About the role

As a key leader in the business your focus must be to create more value for our customers and our business. You’ll be expected to play a pivotal role in delivery of the overall Partnership Plan by modernising and optimising the value of our brand assets and executing a sustainable and material improvement in the effectiveness of our customer strategy.

You will be responsible for delivering the overarching brand customer strategy and propositions across social platforms.

Leading your team to develop the brand social strategy, all paid social activity, implementing and optimising activity and campaigns across social media platforms.

You will be accountable for driving brand engagement across all organic feeds, deepening relationships with existing customers and reaching and securing new customers with innovative future focused marketing approaches.

• Expected salary - £70,900 - £90,000 (dependent on experience) 

• Contract type - This position is a Secondment/Fixed Term contract until July 2026

• Working pattern/flexible working - The Partnership has adopted a hybrid working approach, meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The Social team aims for around 1-2 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings. 

• Location -  This role is based at our London Head Office campus in Pimlico. Please note, any cost incurred as a result of travel to the office is the responsibility of the successful candidate. There is also a responsibility to visit our agencies when necessary. 

Key responsibilities

• Build organisational and individual capability of Partners in their profession with accountability for developing the skills and capabilities of Partners aligned to this profession. Lead the agreed Professions.  Accountable for allocation of Partners to support key outcomes - based on business priorities, skills and professional development opportunities.

• Lead a high performing team in a way that is consistent with the Partnerships values. Take personal accountability for talent and succession planning and create a diverse environment where difference thrives.

• Support and champion the Partnership model, drive voice for your teams and actively participate in the internal democracy

• Ensure that our Purpose: “Working In Partnership for A Happier World” comes to life in the what and the how of what we execute, including in our tone of voice, our campaigning stance and our own leadership actions

• Own business processes, frameworks and tools within your area, continuously improving them to drive efficiency and effectiveness

• Sets the immediate direction for Social Marketing, working with peers to curate the most customer satisfaction and long term value. Setting the strategic direction for paid, owned and earned campaign delivery, including the responsibility for optimising  all paid performance activity across awareness, consideration and conversion in social, with the voice of the customer at the heart of all they do.

• Aligning the social strategy to deliver our brand message across multiple social marketing platforms to deliver key customer and commercial goals. Lead the team to deliver content through social platforms, brand campaigns, insights, influencer as well as social media governance. Work with internal stakeholders on community management. Lead the ratings & reviews programme working closely with omni, trade and CRM  to drive commercial and customer excellence.

• Leading an expert team by coaching to develop subject matter experts to deliver brand customer goals. Develops talent and sets clear objectives/ personal development plans to ensure Partners strive to their full potential.

• Accountable for social and content creation  marketing budgets, allocating resources effectively to ensure the delivery of KPI’s. Accountable for forecasting and tracking of expenditure against budget including acquiring and spending supplier funding contributions to maximise ROIs

• Ensure clear value reporting on social marketing activities: Deliver regular analysis and KPI reporting to tell the story focusing on key learnings, provide market context or future opportunities which will assist in quick decision-making, unlock budget / supplier funding or assist in course correcting performance to mitigate risk

Essential skills/experience you’ll need

• Significant demonstrable social marketing experience

• Significant experience of driving innovation in digital channels

• Experience of creative thinking delivering inspiring and relevant content whilst managing data

• Experienced knowledge of the latest developments within social

• Experience of leading a team coaching and developing individuals

• Budget experience

• Experienced Social Marketing strategic thinker consistently looking to find incremental gains and uses innovation to drive the Social Marketing agenda

Desirable skills/experience you may have 

• Experience of wider digital marketing channels and how they influence Social Marketing & vice versa, specifically SEO, Email, Display & PPC

For internal use only:

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The Partnership

We’re the largest employee owned business in the UK and home of our cherished brands, John Lewis and Waitrose. We’re not just employees, we’re Partners, driven by our purpose to build a happier world. As we look to our future, there’s never been a more exciting time to join us.  

We’re ruthlessly focused on being brilliant at retail. We continue to innovate, adapt and diversify. Never Knowingly Undersold on price, quality and service in John Lewis and passionately serving food-lovers in Waitrose.   

As Partners we all share the responsibility of ownership and in its rewards. We use our voices to contribute to our success, working together through the good and challenging times, holding true to our behaviours and treating everyone with kindness and respect. 

We all own making the Partnership somewhere we belong. Embracing our differences and creating an environment where we’re free to be ourselves and can THRIVE. Growing ourselves individually, and as a collective. 

As Partners, we make all the difference. And, we all own it.  

Important points to note:  

It’s important to note that some of our roles are subject to pre-employment vetting (which may include DBS checks for successful candidates). If required, you’ll be informed and provided with information about vetting during the recruitment process and we encourage you to complete any vetting documents quickly to avoid delays. Any DBS checks required will be carried out by a third-party registered body and financial probity checks may also be required for some of our roles.  

We also recommend that you apply as soon as possible as vacancies can close early if we see a high number of applicants.  

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where possible. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview. 

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