Marketing Director (12 month fixed-term contract)

Tahaluf is rewriting the events playbook. Its purpose is transformational, its DNA digital, and its ambition unprecedented. Tahaluf is scaling to further increase its lead as the largest B2B Live and On Demand Events organiser in Saudi Arabia: by SQM, Attendance, Colleagues and Revenue.   

 To scale at this pace requires impeccable local partners, and Tahaluf is proud to enjoy the support and partnership of several Government and Non-Government Organisations that are at the apex of Saudi’s B2B and B2C large scale events scene. In fact, our partners do not just support the expansion of live events in the Kingdom; they are also the partner of choice for heavyweights like Apple, Amazon and AliBaba.   

 Be part of something BIG! Building on the success of record-breaking tech event LEAP, the most attended tech event in the world, Tahaluf is making a huge impact on the global events sector. Tahaluf is bringing iconic Informa brands to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including Cityscape Global, which celebrated record-breaking participation at its debut Saudi edition and award-winning cyber-security event Black Hat, as well as establishing Saudi-born brands, such as InFlavour, a not-to-be-missed meeting place for the global Food & Beverage industry.  

 Join our ambitious and highly committed team, who are not afraid to push boundaries and disrupt the status quo. Be ready to be thrown in at the deep end, taking on large-scale projects from day one, under the guidance of a supportive leadership team who will encourage your personal development and offer you new opportunities.  

We are building awe-inspiring experiences. We are launching award-winning brands. And we are scaling faster than any event organiser in history. Take a leap with Tahaluf, we are offering you the chance to:  

• Work within a highly dynamic business with the energy and style of a start-up  

• Be part of building a business that is launching new products and events at scale  

• Grab an opportunity to accelerate your career and make a real impact.  

The Role

We are seeking an experienced, confident and inspiring marketer to drive the marketing and communications for an exciting portfolio of high-growth events in Saudi Arabia.

KSA has been identified as a key growth market and is at the forefront of product development and operational change.

You will be an important part of the cross-functional senior leadership team, playing a crucial role in the development of the Tahaluf brands and developing an executing a vision for how the group should engage with the market. Your recommendations will come from a deep understanding of the market through customer research and insight, internal data and industry trends.

An accomplished marketing and communications strategist, you will lead an operational team of marketers responsible for the launch and ongoing marketing of the products within the portfolio. From value proposition and messaging to brand amplification and PR, data build, performance analysis and channel marketing, your team will own the product marketing strategies and their delivery. You will be supported by specialist agencies and internal teams to provide complementary skills and expertise.

You will support the event team in the development and launch of new products through effective go-to-market strategies, sales support and price validation and testing. With growing strength in ecommerce, marketing will become increasingly responsible for direct sales.

Reporting to the Senior management,  you will be familiar and comfortable working in matrix structures where functional and commercial leadership and responsibility are shared.

Job Accountabilities

Key Performance Indicators

• Devise and deliver innovative marketing campaigns to achieve pre-determined objectives/targets
• Marketing team is motivated and appropriately skilled/trained to carry out their responsibilities
• Marketing team works collaboratively with other departments to deliver shared objectives
• Marketing campaigns are delivered within budget with spend allocations based on sound commercial reasoning

Main Duties & Responsibilities

Leadership

• Member of the portfolio’s management team
• Represent the Portfolio across ME and divisional groups on marketing, digital, data and customer insights
• Portfolio Sponsor for GDPR
• Active role in the development and implementation of Corporate/EMEA initiatives
• Work with portfolio management to develop value propositions and messaging to drive engagement and conversion
• Identify and deliver key portfolio-wide projects to position products for continued growth (e.g. branding, cross marketing, key account management, first time exhibitor experience etc)
• Understand recent customer survey feedback and apply this information to marketing strategies
• Identify risks to the business achieving marketing targets and work with the portfolio management team to mitigate

