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Marketing & Placemaking Project Manager – 12 month FTC

  • Location

    London

  • Discipline:

    Marketing & Digital

  • Job Type:

    Fixed Term Contract

  • Salary:

    £50,000 - £55,000

  • Contact:

    Jack Pascoe

  • Contact Email:

    jpascoe@vmagroup.com

  • Job Ref:

    JP 917112

  • Work Model:

    Hybrid

  • Consultant:

    Jack Pascoe

Opportunity Overview

Our client—a dynamic property and destination management organisation—is seeking aMarketing & Placemaking Project Managerto support strategic transformation and the roll-out of destination branding across its mixed-use portfolio. Reporting directly to the Marketing & Placemaking Director, this person will play a pivotal role in coordinating cross-functional initiatives, managing key supplier relationships, and ensuring that landmark projects (e.g., destination rebrands, brand-led activations, digital enhancements, and public realm improvements) are delivered on time and on budget.

About the Role

As the Marketing & Placemaking Project Manager, you will be the central point of contact for all Marketing & Placemaking (M&P) transformation projects. You’ll work closely with the Director of M&P to translate strategic objectives into an actionable delivery roadmap, liaise with internal teams (Asset Management, Commercial, Leasing) and external agencies, and ensure effective stakeholder engagement at every stage. This is a hands-on project management position, requiring exceptional communication, organisation, and relationship-building skills—ideal for someone who thrives in a structured but fast-paced environment.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Coordination & Delivery

  • Partner with the Director of M&P to operationalise the annual strategy for destination branding and placemaking across multiple regions.

  • Own and drive the annual plan: define critical milestones, clarify deliverables, and prioritise key initiatives in line with wider business objectives.

  • Manage end-to-end project lifecycles (from brief through to launch), ensuring that timelines, budgets, and quality standards are met.

  • Examples include integrating brand identity into physical environments, rolling out wayfinding systems, coordinating digital platform launches, and overseeing public realm enhancements.

Stakeholder & Supplier Management

  • Act as the primary liaison between the M&P team and internal departments (Asset Management, Commercial, Leasing), ensuring consistent communication of project status, interdependencies, and risks.

  • Identify, evaluate, and manage relationships with external agencies and suppliers (design studios, digital specialists, branding consultants, contractors). Ensure solutions meet both creative aspirations and budgetary constraints.

  • Provide regular updates and progress reports to senior stakeholders (steering groups, project boards), highlighting achievements, roadblocks, and next steps.

Team Collaboration & Integration

  • Serve as the “glue” within the M&P function—coordinating expertise to deliver cohesive outcomes.

  • Facilitate cross-departmental workshops, working groups, and presentations to gather input, align expectations, and drive collective ownership of transformational initiatives.

  • Support the M&P Director on flagship projects (e.g., a destination-wide rebrand) by overseeing detailed workstreams, ensuring quality control, and tracking performance metrics.

Planning & Reporting

  • Maintain a comprehensive delivery dashboard—mapping project timelines, resource requirements, budgets, and dependencies.

  • Collaborate with the Asset Management team to embed M&P initiatives into broader business plans (e.g., five-year Asset Vision documents).

  • Produce clear, concise reporting packages (slide decks, Gantt charts, risk logs) for periodic review by executive sponsors and board members.


Candidate Profile

Essential Experience & Skills

Project Management Expertise

  • Demonstrable track record of managing complex, multi-stakeholder projects from inception to completion—ideally within a retail, hospitality, or real estate environment.

  • Proficiency in project management methodologies (Prince2 certification is highly desirable).

  • Exceptional time management and organisational skills, able to juggle multiple parallel workstreams while maintaining a high level of attention to detail.

Commercial & Corporate Acumen

  • An understanding of corporate/PLC structures and how to navigate governance, budget approvals, and board-level reporting requirements.

  • Strong commercial mindset—capable of balancing creative ambition with budget discipline and operational feasibility.

Communication & Stakeholder Engagement

  • Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, able to craft concise reports and deliver confident presentations to senior leadership.

  • Proven ability to build rapport with internal teams (Asset Management, Leasing, Commercial) and engage third-party suppliers (brand agencies, architects, digital partners).

  • Excellent listening skills and a collaborative style—comfortable facilitating workshops, gathering input, and building consensus across diverse functions.

Technical Proficiency

  • Familiarity with project planning tools (e.g., MS Project, Smartsheet, Asana) and basic understanding of digital platforms (CMS, wayfinding software, mapping/GIS tools).

  • Competence in preparing budgets, monitoring spend, and producing financial tracking reports.

Desirable Attributes

  • Retail or hospitality background, particularly in brand activation or destination marketing.

  • Prior experience managing a destination-wide rebrand or major placemaking initiative.

  • Hands-on experience overseeing public realm improvements (wayfinding, signage, lighting, landscape activation).

  • A proactive “can-do” attitude, flexible approach, and willingness to travel between sites as needed.

Application Instructions

If you have a strong project management background, ideally Prince2-trained, coupled with experience in retail/hospitality or real-estate placemaking—and you thrive in a collaborative, fast-paced environment—let’s talk. Please submit your CV and a brief cover note summarising your relevant M&P project experience and why you believe you’d excel in this role.

Due to a high volume of applicants, we are unable to respond to everyone. We will get in touch if you are successful in your application.

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VMA GROUP is a leading international interim, contract, temporary and permanent recruitment and executive search specialist. We are specifically focused on providing support to the communications, marketing, digital and change communities.

Our specialist practice areas cover: communications, corporate communications, internal communications, change communications, PR, media relations, financial communications, CSR, public affairs, investor relations, marketing, brand, digital marketing and agency services.

We have a reputation for providing expert consultancy services and advice, supported by in-depth knowledge of the professions we recruit for. Our thought leadership and benchmarking studies have become go-to resources for the communications, marketing, digital and change industries, supporting planning and decision-making for organisations of all shapes and sizes.

In the UK, VMA GROUP has offices in London, Bristol and Manchester and in Europe, VMA GROUP has offices in Amsterdam and Brussels, but we work with organisations and individuals on a global basis.

VMA GROUP is committed to equal opportunities and is an Inclusive+ Recruiter.

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