Marketing Manager / Lead

THE ROLE

IF is entering a new phase of growth, and we’re looking for a Marketing Manager or Lead to help us show up consistently and compellingly in the markets we care about and the clients we want to work with.

Our work sits at the intersection of design, technology and trust, a genuinely complex space that takes time to understand. You won’t be expected to know it all from day one. We’re looking for someone curious, organised, and energised by the idea of getting under the skin of something genuinely important and new. For the right person, there is also the option to work alongside a Marketing Mentor. We may look to bring in a senior external practitioner who joins a couple of days a month to support your development and help shape our marketing approach over time. We have yet to identify this person, but it is part of our planning process.

You’ll be reporting to the Managing Partner, working closely with IF’s leadership team and our Growth Lead, turning strategy into consistent activity: managing content, events, campaigns and the day-to-day rhythm of how IF and its team are presented to the world.

The focus of the role will vary slightly, depending on the needs of the business and where we are with our strategy, but at different times it is likely to cover the following:

Brand and messaging

You will be the keeper of IF’s brand voice and messaging, making sure how we communicate externally is clear, consistent and true to who we are.

• Translate business priorities and positioning into external communications across channels.

• Maintaining and working from IF’s messaging house and campaign frameworks, keeping outputs aligned.

• Brief and manage relationships with external designers to deliver core marketing assets.

Content and thought leadership

You will manage the flow of content that keeps IF visible and credible in the market. IF’s leadership team generates the ideas and thinking; your role is to help bring them to life and get them seen.

• Own and manage IF’s content calendar, including LinkedIn, the monthly newsletter and blog.

• Work collaboratively with the team to develop and shape content, including posts, articles and frameworks.

• Support senior leadership with ideas for LinkedIn posts and community engagement; this is not a ghostwriting role, but you’ll help prompt, develop thinking and edit.

• Manage the monthly newsletter end-to-end: coordination, editing, scheduling and distribution.

Events and visibility

You will manage how IF shows up at external events, identifying the right opportunities and making sure we’re prepared and well-represented.

• Own IF’s external events strategy: spotting speaking slots, sponsorship opportunities and attendance priorities.

• Manage speaker logistics and relationships with event partners, including briefing materials, talking points and calendar coordination.

• Support leadership in developing and preparing talks.

• Run internal events, both private and public-facing.

Business development support

You will work closely with IF’s Growth Lead and Senior Team to make sure marketing activity is joined up with commercial priorities.

• Align content, events and outreach with the sectors and clients we’re actively targeting.

• Identify warm or engaged leads and pass them to the Growth Lead at the right moment.

• Manage relationships with external partners, event organisers and clients for case study development.

• Contribute market and audience insight to help shape how and where IF invests its marketing effort.

Employer brand and culture

You will work with our Operations Lead and our People Lead to make sure IF’s values and culture come through in how we recruit and how we communicate internally.

• Produce hiring posts and recruitment communications that reflect IF’s voice.

• Manage awards submissions and industry recognition opportunities.

• Support internal communications that tell the story of IF’s work and direction.

• Help plan and deliver community and partnership events.

ABOUT YOU

• You have experience in a marketing role within a design consultancy, agency or professional services environment. You may be a manager stepping up or a lead looking for a new challenge in a high-ownership role in a smaller team.

• You are highly organised and capable of managing multiple workstreams without dropping the ball. You understand what a well-run content calendar, events programme and brand presence looks like, and you know how to build that from a solid starting point.

• You are a strong writer and communicator. You can craft copy that is clear, punchy and consistent with a defined voice. You’re comfortable writing across formats: social, newsletters, event materials and briefs.

• You are curious about the subject matter. IF’s work spans AI, data, design and policy. You don’t need to arrive with deep expertise, but you need to be genuinely interested and willing to invest in understanding it.

• You understand how marketing and business development connect. You have worked in environments where marketing supports commercial goals, and you know how to stay joined up with a sales or growth function.

• You are a confident collaborator. You can work closely with senior leaders, take a brief, push back constructively and deliver something they’re proud of. You’re not looking to operate in isolation, but you will also be the only full-time marketing person.

• You experiment with tools and stay current. We’re not looking for someone who has mastered every platform, but someone who is actively exploring how AI and emerging tools can make their work sharper.

• You are low ego, thoughtful and genuinely motivated by the kind of work IF does. You want to be part of something that matters, and you bring that energy every day.

YOUR LOCATION

IF is based in London, and we’re looking for someone based here or within a commutable distance. We’re largely a remote-first team and currently spend Wednesdays together in a co-working space in Old St. This might change in the future, and some activity requires flexibility, but we design our setup to enable deep work and balance.

THE HIRING PROCESS

You’re likely to meet at least one member of the team at each stage because we’re a small team. We may use an AI note-taking service to assist your interviewer in capturing the conversation.

• An initial 30-minute introductory call to discuss the role, your experience and ensure alignment.

• A 60-minute interview to explore your background in more detail. We’ll dig into your approach to marketing and content, and ask some questions based on real IF context.

• A practical task, allowing you to get close to our work and the IF team to better understand your thinking.

• A final 60-minute conversation about your experience, ways of working, motivations and what working at IF looks like.

BENEFITS

Salary banding for this role is £50,000–£65,000, depending on experience. Our benefits also include:

• Company Bonus. We’re introducing a bonus scheme for the 2026 calendar year designed to ensure all team members benefit from the studio’s success. Beyond 2026 we’re developing a simple scheme that recognises individual performance as well as overall company success.

• 25 days holiday each calendar year, in addition to bank holidays (which typically tops this up to around 33 days).

• Christmas closure between Christmas and the New Year.

• A week-long summer closure each year, so the whole team is offline together during the warmer months.

• 5 days of paid emergency carers leave.

• Enhanced parental leave for all genders and routes to becoming a parent.

WORKING AT IF

We encourage a balanced way of working. We’re ambitious, hardworking and constantly juggling the demands of our work. We also offer flexibility and a deep appreciation of life outside of work. We’re creating an environment where you will do some of the most fulfilling work of your career, and with that comes a deep commitment to collective care and wellbeing.

• Core hours. We’re online and schedule meetings 1000–1600. Outside of that, we encourage you to start and end your day between 0730–1900, allowing you to design your working day around your needs.

• Flexible Fridays. We try to keep this day meeting-free to end the week with calm and completion. Clock off when the work is done.

• Thoughtful approach to sync vs async work. How we communicate, document and spend time together is thoughtfully designed and iterated upon.