Head of Commercial Marketing

About the role

Gemba is seeking an experienced leader who understands the Commercial and Marketing world of Sport, Entertainment and Brands, and how these areas interact. This person will lead Gemba’s work with rightsholders across Europe and the Middle East, working closely with our Research & Insights and Digital & Data teams to develop strategies that are commercially sharp, insight-led and practical to deliver.

• Act as a senior client adviser to rightsholders, brands and commercial teams across sport and entertainment
• Bring together Gemba’s strategy, research, insight, digital and data capabilities to solve complex commercial challenges
• Shape compelling, credible and achievable strategies that speak to the priorities of C-suite leaders

Knowledge

This role requires the ability to demonstrate:

• A deep understanding of the commercial ecosystem of sport and entertainment, including how rightsholders, brands, broadcasters, agencies and fans interact
• Specific interest or expertise in direct fan commercialisation, including ticketing, licensing, merchandising and hospitality
• Strong understanding of digital fan engagement, including new channels, platforms and methods of content distribution
• Knowledge of how marketing strategy, campaign design and campaign execution translate into measurable commercial outcomes
• The ability to define, track and measure KPIs that demonstrate commercial success
• An understanding of how rightsholders are organised, and how they balance on-field performance, fan engagement and commercial priorities

Skills

This role requires the ability to:

Design commercial and marketing strategies for clients

• Integrate multiple streams of analysis, including survey data, first-party data, market evidence and stakeholder consultation, into coherent, compelling and realistic strategies
• Build and oversee commercial models with multiple drivers, inputs and scenarios to support senior decision-making
• Translate complex analysis into clear, visually impactful PowerPoint materials that tell a strong strategic story
• Maintain strong attention to detail across both data analysis and written and visual outputs
• Deliver compelling presentations remotely and in person, with confidence in front of senior stakeholders

Implement strategies

• Lead a team which deploys ticketing strategies, leveraging Gemba Data team, client direct marketing teams and Gemba Paid Media team
• Work alongside Gemba Digital Analytics team and client marketing teams to support content and campaign deployment based on performance
• Work with client retail and licensing teams to support new product development process and range development
• Support management of client CRM systems, working with Gemba Data team

Measurement

• Lead a team which evaluates the success of deployed strategies, working with Gemba’s data, digital and fan insights teams
• Showcase clear understanding of how best to assess ROI / equivalent metrics to support client’s in showcasing whether a campaign or strategy achieved their desired outcome

Experience

This role requires experience that may include a combination of agency, consulting or rightsholders experience in Sport, Entertainment, Marketing or a related field.  Your previous role(s) will have involved:

• Working in rightsholder commercial and marketing functions, such as partnerships, ticketing, hospitality, licensing, merchandising, or strategy and operations
• Working with brands involved in sport and entertainment partnerships, sponsorship or fan engagement
• A proven track record leading senior client conversations, shaping strategic recommendations and overseeing high-quality project delivery
• Working across multiple functions and disciplines, ideally including research, insight, digital, data, commercial strategy and marketing execution