Brand Manager - NARS

Brand Manager, Complexion - NARS

ORGANISATION

Reports to: Senior Marketing Manager

Manages: Marketing Coordinator

Job Location: London

Contract type: Permanent

Main Responsibilities

Brand Strategy & Leadership

• Act as the UK strategic lead for the NARS Complexion category, ensuring full alignment with global brand vision while tailoring strategies to local market dynamics.
• Lead the development and execution of comprehensive brand strategies, identifying growth opportunities and driving innovation across all touchpoints.
• Influence global and regional campaign strategies, POSM development, and creative execution through deep consumer insights and market intelligence.
• Own the GTM strategy for all Complexion campaigns, defining messaging, creative priorities, and ensuring cross-functional alignment across departments.
• Lead high-impact, complex projects such as NPD launches and the Free Standing Store strategy, including international coordination, and crisis management, ensuring timely and effective execution.
  
  

Trade Marketing & Retail Activation

• Lead strategic collaboration with Commercial & E-Retail teams, owning the development of retailer-specific trade plans and promotional activations.
• Drive the creation of exclusive retailer programs (e.g., previews, sets, GWPs, in-store events), ensuring consistency and excellence across the retail calendar.
• Oversee the execution of all retail marketing initiatives, including windows, promotional sites, and counter updates, in collaboration with VM, Retail, and Commercial teams.
• Lead bi-annual strategy presentations, coordinating cross-functional input and delivering compelling retailer activation plans.
  
  

Media & Communications Strategy

• Under the direction of Senior Marketing Manager, lead multi-channel media planning and execution in partnership with external media agencies and internal stakeholders, leveraging best practices & insights to optimize campaign impact.
• Review PCA and provide strategic recommendations to the Senior Marketing Manager for future campaign optimization.
• Drive influencer strategy in collaboration with the PR team, selecting partners, developing briefs, negotiating terms, and optimizing based on performance data and market feedback.
• Recommend optimizations and learnings to inform future brand and media strategies.
  
  

Forecasting, Pricing & Stock Management

• Lead forecasting for all new Complexion launches and core catalogue, ensuring alignment with commercial goals and market trends.
• Oversee POSM and sampling strategy with larger budgets, ensuring alignment with retail strategy and consumer behavior insights.
• Own pricing strategy and competitive analysis, driving annual pricing reviews and value proposition development.
  
  

Performance Analysis & Reporting

• Lead post-campaign analysis, ROI tracking, and competitor benchmarking, delivering actionable insights to UK and EMEA stakeholders.
• Provide strategic commentary on monthly retail performance and Circana data, acting as the category expert and market authority.
  
  

Budget Ownership

• Take a leading role in the annual budget process, working closely with Finance and the Senior Marketing Manager to shape strategic investment decisions.
• Manage day-to-day budget oversight for the Complexion category, ensuring accurate phasing, PO management, and financial compliance.
• Provide in-depth budget tracking and reconciliation, identifying opportunities for reallocation and efficiency.
  
  

Team Leadership & Development

• Mentor and develop Marketing Coordinator, fostering a culture of growth, collaboration, and wellbeing.
• Support cross-functional team development through knowledge sharing, coaching, and leadership in key strategic initiatives.
  
  

Experience Required

We are looking for someone with experience in marketing and well versed in the above responsibilities, preferably within beauty. This role would be well suited to someone who has been operating at a Brand Manager level for approximately 2 years due to the level of responsibilities.

• Team worker, passionate and driven with excellent communication and presentation skills and a strong commercial acumen
• Ability to influence and negotiate at all levels
• Resourceful and generous with their dedication, passion and energy
• Self-starter and positive spirit with great ability to influence and negotiate
• Ability to multitask, work at pace and with ambiguity
• Extremely high degree of attention to detail and organisation
• Excellent English, written and spoken
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office
  
  

The Benefits You’ll Love

• 26 days holiday + bank holidays + your birthday day off
• Holiday buy – up to 5 days
• Day off when you get married or move house
• Generous contributory pension scheme – match up to 8%
• Annual performance related bonus
• Private medical insurance with Vitality
• Enhanced parental allowance
• Generous product allocation & discount
• Life Assurance up to x4 your salary
• Flexible Friday finish
• Flexible & hybrid working
• Wellbeing programmes
• Annual performance and development reviews so you know your career is going in the right direction
  
  

About Shiseido Group

Our mission : Beauty Innovations for a Better World

Click here to learn more about our brands

Founded in 1872 in Japan, Shiseido Group is within the Top 5 leading cosmetics companies in the world and aims to inspire a life of beauty and culture. Operating in 120 countries with 42,000 employees and 70 nationalities, Shiseido offers a unique selection of Skincare, Makeup and Fragrance brands with a projected turnover over £7.0bn in 2022. Celebrating 150 years of heritage in 2022, Shiseido constantly creates high-quality, safe and innovative cosmetics and develop brands deeply loved by people from all over the world, in line with our mission: Beauty Innovations for a Better World. Did you know that Shiseido is the most awarded company in terms of innovation with a record 31 FSCC Awards?

Shiseido UK & Ireland plays a central role in the EMEA region and is biggest affiliate, leading the Digital acceleration agenda thanks to a team of local experts, but is also constantly reinventing its Retail footprint in the world Nr4 biggest beauty market.

To deliver our strong Growth & Profitability ambitions, we will follow 4 strategic streams

• Leverage our unique portfolio of premium Beauty brands across all 3 categories
• Stay agile and capture new retail opportunities
• Customer-driven decisions
• Create a great place to work in Beauty
  
  

OUR PRINCIPLES

Think Big, Take Risks, Hands on, Collaborate, Be Open, Act with Integrity, Be Accountable, Applaud Success

OUR PRINCIPLES serve as the working principles that every Shiseido employee must follow. These eight working principles – known as "TRUST 8" – are based on the idea that mutual trust is the key to succeeding in OUR MISSION.

Click here to learn more about Our Principles and The Shiseido Philosophy

At Shiseido, we are committed to fostering an inclusive and diverse workplace where all employees feel valued, respected, and empowered. We believe that a diverse workforce enhances our creativity, innovation, and overall success. We welcome applications from individuals of all backgrounds, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or any other characteristic protected by law.

We are dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities and ensuring that our hiring practices reflect our commitment to diversity and inclusion. Together, we can build a vibrant and dynamic team that reflects the diverse world we serve.

If you need any support or adjustments during your application, please get in touch with us and we will be happy to support you.

As users of the disability confident scheme, we guarantee to interview all disabled applicants who meet the minimum criteria for the position applied to.