Job Advert
Head of Marketing
Salary: £52,221
Benefits: 33 days paid holiday pro-rata including bank holidays, free zoo entry for family and friends, staff discounts on food and retail, free parking, Employee Assistance Programme, and training from first aid to specialist skills.
Hours: 37.5 per week, permanent
Location: On-site, mostly based at Paignton Zoo (Devon) with regular visits to Newquay Zoo (Cornwall)
Reports to: Senior Leadership Team
Line manages: Digital Marketing Officer, Marketing Executive
Why this role
This isn't a single-site marketing role. You're leading across two zoos (Paignton in Devon, Newquay in Cornwall) as part of Libéma, a major Netherlands leisure group. That dual-site complexity comes with access to international best practices, innovation infrastructure, and genuine growth support most UK attractions don't have.
The job is to drive visitation, grow revenue, build brand strength. But both zoos are built on conservation—real education, research, authentic animal welfare. Your marketing has to work commercially and mean something. That's the difference.
You'll lead a small team (Digital Officer, Marketing Executive) and sit at Senior Leadership Team level. Hands-on leadership, not a distant strategic role.
What you'll do
Develop marketing strategy across both sites that drives ticket sales, memberships, events and secondary spend. Manage multi-channel campaigns (digital, print, PR, social, email, outdoor), own the ROI reporting and use data to improve what works.
Build your marketing team, translate business strategy into clear priorities, and develop capability across digital, campaign management and brand consistency.
Manage brand positioning and protect visual identity across both sites. Listen to visitor feedback and use analytics to drive improvement.
Represent both zoos at tourism forums (DATA, ERA), build relationships with media and agencies. You'll occasionally work weekends and bank holidays as part of the duty management rota.
Who we're looking for
Essential: You've led a marketing function in leisure, hospitality, visitor attractions or retail. You have a track record of strategies that drive revenue and visitation. You've run multi-channel campaigns, managed marketing budgets and used data to make decisions and report results. You know how to build and lead a team, manage brand consistency and represent an organisation externally. You're commercially minded and solutions-focused.
Desirable: Experience across multiple sites, brand repositioning, or working with international leisure groups.
Why these zoos
Both have established visitor bases and real conservation foundations. Libéma owns them seriously—investment in innovation, support from senior leadership & real career development.
We're an equal opportunities employer committed to inclusion and diversity.
