Job Description

Head of Shopper Marketing (FTC 12 Months)

The Head of Shopper Marketing is responsible for leading the development and execution of Primark's retail marketing strategy across 500 stores globally. This role sits at the intersection of brand, customer, store operations and commercial teams, ensuring that every customer touchpoint within the retail environment drives engagement, conversion and commercial performance.

The role leads a broad portfolio including Shopper Marketing, Retail Media, Creative Operations, Visual Merchandising Communications, Franchise Marketing, Print Production and Distribution, and New Store Openings. A key priority will be establishing best-in-class shopper marketing capabilities across the business, embedding customer-centric planning, insight-led activation and measurable commercial impact.

The successful candidate will combine strategic thinking with exceptional operational leadership, bringing deep expertise in shopper marketing and retail execution while managing large-scale, complex delivery across multiple markets.

Key Responsibilities

Shopper Marketing Strategy & Capability (Primary Focus)

• Develop and lead Primark's global shopper marketing strategy, creating a new capability that connects customer insight, category priorities and commercial objectives.
• Build shopper marketing frameworks, processes and ways of working across markets and functions.
• Partner with Commercial, Trading, Brand Marketing and Customer teams to create integrated customer activation plans.
• Develop customer and shopper segmentation approaches to drive more effective retail marketing programmes.
• Establish measurement frameworks that demonstrate the impact of shopper marketing activity on traffic, conversion, basket size and sales.
• Champion a test-and-learn culture, identifying new opportunities to influence customer behaviour throughout the shopping journey.
• Lead the evolution of in-store, omnichannel and promotional activation strategies to deliver a more connected customer experience.

Retail Marketing Leadership

• Own the end-to-end retail marketing strategy across Primark's global store estate.
• Ensure consistent execution of campaigns, promotions and customer communications across all retail environments.
• Deliver marketing programmes that support commercial priorities, seasonal campaigns and strategic business initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement in retail marketing effectiveness, efficiency and customer experience.

Retail Media

• Define and lead the retail media strategy across physical and digital retail environments.
• Develop scalable retail media propositions that create value for customers, suppliers and the business.
• Partner with commercial teams to identify new revenue-generating opportunities.
• Establish governance, measurement and performance reporting frameworks.

Creative Operations

• Lead the creative operations function, ensuring efficient delivery of marketing assets across all channels and markets.
• Drive process optimisation, workflow management and resource planning.
• Ensure quality, consistency and speed of execution across all retail marketing outputs.
• Manage agency and production partners to deliver against business objectives.

Print Production & Distribution

• Own the strategy, planning and execution of all printed marketing materials across more than 500 stores.
• Ensure operational excellence in production, distribution and implementation.
• Drive efficiencies, cost optimisation and sustainability initiatives across print operations.
• Establish clear governance and service standards for all retail communications.

Franchise Marketing

• Lead retail marketing support for franchise markets, ensuring global consistency while enabling local relevance.
• Develop frameworks, toolkits and governance models to support franchise partners.
• Build strong relationships with franchise stakeholders to maximise brand and commercial performance.

New Store Openings

• Lead the retail marketing strategy for all new store openings, relocations and major refurbishments.
• Develop scalable launch programmes working hand in hand with local teams that generate awareness, footfall and sales.
• Coordinate cross-functional teams to ensure flawless execution and strong commercial outcomes.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead, inspire and develop a high-performing retail marketing team.
• Build future capability in shopper marketing, retail media and retail activation.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, accountability and continuous improvement.
• Develop succession plans and talent pipelines across the function.

Qualifications

Skills & Experience

Essential

• Significant experience in retail marketing leadership within a large-scale retail, FMCG or consumer-facing organisation.
• Deep expertise in shopper marketing, customer activation and path-to-purchase planning.
• Proven track record of building shopper marketing capability and embedding customer-centric planning approaches.
• Experience leading large, multi-disciplinary teams and complex operational functions.
• Strong commercial acumen with the ability to link marketing investment to business performance.
• Experience managing large-scale retail execution across multiple markets and locations.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills at executive level.
• Experience working across brand, commercial, trading and operational functions.

Highly Desirable

• Experience developing retail media propositions and capabilities.
• Franchise or international market experience.
• Experience leading creative operations or production functions.
• Experience within value retail, grocery, FMCG or high-volume retail environments.

Additional Information

What You’ll Get

People are at the heart of what we do here, so it’s essential we provide you with the right environment to perform at your very best.

Let’s talk lifestyle: Healthcare, pension, and potential bonus. 27 days of leave, plus bank holidays and if you want, you can buy 5 more. Because Primark is all about tailoring to you, we offer Tax Saver Tickets, fitness centre, and a subsidised cafeteria.

Does this sound like you? Great, because we can’t wait to see what you’ll bring. You’ll be supported within a team of equally capable people, celebrating who you are and aiding you reach your potential. At Primark, we’re excited about our future - and we’re excited to develop yours.

About Primark

At Primark, people matter. They’re the beating heart of our business and the reason we’ve grown from our first store in Dublin in 1969 to a £9bn+ turnover business and over 80,000 colleagues and over 440 stores in 17 countries today. Our values run through everything we do. In essence, we're Caring and always strive to put people first. We're also Dynamic, bravely pushing the boundaries to stay ahead. And finally, we succeed together.

Our fashion isn’t one-size-fits-all and neither is our culture. Primark promotes equal employment opportunity, we strive to create an inclusive workplace where people can be themselves, access opportunities and thrive together.

Our fashion isn’t one-size-fits-all and neither is our culture. Primark promotes equal employment opportunity, we strive to create an inclusive workplace where people can be themselves, access opportunities and thrive together.

#LI-Hybrid