Marketing Manager - LIONS Riyadh

About the Role
The Marketing Manager designs and delivers essential aspects of the marketing strategy to achieve commercial objectives and revenue targets. This position plays a key role in delivering high-impact campaigns for LIONS Riyadh, aimed at driving awareness, engagement, registrations, and ticket sales across priority audience segments. The ideal candidate will combine strong digital and performance marketing capabilities with creative thinking and an understanding of the marketing, media, and creative industries.

Key Responsibilities

• Ownership and accountability for marketing campaigns, including planning, implementation, management, and optimisation across inbound and outbound channels.
• Deliver against agreed KPIs by driving traffic, engagement, leads, registrations, and conversions.
• Develop and execute integrated campaigns for priority LIONS Riyadh audience segments, including CMOs, creative leaders, agencies, brands, media professionals, creators, and emerging talent.
• Understand audience digital behaviour through continual testing, reporting, and campaign analysis.
• Benchmark and set KPI targets to improve campaign performance.
• Work with supporting agencies to develop and deliver paid campaign activity.
• Measure and optimise paid marketing using analytics and campaign reporting tools.
• Develop organic growth strategies across relevant stages of the audience journey.
• Collaborate with Content and Creative teams to develop relevant and engaging marketing assets.
• Manage and improve search performance, traffic, click-through rates, and conversions.
• Design and implement testing and optimisation strategies, including A/B testing, landing pages, and CTAs.
• Translate speakers, content, partnerships, and Festival announcements into compelling audience campaigns.
• Support campaign localisation across Saudi Arabia, the GCC, and priority international markets.
• Ensure creative output is consistent with LIONS Riyadh positioning and quality standards.

Leadership

• Work with line reports & marketing team to ensure successful delivery of marketing campaigns in line with agreed KPIs, event, and divisional strategy.
• Line manages digital marketer/s to successfully implement campaign strategies.
• Provide guidance, feedback, and inspiration to line reports.
• Champion strong creative execution, attention to detail, and continuous improvement across campaigns.
• Collaborate closely with Content, PR, Creative, Commercial, and Operations teams to ensure joined-up campaign delivery.

Analysis & Insight

• Monitor campaign performances by producing relevant and timely reports.
• Recommend changes to campaign execution based on data insights.
• Identify trends and insights, and optimise spend and performance based on these insights.
• Share relevant insights with the wider marketing team and senior management to drive revenues or pursue new opportunities.
• Develop a clear understanding of audience motivations, behaviours, and conversion barriers across key LIONS Riyadh segments.
• Use insight to improve campaign messaging, creative, targeting, and channel selection.
• Track brand engagement and audience sentiment to identify opportunities to strengthen LIONS Riyadh relevance and reach.

Planning & Campaign Management

• Work with the Marketing team to plan campaigns that meet strategic objectives, including audience growth and commercial performance.
• Monitor implementation plans and ensure adherence to deadlines, content calendars, and budget trackers.
• Support the development and management of marketing budgets.
• Manage campaign calendars around major LIONS Riyadh milestones including speaker announcements, content launches, partnerships, ticketing, and Festival moments.
• Coordinate integrated activity across paid, owned, earned, social, CRM, and partner channels.
• Ensure campaigns are delivered on time, on brand, and against agreed performance targets.

Marketing Execution

• Identify target audiences and key segments.
• Develop personas, value propositions, and messaging for key segments.
• Ensure timely and relevant communications are delivered through the most effective digital channels.
• Create audience-specific messaging that reflects the interests and needs of senior industry leaders, agencies, creators, and emerging talent.
• Work with Creative teams and agencies to produce strong campaign assets across digital, social, CRM, web, and other relevant channels.
• Maintain and optimise database segmentation and personalisation.
• Support social media planning and community engagement to build year-round relevance around LIONS Riyadh.
• Monitor competitor activity, cultural trends, and industry conversations to identify timely marketing opportunities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience as Marketing Manager.
• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience.
• Relevant professional experience in digital, event, media, or brand marketing may be considered in place of formal qualifications.

Background Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Thorough understanding and experience of digital marketing, including PPC, SEO, online advertising, and direct marketing.
• Database development and growth, including segmentation and advanced targeting.
• Strong experience using analytics to measure and optimise campaign performance.
• Strong copywriting and communication skills.
• Strong relationship-building skills with internal teams, partners, and agencies.
• Analytical and questioning mindset.
• Experience managing multiple campaigns and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Good creative judgement and ability to recognise strong ideas, messaging, and campaign execution.
• Strong understanding of audience journeys, brand positioning, and conversion.
• Interest in and awareness of the creative, advertising, marketing, media, and cultural sectors.
• Ability to communicate ideas clearly and persuasively, with strong attention to detail.
• Experience working with cross-functional teams across Content, PR, Creative, and Commercial.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Arabic.
• Technology savvy and able to quickly adopt new platforms and tools.

Desirable

• Experience using marketing automation platforms such as Eloqua.
• Experience with CMS platforms.
• Experience managing social media through scheduling and listening platforms.
• Experience using analytics and reporting platforms such as Google Analytics or Adobe.
• Formal business or marketing qualification.
• Events, Festival, media, entertainment or creative-industry marketing experience.
• Saudi Arabia or GCC marketing experience.
• Experience working on a premium, international, or culturally led brand.
• Experience targeting senior professional audiences alongside creators and emerging talent.

Core Benefits

• Medical Insurance for individuals and family.
• Annual leave – 25 days.
• Remote working on Sundays.
• Working anywhere – 1 month every year.
• School fees contribution, 40,000 SAR per child per year (up to a max of three children).
• Wellbeing Benefits.
• Residency visa including yearly dependent fees.
• Individual annual flight allowance for expats.

Local Relocation Package (if eligible)

• Paid flight to Riyadh – individual and family.
• 30 days accommodation or suitable serviced apartment from arrival date or a one-off payment of SAR 5,000.
• Up to SAR 2,500 reimbursement of shipping goods/excess baggage costs.

International Relocation Package (if eligible)

• Paid flight to Riyadh – individual and family.
• 60 days accommodation or a suitable serviced apartment from arrival date, or a one-off payment of SAR 5,000.
• Up to SAR 2,500 reimbursement of shipping goods/excess baggage costs.
• Paid flight home for individual and end-of-service gratuity payment when leaving the company (if applicable).

We work hard to make sure life is rewarding, supportive, and enjoyable for everyone. We celebrate difference and welcome applicants from all backgrounds and circumstances, basing hiring decisions on relevant qualifications and merit. We provide a disability-friendly environment and are committed to making reasonable adjustments to ensure accessibility during the interview or selection process.