Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.
People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.
This is a high-impact role at the heart of Howden Employee Benefits' Global Marketing function, built on two pillars: rigorous project management and high-calibre administration. The Global Marketing Project Manager is the operational engine behind the Global Marketing Leader: leading the delivery of the team's most important initiatives end-to-end, running the administrative backbone that keeps the Leader and the team effective day to day, and ensuring every project lands on time, on budget and with a clear, measurable return on investment.
The role owns the single source of truth for global client, colleague and project data, brings deep AI and digital capability to how the team plans and executes, and acts as a trusted right hand to the Global Marketing Leader — managing the diary, meetings, correspondence and records with genuine administrative rigour, and connecting the dots across the weeks ahead so nothing is missed.
This role suits an experienced project manager with strong administrative discipline — or a senior EA / PA / Chief of Staff with genuine project delivery experience ready to step up — who combines exceptional organisation and judgement with fluency in AI tools and modern digital ways of working.
Performance in this role is assessed against eight weighted competencies (see the companion Candidate Scorecard for the full framework). In the first 6–12 months, success looks like:
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Delivery discipline: Key global initiatives — thought leadership, campaigns, launches, activations — are delivered on time, on budget and to scope, with risks and dependencies actively managed rather than discovered late.
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Administrative rigour: Diaries, meetings, correspondence and records run seamlessly and proactively across time zones — nothing is dropped, and nothing arrives as a last-minute surprise.
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Commercial ownership: The global marketing budget tracker is owned end-to-end, with accurate forecasts, timely PO/invoice processing, and ROI insight that visibly shapes investment decisions.
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Senior credibility: Senior stakeholders across markets treat this person as a credible operator who can hold them to account — not just coordinate on their behalf.
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Anticipation: The Global Marketing Leader's time and priorities are managed weeks ahead, with blockers cleared and the team briefed before deadlines land, not after.
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Digital backbone: A single source of truth for clients, colleagues and projects is live, trusted and actively used, with AI tools embedded into everyday workflows.
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Lead the planning, delivery and tracking of key global marketing initiatives — including thought leadership programmes, campaigns, product launches and cross-market activations.
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Own project plans, milestones, dependencies, risks and action logs; hold cross-functional contributors accountable for deliverables.
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Ensure every project is delivered on time, on budget and to scope.
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Define, track and report on KPIs and return on investment across key initiatives, providing the Global Marketing Leader with confident, data-led updates.
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Manage complex, multi-time-zone diaries and scheduling for the Global Marketing Leader, proactively resolving clashes and prioritising competing demands.
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Coordinate meeting and event logistics end-to-end — agendas, room/tech bookings, travel arrangements, minutes and action tracking.
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Triage correspondence and communications on the Leader's behalf, exercising judgement and discretion on what needs a response and from whom.
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Maintain accurate, well-organised records, files and documentation, with clear version control and easy retrieval.
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Process expenses, purchase orders and invoices accurately and on time, liaising with finance as needed.
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Provide proactive, forward-looking planning — looking weeks and months ahead to anticipate needs, brief content requirements and clear obstacles before they appear.
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Connect the dots across the Marketing Leader's commitments, the team's workload and the wider business calendar — ensuring nothing is missed and everyone is set up to succeed.
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Prepare the Global Marketing Leader for key meetings, leadership forums, town halls and external engagements — including pre-reads, briefing notes, talking points and follow-up actions.
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Act as a trusted gatekeeper, exercising sound judgement on prioritisation, sequencing and what needs the Leader's attention.
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Own the global marketing budget tracker — managing forecasts, commitments and actuals across the team.
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Process invoices, manage purchase orders and liaise with finance and procurement.
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Provide regular budget reporting, flag variances early and propose reallocation where needed.
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Track ROI on key spend areas (agencies, platforms, events, content, technology) and surface insights to shape future investment decisions.
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Bring deep AI and digital fluency to the team — identifying, testing and embedding tools that improve productivity, content quality, reporting and decision-making.
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Lead the team's adoption and responsible use of AI across content workflows, research, reporting and process automation.
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Own and maintain the single source of truth — including the global client list, colleague list, stakeholder maps and project tracker — ensuring data is accurate, accessible and current.
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Manage and develop the team's use of core platforms including Marketing Cloud, SharePoint, Microsoft 365 and project management tools.
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Work closely with leadership, sales, country teams and external partners across 40+ markets.
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Coordinate activity across multiple teams, time zones and cultures — keeping projects moving and escalating blockers early.
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Support collaboration between leadership teams, sales teams and local stakeholders, ensuring connection points across key initiatives such as thought leadership.
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Support the planning and delivery of internal events, webinars, leadership offsites and team activities.
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Continuously improve how the global marketing team operates — designing better processes, templates and ways of working.
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Maintain the global SharePoint library so the team can easily find assets, templates and key documents.
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Produce high-quality PowerPoint presentations, briefing documents and senior stakeholder reports.
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Create clear status updates, dashboards and trackers that give leadership confidence in delivery.
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Proven project management experience, with a track record of delivering complex projects on time, on budget and to measurable outcomes — with real examples of governance, not just servicing.
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Proven, high-calibre administrative or executive support experience — diary management, meeting and event logistics, correspondence and document administration — ideally gained as a senior EA, PA or Chief of Staff.
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Deep AI and digital fluency — confident with AI tools (e.g. Claude, Copilot, ChatGPT and similar), automation, and using technology to work smarter.
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Strong commercial awareness, including hands-on budget management (forecasts, POs, invoices) and ROI tracking, not just campaign metrics.
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Exceptional, forward-looking diary management — able to anticipate needs, orchestrate complex schedules across time zones and connect the dots weeks ahead.
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The gravitas and stakeholder management skill to work with, and hold to account, senior leaders across cultures and geographies.
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Strong written communication and outstanding PowerPoint skills.
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Highly organised, proactive, detail-oriented and able to exercise sound judgement on what matters most.
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Comfort with ambiguity and a fast-paced, evolving environment.
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Experience with Marketing Cloud, SharePoint and Microsoft 365.
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Recognised project management qualification (e.g. PRINCE2, APM, Agile / Scrum).
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Background in or exposure to financial services, insurance, employee benefits or professional services, and an interest in Howden's Global Growth Solutions agenda.
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Experience operating across global or multi-market teams.
A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:
Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new
We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges
We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond
We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.
If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.
- Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.
Permanent
