Role: Senior Brand Manager – In Restaurant & Menu (Maternity Cover)
Contract: Fixed Term - Maternity Cover
Reports to: Marketing Director
Direct reports: 3 (Commercial Lead, Marketing Assistant and Graphic Designer)
Location: Hybrid: 3 days a week in office (central London)
Salary: Dependent on experience
About ASK Italian
ASK Italian is a family of 60 Italian restaurants across the UK, with every ASK serving its own unique community. We take our inspiration from the Italian way of life and put our heart and soul into the details, so when people come to our restaurants, they can relax, unwind and be themselves.
Behind the scenes, we’re a collaborative, hands‑on team who care deeply about food, people and getting the details right, working together to build a stronger business and a brand we’re proud of.
The Role
This role sits at the heart of how customers experience ASK Italian in our restaurants.
As Senior Brand Manager – In Restaurant & Menu, you’ll lead the development and delivery of menus, pricing and in‑restaurant propositions that excite customers, reflect our food values and drive commercial performance. From everyday menu decisions to our biggest red letter days, you’ll shape the moments that matter most to the business.
Working closely with Food Development, Finance and Operations, you’ll turn customer insight and commercial objectives into menus and offers that land brilliantly in restaurants. The role also extends to our Out of Restaurant proposition, where you’ll set clear direction and priorities to ensure the delivery proposition performs strongly beyond the restaurant too.
You & The Job
You enjoy working collaboratively across the business and are comfortable in an entrepreneurial environment where you combine creative thinking with strong commercial judgement, rolling up your sleeves to bring ideas to life.
You will report directly to our Marketing Director who will be there to champion and coach you to success and as we operate a fairly flat structure you will have visibility and access to everyone from our General Managers all the way through to our CEO.
You’ll bring experience in marketing or product development, ideally within a restaurant, retail environment or FMCG.
Key Accountabilities
Menu & Proposition Leadership (In‑Restaurant)
* Lead the development of menu briefs that reflect ASK Italian’s food vision, customer needs, emerging food trends and commercial objectives.
* Own customer insight relating to dishes, menus and pricing, using Brandvue, Yumpingo, purchase data and ad hoc research to inform decision-making.
* Project‑manage the cross‑functional menu planning process to deliver timely, accurate and successful menu launches.
Pricing, Set Menus & Red Letter Days
* Own the development and delivery of pricing and promotional mechanics in partnership with the Finance team.
* Ensure pricing, set menus and red letter day offers are clearly briefed, operationally deliverable and accurately built across all systems and touchpoints.
Out of Restaurant & Commercial Partnerships
* Lead the commercial plan and delivery of the Out of Restaurant proposition, ensuring strong performance and consistency across delivery channels.
* Ensure all dish and offer updates are accurately briefed to tills, delivery aggregators and digital platforms via the Commercial Lead.
Local Marketing & Restaurant Activation
* Provide guidance and frameworks to support local marketing activity aligned to national campaigns and menu launches.
* Work with Operations to ensure local activity is on‑brand, commercially sound and operationally practical.
Governance, Accuracy & Delivery Excellence
* Work with the QS team to ensure all allergen, nutritional and receipt information meets legal requirements and best practice.
* Ensure menus, pricing and offers are accurately reflected across tills, digital platforms and reporting systems, and manage print partners to deliver menu materials accurately, within budget and agreed timelines.
Experience
* 4–5 years’ experience in a marketing or product development role, ideally within a restaurant or retail environment.
* Hands‑on experience working with customer‑facing ranges, propositions, pricing or offers in a customer‑facing business (e.g. menus, product ranges or assortments).
* Experience developing creative customer propositions, offers or ranges that balance customer appeal with commercial performance.
* Management and coordination of a cross‑functional team to ensure timely, impactful and accurate delivery.
* Experience developing in‑restaurant marketing materials and managing print production and budgets would be an advantage.
* Management of agencies and experience of people management would be an advantage.
* A real interest in food, wine and Italy is a bonus!
Skills & Behaviours
* Commercially and strategically minded - Balancing brand ambition with commercial reality.
* Customer‑focused and insight‑led - Thinks from the customer perspective, digging into data to shape recommendations.
* Creative problem‑solver - Enjoys developing new ideas for customer propositions, shaping them into activity that works commercially and operationally.
* Strong operator - Comfortable owning delivery end to end, with a practical, hands‑on approach to getting work over the line.
* People‑focused leader - Supports and develops direct reports, creating clarity, accountability and high standards of performance.
* Collaborative and influential - Builds strong relationships across functions, confidently influencing and aligning stakeholders to deliver shared objectives.
* Organised and detail‑oriented - Able to manage multiple priorities at pace while maintaining accuracy across menus, offers and systems.
* Proactive and self‑sufficient - Takes initiative, uses judgement and momentum to move work forward without needing constant direction.
* Clear communicator - Communicates ideas and decisions clearly and confidently, adapting style for different audiences.
What we can offer you:
* Peace of mind from your very first day with our Life Assurance, Income Protection and Private Healthcare schemes.
* We Care wellbeing services, including 24/7 GP, mental health, legal and financial support, etc. for you and your immediate family.
* A contribution of 6% of your salary to your pension pot each month.
* 50% discount with ASK Italian, Zizzi and Coco di Mama and 25% discount for friends and family members.
We also have a great office designed by our own in‑house creative team, located in Central London, just opposite the Edgware Road Circle line tube stop.
As you might expect from an Italian restaurant company, we have free espresso and barista training as part of your induction! A free Coco di Mama breakfast is provided every Tuesday & Thursday and free fruit is available all day every day too.
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