Management

• Lead a team of marketing and digital managers across a portfolio of products
• Provide guidance, feedback and inspiration to the team
• Work with Marketing Managers to ensure successful delivery of marketing campaigns in line with agreed KPI’s, event and divisional strategy
• Work with line reports to develop skills and competencies and ensure they have a clear development roadmap
• Develop succession plan to identify top talent, flight risks and guarantee continuous delivery from the team  
• Champion the adoption and optimisation of marketing technology solutions
• Cultivate and demonstrate a high-performance culture within the marketing team

Campaign Strategy & Delivery

• Lead the portfolio’s marketing strategy. Responsible for the marketing, data and digital portfolio strategy and delivering strategic show marketing
• A clear understanding of the business’s overall mission, how this should be communicated through marketing and PR and an ability to use marketing technology to deliver results
• Responsible for best practice and knowledge sharing (marketing, digital, data and customer insights) across the portfolio and the ME business
• Take the lead and document the results of pilot projects and testing
• Develop the capabilities of marketing across the portfolio, integrating technology into the strategy and tactical delivery. Ensure team are equipped with the skills to deliver a fresh campaign strategy
• Manage budgets and allocate resources amongst projects
• Demonstrate and encourage creative approaches, using market intelligence, and apply it to show content to create unique and engaging visitor experiences
• Work with show teams to optimise the engagement at each touch point in the customer journey by encouraging teams to introduce new ways of marketing and reduce reliance on more familiar activities that produce declining results
• Identify trends in data to encourage teams to do more of what works and less of what doesn’t; navigating the move away from opinion-driven decision making to data-driven decision making

• Share marketing case studies and best practice from across the EMEA business by forging collaborative relationships with marketers from across the division

Personal Specification

Minimum Education Level

• Educated to degree level or equivalent

Background Knowledge, Skills & Experience

We are looking for an individual with the drive, passion and energy to realise ambitious goals.

• An inspiring marketing and brand leader with 10+ years of people management and leadership
• History of building and nurturing high performing teams

• A track record of setting and delivering to the highest standards
• Solid experience of marketing transformation and experience of running agile teams advantageous
• Experience of developing a brand vision and driving activity to realise it (PR, social media etc)
• An accomplished marketing strategist with experience of developing value propositions, pricing, and driving agility in campaigning and execution
• Exceptional knowledge of online and offline channels and integrated campaigns
• Solid experience of marketing a mixed portfolio of products including events, SAAS or subscriptions products. Experience of B2B lead generation
• Analytical with a data-driven mindset
• Experience of developing a test & learn culture
• Strong content development to support strategic goals
• Experienced in market analysis
• Good working knowledge of marketing technology and analytics tools (Eloqua, Adobe Analytics, Adobe Target, Drupal. Google Analytics also a plus).
• A great collaborator, strong in both internal and external communications
• An individual who thrives in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment

*This job is 12 month fixed contract role*

Core Benefits:  

• Medical Insurance for individual and family  

• Annual leave – 25 days or 28 days (for senior managers)  

• Manager and above, School fees contribution, 40,000 SAR per child per year, up to a max of three children  

• Wellbeing Benefits  

• Remote working on Sundays  

• Working anywhere – 1 month every year, or for senior managers and above, 2 months every year  

• Family visa costs* (up to a max of three children) 

• Individual annual flight allowance* (Expat only) 

International Relocation Package*: 

• Paid flight to Riyadh (for you and your dependents) 

• 60 days accommodation or suitable serviced apartment from your arrival date. Alternatively, if you already have accommodation in Riyadh and do not require a hotel or serviced apartment, then we provide a one-off payment of SAR 5,000 

• SAR 2,500 towards shipping goods/excess baggage costs on production of receipts/invoices 

Local Relocation Package*:  

• Paid flight to Riyadh (for you and your dependents) 

• 30 days accommodation or suitable serviced apartment from your arrival date. Alternatively, if you already have accommodation in Riyadh and do not require a hotel or serviced apartment, then we provide a one-off payment of SAR 5,000 

• SAR 2,500 towards shipping goods/excess baggage costs on production of receipts/invoices 

*If eligible