Associate Director - Marketing Activation

This role will lead market activation across campaigns, channels, external profile and client engagement. You are responsible for how the firm activates its brand and campaigns in the market across paid media, earned media, partnerships, sponsorships, events, content activation, client programmes and market-facing communications.

This is a commercially-led leadership role. You set activation strategy, shape integrated execution plans and ensure activity supports market growth, client engagement and pipeline progression. The role requires strong judgement across media, partnerships, sponsorship activation, editorial planning, executive communications and campaign execution.

You lead the activation team, set delivery standards and stay close to high-value programmes and external market activity. You work with Service Line Marketers, Communications, senior leadership, Global teams and the Global Services Hub to deliver integrated go-to-market activity.

Key Responsibilities

Own in-market activation strategy. Translate campaign plans into integrated execution across paid, earned, owned and in-person channels.
Lead and develop the Market Activation team. Set priorities, standards and accountability. Build capability across the function.
Own market-facing partnerships and external profile strategy across media relationships, sponsorship direction, industry engagement and flagship brand activations.
Ensure partnerships and sponsorships align to business objectives and deliver measurable value.
Shape executive visibility opportunities including speaking platforms, thought leadership activation and strategic market positioning.
Partner with Communications on media moments and reputation-sensitive activity.
Own paid media and advertising planning, working with Global Channel Marketing and local suppliers on targeting, placement and budget.
Lead activation for major integrated campaigns alongside Service Line Marketers and sellers, balancing business priorities, brand visibility, stakeholder engagement and pipeline outcomes.
Oversee the campaign intake process. Ensure every programme launches with clear audience, objectives, ownership, follow-through and measurement.
Provide editorial oversight across major activation programmes, ensuring messaging quality, consistency, relevance and brand alignment.
Manage vendor, agency and Global Services Hub relationships for activation delivery, with quality and cost discipline.
Manage the market activation budget. Track spend against plan and report variance.
Track and report on activation performance. Run post-programme reviews, ensure CRM capture and recommend what to scale, improve or stop.
Use AI tools across planning, communications, targeting and operational efficiency. Support team adoption in practical and responsible ways.

Experience

Bachelor’s degree required. Postgraduate qualification in marketing or business preferred.
12+ years in integrated B2B marketing, brand activation, communications or campaign leadership roles within a complex organisation, with significant experience leading multi-channel campaigns across the full mix.
Direct line management experience, with evidence of building team capability.
Proven track record leading an activation function and setting strategy, with accountability for budget, vendor relationships and programme outcomes across multiple channels.
Proven track record delivering multi-channel campaigns that support pipeline, revenue or client engagement.
Strong experience leading integrated activation across media, sponsorships, partnerships, events, executive profiling, paid campaigns and market-facing communications.
Experience leading and developing a marketing activation team.
Experience operating at senior leadership level, with the judgement and credibility to advise stakeholders on external positioning and activation strategy.
Strong stakeholder management skills with the ability to work across service lines, functions and geographies.
Strong editorial and communications judgement, with experience shaping executive messaging, thought leadership or market-facing content programmes.
Experience leading commercially focused activation programmes that combine brand visibility, stakeholder engagement and pipeline generation.
Strong understanding of media planning, sponsorship activation, partnership strategy and integrated channel execution.
Budget management experience with a focus on cost discipline and ROI.
Familiarity with marketing technology, CRM and project management platforms.
Proficiency with AI tools across planning, targeting, communications and operational efficiency, with the ability to guide and support team adoption in a practical and responsible way.
Ability to balance strategic leadership with hands-on oversight of critical programmes and external engagements.
Ability to operate across multiple markets and cultures.

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We are Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton Ireland is rapidly approaching 3,000 people, in 9 offices across Ireland, Isle of Man, Gibraltar and Bermuda. With a presence in over 149 countries around the world and a global network of 73,000 people, we bring our clients the local knowledge, national expertise and global presence to help them succeed – wherever they’re located.

At GT, we work as trusted advisors, bringing local knowledge and national expertise, with a global presence, to help businesses succeed – wherever they are located. We make business more personal by investing in building relationships and empowering our clients to make the right decisions for their organisation now and for the future. Whether that is working with the public sector to build thriving communities, with regulators and financial institutions to build trust, or with a diverse range of businesses to help them achieve their goals, Grant Thornton Ireland work hard to support clients to act on the issues that matter.

At GT Ireland we don’t just predict your future, we build it.

A Career at GT

Looking for a more fulfilling role in professional services? One where fresh thinking, collaboration and diversity are valued? At Grant Thornton we do things differently.

What does this mean for you?

A career in a more inclusive working environment, a more collaborative work culture, a more supported, flexible working role, more possibilities to grow and more opportunities to help shape the future for your clients. We respect and value your experience. And we want you to bring your authentic self to work and be at your best. It is how it should be.

Grow with us

At Grant Thornton, we care about our people and work hard to make you feel valued. If you are looking to deepen and develop your skills, knowledge, and experience throughout your career, then that is what you will get, and more.

Our Benefits

Please follow this link for information on our generous benefits package.

Equity, diversity and inclusion
At Grant Thornton, we provide equitable opportunities for all our colleagues. We are a responsible, sustainable business where equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) is at the forefront of our workplace culture agenda, and today, we continue to build and develop on our existing ED&I structure and strategy to meet our workplace culture needs. People are at the heart of our business and teams built with varied individuals present diverse viewpoints, which need to be heard and valued.

We are all at our best when we are able to be ourselves and we view integrity and authenticity as integral values to bring to our day-to-day work-life at the firm. We are excited to see the personality and perspectives you will bring to our team because we know we will all benefit from them. Diversity of thought, background and experience enables better decision-making, improves the quality of our delivery, and helps us to meet the needs of our clients. Our firm is built on people and their ideas, so we want to hear all the new perspectives and fresh thinking you have to offer. You form the bedrock of our firm’s best-practice principles and we will champion you as leaders from day one.

Reward and benefits
Our reward and benefits are designed to create an environment where our people can flourish. We are committed to building a culture where our people have access to the necessary benefits to help promote a healthy lifestyle and thrive.

Recognition
We want to create a culture of recognition and celebrating success, by saying thank you to people who surpass our expectations and recognising the right values and behaviours. Our Shout Out recognition scheme is our way of highlighting and promoting achievements. Whether you simply want to say thank you, celebrate a special occasion or give an award for doing something exceptional, you can do all of this and more through the scheme.

Associate Director - Marketing Activation

Benefits

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