Head of Regional Projects

Salary: Up to £75,000 per annum, dependent on experience

Location: London

Working Type: Hybrid, Studio Based

Software: Standard suite for retail and project management

Types of Projects: Retail store design, brand activations, experiential environments, visual merchandising

About the Business

Our client is a design-led consumer brand with a strong reputation for creativity, joy, and accessibility. With a growing retail presence and an ambitious approach to physical brand experience, they’re investing in the people and processes that will shape how their brand shows up in the world. The retail and activations function sits at the heart of that ambition, responsible for bringing the brand to life across stores, pop-ups, and experiential formats.

About the Role

This is a senior leadership role responsible for the creative, strategic, and operational delivery of regional retail activation projects. Working closely with the Head of Retail & Activations, you’ll own the end-to-end process across stores, activations, and experiential environments, ensuring every physical touchpoint reflects the brand’s vision and commercial objectives.

This isn’t a purely strategic role. The business is looking for someone who’s genuinely hands-on, someone who’ll get into the detail of a project, work closely with their team and cross-functional partners, and take real ownership of outcomes. You’ll be as comfortable presenting creative vision to senior stakeholders as you are working through production timelines with suppliers.

Key Responsibilities

Creative Leadership & Stakeholder Collaboration

• Take ownership of creative input across regional projects, ensuring alignment with broader retail and brand objectives.
• Pitch ideas and present creative vision confidently to senior stakeholders, agencies, and internal teams.
• Lead meetings with external partners and agencies, providing clear direction and decisive guidance throughout.

Retail Strategy & Experience

• Execute retail strategy in line with brand vision and long-term commercial goals.
• Integrate design, production, and storytelling to create immersive customer journeys across all retail formats.
• Continuously improve the retail experience through innovative layouts, creative partnerships, and data-informed visual merchandising.

Retail Activation Projects

• Oversee the delivery of in-store and experiential activations, working closely with retail activation, commercial, marketing, and creative teams.
• Ensure brand identity is consistently and accurately represented across all physical touchpoints.

Production Oversight

• Manage end-to-end production of retail and activation materials, from concept development through to final execution.
• Maintain high-quality output while keeping projects on budget and on schedule.
• Work closely with external design agencies, production partners, and suppliers to meet specifications and delivery requirements.

Visual Merchandising & Retail Operations

• Partner with the Head of Visual Merchandising to embed VM principles across all regional store and project deliveries.
• Collaborate with Operations to ensure design and production integrate smoothly into daily retail activity.
• Capture and communicate feedback, insights, and learnings to drive continuous improvement.

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead and develop a high-performing team responsible for delivering regional retail and activation projects.
• Foster cross-functional collaboration between creative, marketing, sales, and operations teams.
• Support the team’s ongoing development, keeping them informed of emerging trends, technologies, and production methods.

Supplier & Partner Management

• Manage relationships with external agencies, production companies, and suppliers.
• Negotiate costs and manage budgets to deliver projects within financial targets without compromising quality.
• Develop bespoke solutions with partners for in-store displays, events, and promotional activities.

Customer Insight & Market Awareness

• Analyse customer feedback and retail performance data to identify opportunities for improvement.
• Stay ahead of industry trends in retail design, visual merchandising, and experiential marketing.
• Monitor competitor activity and translate insights into actionable ideas.

Budget & Financial Oversight

• Support the Head of Retail & Activations in tracking and managing budgets across retail and activation projects.
• Ensure efficient use of resources while maintaining high creative and production standards.

Requirements & Experience

• Minimum 8–10 years’ senior experience delivering regional retail, store, or brand activation projects in a fast-paced, elevated environment.
• Strong creative leadership with the ability to influence, challenge, and align stakeholders around a clear brand and retail vision.
• Highly collaborative, with a track record of building effective partnerships across creative, commercial, marketing, and operations teams.
• Strategically and commercially minded, able to balance creativity, quality, timelines, and budget control.
• A confident communicator with strong presentation skills, comfortable engaging senior leadership and external partners alike.
• Proven experience managing agencies, suppliers, and production partners with clarity and accountability.
• Someone who takes genuine ownership from concept to delivery, demonstrating sound judgement, resilience, and a solutions-focused mindset.
• Detail-aware but pragmatic, maintaining high standards while driving efficient execution.
• A people-focused leader who develops talent and fosters a positive, high-performing team culture.