Base: Manchester (4 days HQ / 1 day remote)
Reports to: Creative Director
Salary: (Competitive, dependent on experience, open for senior profiles).
We’re shaping this role around the person. If you’re the kind of creative strategist who builds worlds, we’ll build the package to match.
WHO WE ARE
KOI was born out of rebellion. We were the brand that flipped off beige fashion, put spikes on platforms, and refused to blend in. We were noise, chaos, and cult energy. Then… the graphs went up. Corporate thinking crept in. Decks replaced doodles. KPIs smothered instinct. We traded anarchy for analytics. Our roar dulled into a polite hum. No more. We’re switching the signal back on. This role is for a Head of Brand who can help reignite KOI’s original spirit, turning sharp ideas into culture, and culture into commercial impact.
THE ROLE
As Head of Brand at KOI, you’ll shape and execute the brand’s creative vision across every channel, from campaigns and collections to the everyday details that define how KOI feels to the world. You’re a strategic and hands‑on thinker who knows how to turn ideas into culture. You balance instinct with insight, creativity with commercial impact.
You bring clarity, energy and rebellion to everything you touch, guiding the creative team to deliver work that cuts through noise, connects with our audience, and pushes the KOI identity forward.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Brand Vision & Strategy
* Lead the brand vision — define and evolve KOI’s positioning, voice, and creative direction, ensuring every drop, campaign, and touchpoint reflects who we are and where we’re going.
* Build and maintain a long‑term (12‑month+) creative and brand strategy roadmap alongside the Creative Director, keeping KOI’s world moving forward with intent and cohesion.
* Measure brand health — define and track key metrics such as awareness, sentiment, and engagement, translating insight into creative and strategic action.
* Stay ahead of the curve — keep close watch on cultural shifts, community sentiment, and competitor activity to ensure KOI leads, not follows.
* Shape the future — drive innovation in marketing, content, and storytelling formats, exploring new creative mediums and collaborations that push KOI into new cultural spaces.
2. Campaigns & Creative Direction
* Lead the go‑to‑market strategy for all drops — craft the narrative, timing, channel plans, and experiential ideas that cut through culture.
* Oversee the visual and tonal direction for all organic and earned channels, including social, influencer, PR, and events, ensuring each piece of content carries KOI’s signature energy.
* Own the brand and marketing calendar — align messaging across Organic, Earned, CRM, and Paid so every campaign feels cohesive and deliberate, you set the tone and allow the team to deliver.
* Partner with the Creative Team to develop high‑impact visuals, films, graphics, and ideas that drive emotion, spark conversation, and connect with our community.
* Oversee all art direction — from campaign shoots to product imagery — ensuring every output feels distinctively KOI and on‑brand. Encourage experimentation with format and medium; whether it’s pixelated PS1 graphics or a SIMS‑inspired launch, KOI embraces unconventional creative.
3. Operations & Process
* Oversee planning, scheduling, and workflow across creative projects to ensure timely delivery, high standards, and consistent creative excellence.
* Manage the brand budget — allocate and oversee spend across brand, organic, and campaign activity, balancing experimentation with performance.
* Lead weekly stakeholder meetings to align teams on plans, launches, and priorities.
* Drive collaboration across Brand, E‑com, Marketing, Graphics, and Customer Service to ensure the brand strategy is understood and lived across the business.
4. People & Culture
* Line manage the Junior Brand & Marketing Manager and wider creative team, providing clarity, structure, and room for growth.
* Host regular creative sessions to share ideas, energy, and feedback — KOI is an inclusive environment where every voice can help shape drops, messaging, and direction.
* Embed KOI’s creative ethos throughout the company, ensuring all teams understand that we are a creative‑led brand first.
5. Partnerships & Insight
* Manage relationships with photographers, videographers, editors, agencies, and freelancers — selecting the right collaborators and ensuring output meets KOI’s creative standards.
* Translate creative and cultural impact into measurable performance insights, ensuring every external partnership and activation delivers both creative and commercial value.
* Keep KOI’s creative world evolving — test new ideas, experiment across mediums, and build cultural moments that challenge convention.
* Push the boundaries of what a footwear brand can represent, ensuring KOI continues to be seen as a cultural disruptor and creative leader.
WHO YOU ARE
* Experienced in leading cross‑channel brand campaigns within a fashion, lifestyle, or youth‑culture brand.
* Obsessed with creative storytelling, community, and emerging culture.
* Comfortable working in high‑tempo environments with a strong sense of autonomy, ownership and team leadership.
* A natural communicator, someone who can rally teams around a vision and turn ideas into motion.
* Growth‑oriented attitude, and an out‑of‑the‑box thinker.
* Strong awareness of the KOI mission, and a love for the brand.
* 5+ years of experience in content/marketing + previous head of brand or similar experience.
* Have examples of previous successes.
* Fluency across social‑first content.
* A natural collaborator, balancing creative chaos with commercial clarity.
* Ideally you have seen, and are a fan of The Matrix (bonus).
WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN THIS ROLE
* Sell through in the first four weeks of each drop.
* Growth in CRM list, social following, comments/engagement.
* Positive movement in brand sentiment and unaided awareness.
* Delivery on time and on budget for all planned launches.
* Social following, email subscribers, comments/engagement, all trending upwards.
* Quality PR hits, and influencer UGC volume.
* Upward trend in revenue.
WHY KOI
* Generous team discount.
* Work From Home Wednesdays.
* 2500sqf studio workspace.
* Free parking on site.
* Freedom to experiment, we back ideas and creative risk.
Remember folks, the KOI way is, we move fast, we experiment, we may get things wrong, but when it’s right, we make something iconic out of it.
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