WHO WE ARE
Welcome to Ascot where tradition meets innovation and excitement is the heartbeat of our business.
We are a destination for over 500,000 guests each year where passion, elegance, and celebration converge, and it is our team of behind-the-scenes heroes that bring every intricate detail to life.
As one of the world's leading racecourses, Ascot is renowned for its rich heritage spanning over 300 years. But we are not bound by the past; we're driven by the pursuit of excellence in everything we do.
From hosting our flagship event, Royal Ascot, to pioneering sustainable practices, we are committed to building a Global lifestyle brand, wrapped around the world class horse racing we run.
At Ascot we believe in preserving the beauty of our surroundings and minimising our ecological footprint. From eco-friendly initiatives to community engagement programs, we strive to make a positive impact on both the environment and the lives of those around us.
THE ROLE
The Head of Marketing leads the marketing strategy for Ascot, driving audience growth, commercial performance, and brand elevation across all consumer touchpoints. This role is responsible for shaping go-to-market plans, pricing, campaign delivery and insight led decision making. The role oversees creative development, media strategy, PR, social content, digital platforms, and on-site brand execution. You will act as our brand guardian, building on our refreshed brand positioning and ensuring consistent, high quality storytelling, visual identity and IP management. With accountability for the marketing budgets, leadership of a multi-disciplined team and a key stakeholder collaborating with internal departments, this role requires a seasoned marketing leader with deep brand management expertise, strong commercial acumen and proven success delivering change and growth in fast-paced environments.
WHAT YOULL BE DOING
Marketing Strategy & Insights
* Develop and implement a clear strategy to aid growth in all commercial business areas whilst increasing our audience reach and engagement.
* Build clear go-to-market plans for direct-to-consumer products, leading on pricing, attendance and budget projections for Royal Ascot and Ascot Racedays.
* Liaise closely with relevant industry bodies and assist and leverage the development of central research programmes.
* Develop new reporting models to make best of use customer and commercial data within our proprietary data warehouse, including creating and maintaining a new customer segmentation.
* Identify and procure the use of third-party suppliers to support the development of useful insights.
Marketing Campaigns
* Oversee creative development for all key product campaigns, incorporating both ATL and BTL channels and sourcing and liaising with appropriate creative talent to deliver.
* Be responsible for all media buying budgets and processes, managing agency and direct media owner relationships.
* Ensure delivery of a robust BTL plan using owned channel communications to maximise effectiveness and efficiency.
* Oversee our consumer PR strategy, leveraging different elements of the Ascot experience (e.g. fashion, food, lifestyle) to maximise our presence in key platforms and territories.
* Drive our international audience growth plans, creating and implementing effective activity to bring new audiences to the Ascot brand.
Brand Management
* Act as the principle brand ambassador for the Ascot business, ensuring that both aesthetic and storytelling standards are maintained.
* Ensure the loyal application of our visual identity in all channels, advising and arbitrating on its use as necessary.
* Advance the recent brand refresh project that has been undertaken in 2026 to its full conclusion.
* Advise on tone of voice for all consumer-facing communications.
* Work closely with venue operations and catering teams to ensure that the Ascot brand is well-represented in all on-site executions.
* Work closely with internal and external legal teams on management of Ascot IP and trademarks.
* Manage approvals for third parties using the Ascot brand, including sponsors, broadcasters and agents.
* Oversee the work of the in-house design team, assisting in managing workloads, briefing processes and creative development as necessary.
Content & Social Media
* Oversee the team responsible for all official Ascot social channels.
* Ensure delivery of a well-populated content plan each week.
* Approve and advise on content as required, ensuring the highest levels of accuracy and consistency.
* Work with the team to develop a strong stable of external creative and production talent.
* Further develop Ascots influencer and KOL strategy.
Digital Platforms
* Take responsibility for both back-end and front-end management and development of our owned digital platforms, including our website, app, customer data platform and direct marketing suite.
* Manage the relationship with our third-party developer to ensure the platforms continue to deliver to a market-leading standard.
* Work closely with in-house Technology team to build and implement a roadmap for future platform developments based on user and market insights.
* Ensure all content is accurate and timely across owned platforms.
Team Management
* Line management of all senior managers within the team
* Oversee all marketing-related budget areas.
* Report to Ascot Directors as required on key projects.
SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Essential
* Experienced and effective leader who can inspire multi-functional teams.
* Excellent communicator, able to engage effectively with internal and external stakeholders.
* Ability to cope with and thrive in fast-paced environments.
* Demonstrable experience in a consumer-facing marketing role.
* Experience in developing and managing commercial budgets, including pricing and forecasting.
* Clearly demonstrable brand management experience.
* Line management capability and experience.
Desirable
* Experience in the sports or live events industry.
* Experience in implementing change in large scale and / or complex operations.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM US
Ascot Racecourse is a workplace like no other. You can expect to enjoy a standout welcome, tailored training and development, and wellbeing support for you and your family, including private medical insurance and 24/7 virtual GP access. We run an internal Staff Volunteering programme where you will be given time off to give back to the community. Additional perks include extra paid time off for our Christmas office closure, TOIL if working on a race day, clothing and hat allowances and hiring, complimentary guest tickets, and exclusive local and brand partner discounts. With monthly socials, annual parties and special celebrations, there is always something to look forward to at Ascot
DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION
We are committed to ensuring guests from all backgrounds and communities feel welcome at the Racecourse and are working to ensure our internal teams are nurtured within a supportive and inclusive environment. Our mission is to eliminate discrimination and prejudice of any kind at our venue and throughout our business. By educating and implementing meaningful actions across all that we do, we can make certain that Ascot is a place for everyone to enjoy. As an equal opportunities employer, Ascot Racecourse is committed to the equal treatment of all current and prospective employees and does not condone discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race or ethnicity, religion or belief, gender identity, or marriage and civil partnership. We aspire to have a diverse and inclusive workplace and strongly encourage suitably qualified applicants from a wide range of backgrounds to apply and join our company.