenty to challenge, inspire and interest them. Like the audiences we serve, no two FT people are the same; but together we help our audience be better informed and understand the world around them. It’s a job that’s never mattered more, and a career that can take you anywhere you want to go.

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace

At the FT, we aim for employees across all regions to have a voice so that diverse perspectives are heard and valued. We believe that a supportive workplace is one where employees feel they can be themselves at work and have the flexibility they need to meet their personal needs. We'll continue to remove barriers for all, and in particular barriers facing employees from underrepresented groups.

The Role / Position Overview

The FT Group operates a distributed marketing model whereby marketing professionals sit with the teams they support (in B2C; B2B; FT Live; commercial sales etc.). The ten member brand and partnerships team that you will be part of is in the central Corporate Communications and Marketing Group, and plays a pivotal role in providing direction, consistency and creative support to other promotional teams across the business. The most important aspect of this role is therefore working with, influencing and supporting colleagues across the organisation, to ensure that the brand is optimally aligned with company wide objectives and marketing activities. The successful candidate will be convincing and confident; be pragmatic and be a great teammate. This role is based in London, though responsible for the FT brand around the world. Other key FT locations include New York and Hong Kong, where the team has presence.The position reports to the global brand and partnerships director.

Key Responsibilities

• Champion FT brand values, codes and assets in all internal and external messaging.
• Lead development of the Financial Times brand, messaging and campaigns.
• Support other FT marketing teams to optimise the brand impact of their work.
• Research and communicate insights that will help to bring the FT Brand to life for different needs across the business. 
• Conduct content analysis that can build editorial and marcomms storylines.
• Using insights to develop creative briefs to support all brand activities. 
• Build positive relationships with key collaborators including internal teams, external agencies, partners and clients. 
• Manage the brand tracker to ensure brand marketing activities’ impact is measured. Link outcomes to driving readership and business growth. 
• Collaborate with the Customer Research and Insights team to garner qualitative and quantitative customer research, including their opinions on specific creative campaigns as well as the brand in general.
• Undertake research projects into new technologies, competitor and industry reporting and analysis that may inform brand thinking and activities. 
• Champion the use of AI in its applications for marketing and insight. 
• Attend internal and external industry events, and share takeaways. 
• Provide support to the global brand and partnerships director

Required Skills / Experience

• A highly motivated self-starter with a passion for current affairs and the future of quality journalism.
• Experience as a planner / insights specialist in an agency or inhouse environment. People management experience is desirable but not essential.
• The role has one full time and one part time direct report.
•  Able to devise high quality desk research that includes trends analysis, social listening and develop that into presentations and written reports.
• Excellent written/verbal communication skills and attention to detail.
• Comfortable working in a complex environment with multiple collaborators and competing priorities.
• Ability to quickly establish confidence among editorial and commercial staff.
• Knowledge of data analysis and SQL queries is a benefit though not crucial.
• Embody the FT Values: integrity, ambition, trust, curiosity, inclusion, subscriber focus.

What’s in it for you? Our Benefits

Our benefits vary depending on location, but we are committed to providing best in class perks across all our offices as well as an inclusive environment to develop your career. Examples of our benefits include; generous annual leave allowances, flexible working (including working from home), medical cover, enhanced parental packages, subsidised gym memberships and Giving Back opportunities. Full details of our benefits can be found here.

Further Information

The FT is committed to providing an inclusive working environment for all. We are an equal opportunities employer who seeks to recruit and appoint the best talent regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socio-economic background, religion and/or belief. We also promote flexible working and will consider specific requests around flexibility for all roles where it can be accommodated. Please let us know if you require any adjustments as part of the application process or to enable you to attend an interview. If you would like to discuss your requirements, or have any questions, [email protected] and a member of our team will be happy to help.

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