Brand Director

Grind is a coffee company that lives in London. Since opening Shoreditch Grind in 2011, we've expanded across London with cafés, coffee trucks and a state-of-the-art coffee roastery. Today, we serve 100 million cups of coffee across London and the UK each year, and we’ve helped hundreds of thousands of people make better, more sustainable coffee at home. You’ll find our coffee beans, compostable coffee pods and ready-to-drink coffee cans - in supermarkets across the UK and in hotels around the world.

Based in Shoreditch, we have a team of talented people working on everything from product development to finance, to customer experience. We’re looking for someone to join our growing team and help us in building the future of Grind.

We think coffee can be a force for good. Whether it's through creating the UK's first compostable coffee pods, our plastic-free packaging or carbon-free shipping - we're on a mission to be the world's most sustainable coffee company.

In 2023, we created our charity, the Better Coffee Foundation, to undo the damage done by the global coffee industry - in our first year, we recovered 43 million pods' worth of ocean-bound plastic.

A bit about the role.

We're looking for a Brand Director to lead the next chapter of Grind's growth. This is a rare opportunity to shape one of the UK's most exciting consumer brands at a pivotal moment in its journey.

Reporting directly to the CEO, you'll be responsible for the strategic direction and evolution of the Grind brand across every customer touchpoint—from our cafés, grocery and retail products; hospitality partnerships to ecommerce, wholesale, social channels and emerging platforms. You'll ensure customers experience one consistent, compelling brand wherever they encounter Grind.

This role brings together strategic brand leadership, creative instinct and a sharp understanding of how AI, data and culture are reshaping modern marketing. We’re looking for someone who can move confidently between customer insight, creative campaign development and brand strategy, using each to unlock more culturally relevant, commercially effective work. You’ll champion a modern approach to brand building that blends experimentation with taste, intuition with evidence, and long-term brand equity with measurable business impact, ensuring our brand and customer experience feel distinctive, connected and compelling across every physical and digital touchpoint.

A key part of the role will be developing and strengthening our in-house marketing and brand capabilities. You'll lead and mentor a talented internal team of 12, helping to build the processes, skills, tools and ways of working that enable best-in-class omnichannel marketing. Working closely with agency partners and cross-functional teams, you'll help position Grind as one of the UK’s most culturally relevant, digitally sophisticated and customer-centric consumer brands.

• Own and evolve Grind's brand strategy across our digital channels, hospitality sites, grocery & convenience, B2B & strategic partnerships
• Lead the development of distinctive, culturally relevant integrated brand campaigns that build awareness and consideration while driving customer acquisition, retention, and commercial growth.
• Lead brand partnerships, collaborations, and cultural activations that earn attention, build brand fame, and strengthen Grind's relevance in culture.
• Build a best-in-class customer insight function, leveraging first-party data, research and analytics to inform strategic decisions.
• Partner closely with Growth, Ecommerce and Product teams to align brand investment with commercial objectives and customer outcomes.
• Develop frameworks to measure brand performance, campaign effectiveness, customer sentiment and marketing ROI.
• Identify and experiment with emerging tools and technology, including AI, that can improve creative development, marketing effectiveness, customer understanding, and decision-making.
• In partnership with the DTC and Product teams, lead creative development across performance marketing and brand campaigns, partnerships, packaging, content and brand communications, ensuring consistency and quality.
• Manage and develop creative and brand talent, fostering a high-performance, data-informed culture.
• Represent the voice of the customer across the business and help shape the future direction of the Grind brand.

You’ll have.

• Strong strategic brand leadership experience within a high-growth consumer, retail, hospitality or ecommerce business.
• A proven track record of building brands that deliver both cultural relevance and commercial results.
• Exceptional analytical skills, with the ability to translate customer and business data into actionable insights.
• Strong commercial acumen and the confidence to work alongside senior leadership on growth and business strategy.
• Experience developing measurement frameworks and making investment decisions based on evidence and performance data.
• A genuine curiosity about AI and emerging technology, and an appetite to experiment with how they can make marketing and creative work better.
• A balance of creativity and pragmatism, knowing when to trust instinct and when to follow the data.
• Outstanding leadership skills, with experience building, developing and inspiring high-performing teams.
• A genuine passion for creating exceptional customer experiences.

Bonus if you have…

• Experience building and growing omnichannel consumer brands across ecommerce, retail, hospitality and wholesale channels, with a strong understanding of the customer journey across both physical and digital touchpoints.
• Experience using AI tools across creative production, customer insight, analytics, CRM or marketing operations.
• Familiarity with attribution modelling, marketing mix modelling or brand measurement methodologies.
• Experience managing retail, hospitality or omnichannel brands.
• Existing relationships within media, partnerships or consumer brand ecosystems.
• A love of coffee, hospitality and building category-defining brands.

Grind is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, marital status, age, veteran status, or disability status.

If there are any adjustments you need to help you bring your best self to an interview with us please let us know.

• Extra Holiday: Gain an extra day of holiday for each year you spend with us, capped at 3 additional days.
• SpectrumLife: Access our confidential Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for personal and professional support.
• Referral Bonus: Earn a bonus for bringing great talent to our team (£250 for employees, £450 for managers).
• Financial support: access to interest-free, short-term loans when you need them most
• Discounts online: Up to 40% off our retail line online.
• Crew Card: Enjoy 50% off all food and drinks, plus two free coffees a day at Grind locations.
• Team Events: Participate in regular team events and enjoy a stocked office with healthy breakfast and snacks.
• Family & Friend Discounts: Special discounts for family and friends.
• Enhanced Maternity and Paternity: Enjoy enhanced maternity and paternity benefits once eligible.