Marketing Lead - Merchanting Division
Haldane Group, one of the UK's Top 10 builders' merchants, is looking for a strategic and transformational Marketing expert to completely reimagine how trade professionals experience our Merchanting branch network, online, on the phone, at the counter, and on site.
We need someone who understands omni-channel and B2B commerce; can transform platforms and campaigns; drives revenue growth across every channel; thinks strategically but executes hands-on; wants to build something meaningful. If that's you don't wait, don't overthink it, we are waiting for your application!
You Will Love This Role If You
If you get excited by transformation, not just optimisation.
If you want ownership, not task execution.
If you want to build something, not maintain something.
If you think commercially, not just creatively, are data-driven but customer-obsessed too.
What you'll be doing
Strategic (30% of your time)
- Own the omni-channel marketing and B2B ecommerce expansion roadmap for the Merchanting Division
- Define what “world-class omni-channel trade experience” means for us
- Build business cases for platform and marketing investment
- Set KPIs that drive real business growth across every channel
- Report to senior leadership on marketing and digital performance
Hands-On (50% of your time)
- Partner with IT on platform builds and enhancements
- Create campaigns, write copy, build content calendars
- Analyse data across channels, run tests, optimise funnels online and offline
- Manage agencies and technology partners
- Work with the Category team on product content, pricing, and promotions
- Collaborate with branch managers on digital adoption and local marketing execution
- Get out to branches regularly, not occasionally
Leadership (20% of your time)
- Build and develop the divisional marketing team
- Evangelise omni-channel thinking internally
- Mentor colleagues on marketing and digital best practice
- Drive cultural change: every branch colleague is part of the customer experience
What You Will Build
A True Omni-Channel Trade Experience
The branch network is our superpower. Your job is to weave digital through every touchpoint.
The B2B Ecommerce Platform That Trade Customers Need
Not just ecommerce. A digital trade hub built for our branch network
Marketing for Every Customer - One Brand, Two Voices
Homeowners want inspiration and confidence. Trade professionals want speed, spec, and certainty. Great merchant marketing speaks fluently to both and you'll make sure ours does.
Content That Builds Authority
Become the trusted expert
Integrated Omni-Channel Campaigns
Every channel, one message, measurable ROI
What you'll bring
You Know Our World. This comes first, because it's where marketing has let merchants down before. You know the builders' merchant / building materials industry, or a closely related construction supply sector: the products, the suppliers, the seasonality and how contractors, builders, developers, self-builders and DIY customers actually buy. You can hold your own at a trade counter, not just in a marketing meeting.
Omni-Channel Marketing Leadership. You've led marketing across physical and digital channels, not just run a website. You understand how stores/branches and digital reinforce each other, how to measure cross-channel journeys, and how to get buy-in from the people behind the counter.
B2B Ecommerce Experience. You have done this. Not just “worked in ecommerce” specifically B2B ecommerce. You understand trade accounts, credit terms, bulk ordering, project-based buying, and how businesses purchase differently from consumers. You can talk intelligently about account-based commerce, customer-specific pricing, and B2B user journeys.
Digital Marketing Mastery. You have run integrated campaigns across SEO, SEM, paid social, email, and content. You know your CAC from your CLTV. You can show specific results: “increased organic traffic by X%, improved conversion by Y%, grew revenue by Z%.”
Commercial Brain. You think in revenue, margin, and ROI. You build business cases. You understand customer economics. You make data-driven decisions. Numbers excite you.
Platform Knowledge. Hands-on experience with ecommerce platforms (Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, custom B2B systems). You know what's possible, what's hard, and how to scope technical builds. You can talk to developers in their language.
Track Record of Growth. You have grown revenue through marketing and ecommerce before. You can point to specific wins and explain exactly how you delivered them. Bonus if you've connected online and in-store channels or added B2B capability to a B2C platform.
Communication Excellence. You write compelling copy. You present to senior leadership. You get buy-in from sceptical branch managers. You translate technical into simple. You influence without authority.
Driver and Travel. Full UK licence and genuinely happy to travel across our NI, England, and IOM branch network. This isn't occasional – it's regular. You can't build omni-channel from behind a desk.
What Will Make You Stand Out
- Direct experience working within a builders' merchant or trade distribution business
- Knowledge of the NI, England, and IOM trade market
- Retail or multi-site omni-channel experience (branch, store, or depot networks)
- Experience with ERP integration (stock systems, accounting)
- Loyalty, CRM, or trade account programme experience
- Agency management experience
- Video content creation skills
- Marketing qualification (CIM, DMI)
What You Will Get
The Basics
- Based at our Newry Head Office (full-time, permanent)
- Regular travel to branches across NI, England, and the Isle of Man
Competitive Package
- Salary that reflects your omni-channel and B2B ecommerce expertise
- Performance bonus (tied to results you control)
- Company car or car allowance
Benefits
- Pension scheme
- Life assurance
- Westfield Health
- Employee discount across all brands
- Professional development budget.
Work for an Industry Leader
ABOUT HALDANE GROUP
- We are a proud, family-owned business with big ambitions, founded in 1946, we've spent nearly eight decades becoming one of the UK's top ten builders merchants.
- Operating through multiple specialist brands including Haldane Fisher, Key Hardware, Bathline, Plumbmaster, Prowood, and GE Robinson and an extensive branch network across Northern Ireland, England, and the Isle of Man.
- 700+ colleagues who know the trade inside out. BMF board involvement, we shape the industry. Ambitious growth plans through acquisition and innovation.
- At Haldane Group we help customers build with confidence through trusted products and expert advice, powered by people you can rely on.
- You'll be part of one of the largest independent builders' merchants across Northern Ireland, GB and the Isle of Man , supplying the trade and self-builders with expert advice and everything they need.
Our Values: We're built on expertise, relationships, and service. We know our products, we understand our customers, and we deliver on our promises.
Join us in shaping the future of building materials supply.
The Company
*Haldane Group is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates regardless of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation.*
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