Marketing Manager - LIONS Riyadh

Company Description

Tahaluf is the largest B2B live and on-demand events organiser in Saudi Arabia by space, attendance, colleagues, and revenue. It is a joint venture between Informa PLC, the Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones (SAFCSP), and the Events Investment Fund (EIF).

Tahaluf is bold, visionary, and determined to make an impact. Our team fosters a culture of collaboration, creativity, and a little fun, here teamwork rules and work feels as exciting as the events we create. Scaling at this pace also requires exceptional local partners, and Tahaluf is proud to work with a range of government and non-government organisations at the forefront of Saudi Arabia’s B2B and B2C large-scale events scene.

Be part of something BIG with Tahaluf’s series of record-breaking events: LEAP and Cityscape - the largest events in the world in their respective fields of tech and real estate; Black Hat MEA - a Guinness World Record holder for the largest CTF competition during the event; and CPHI Middle East - the largest pharma debut event in history, to name just a few. Tahaluf is making a huge impact on the global events sector.

Join our ambitious and highly committed team, unafraid to push boundaries and disrupt the status quo. From day one, you’ll dive into large-scale projects under the guidance of a supportive leadership team that will encourage your personal development and open doors to new opportunities.

About LIONS Riyadh

LIONS Riyadh marks a bold new chapter for the world’s most prestigious platform for creative marketing. Launched by Tahaluf in partnership with LIONS and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Media, it is a distinct Festival within the global LIONS community, home to the renowned Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Designed to amplify Middle Eastern creativity on the global stage, LIONS Riyadh will showcase the region’s talent, ideas and storytelling while connecting its creative industries with the world’s leading networks, brands and decision-makers. The inaugural three-day Festival takes place at KAFD, Riyadh, from 6–8 December 2027. It will bring together regional and global CMOs, creative leaders, agencies, brands and emerging talent around creative excellence, effectiveness, culture and the future of the industry.

Job Description

The Marketing Manager designs and delivers critical aspects of the marketing strategy to achieve commercial objectives and revenue targets.

Achieves this through delivery of the brand, accurate customer segmentation, data analytics, campaign planning and multi-channel optimisation.

The Marketing Manager will play a key role in delivering high-impact campaigns for LIONS Riyadh, driving awareness, engagement, registrations and ticket sales across priority audience segments.

The role combines strong digital and performance marketing capability with creative thinking, audience insight and an understanding of the marketing, media and creative industries.

Working closely with the wider Marketing, Content, PR, Creative and Commercial teams, the Marketing Manager will help ensure campaigns are relevant, distinctive, data-led and aligned with the positioning and standards of LIONS Riyadh.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Ownership and accountability for marketing campaigns, including planning, implementation, management and optimisation across inbound and outbound channels.

• Deliver against agreed KPIs by driving traffic, engagement, leads, registrations and conversions

• Develop and execute integrated campaigns for priority LIONS Riyadh audience segments, including CMOs, creative leaders, agencies, brands, media professionals, creators and emerging talent.

• Understand audience digital behaviour through continual testing, reporting and campaign analysis.

• Benchmark and set KPI targets to improve campaign performance.

• Work with supporting agencies to develop and deliver paid campaign activity.

• Measure and optimise paid marketing using analytics and campaign reporting tools.

• Develop organic growth strategies across relevant stages of the audience journey.

• Collaborate with Content and Creative teams to develop relevant and engaging marketing assets.

• Manage and improve search performance, traffic, click-through rates and conversions.

• Design and implement testing and optimisation strategies, including A/B testing, landing pages and CTAs.

• Translate speakers, content, partnerships and Festival announcements into compelling audience campaigns.

• Support campaign localisation across Saudi Arabia, the GCC and priority international markets.

• Ensure creative output is consistent with LIONS Riyadh positioning and quality standards.

LEADERSHIP

• Work with line reports & marketing team to ensure successful delivery of marketing campaigns in line with agreed KPI’s, event and divisional strategy.

• Line manages digital marketer/s in order to successfully implement campaign strategies.

• Provide guidance, feedback and inspiration to line reports.

• Champion strong creative execution, attention to detail and continuous improvement across campaigns.

• Collaborate closely with Content, PR, Creative, Commercial and Operations teams to ensure joined-up campaign delivery

ANALYSIS & INSIGHT

• Monitor campaign performances by producing relevant and timely reports.

• Recommend changes to campaign execution based on data insights.

• Identify trends and insights, and optimize spend and performance based on the insights.

• Share relevant insights with wider marketing team and senior management to drive revenues or pursue new opportunities.

• Develop a clear understanding of audience motivations, behaviours and conversion barriers across key LIONS Riyadh segments.

• Use insight to improve campaign messaging, creative, targeting and channel selection.

• Track brand engagement and audience sentiment to identify opportunities to strengthen LIONS Riyadh relevance and reach.

PLANNING & CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT

• Work with the Marketing team to plan campaigns that meet strategic objectives, including audience growth and commercial performance.

• Monitor implementation plans and ensure adherence to deadlines, content calendars and budget trackers.

• Support development and management of marketing budgets.

• Manage campaign calendars around major LIONS Riyadh milestones including speaker announcements, content launches, partnerships, ticketing and Festival moments.

• Coordinate integrated activity across paid, owned, earned, social, CRM and partner channels.

• Ensure campaigns are delivered on time, on brand and against agreed performance targets.

MARKETING EXECUTION

• Identify target audiences and key segments.

• Develop personas, value propositions and messaging for key segments.

• Ensure timely and relevant communications are delivered through the most effective digital channels.

• Create audience-specific messaging that reflects the interests and needs of senior industry leaders, agencies, creators and emerging talent.

• Work with Creative teams and agencies to produce strong campaign assets across digital, social, CRM, web and other relevant channels.

• Maintain and optimise database segmentation and personalisation.

• Support social media planning and community engagement to build year-round relevance around LIONS Riyadh.

• Monitor competitor activity, cultural trends and industry conversations to identify timely marketing opportunities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 5 years’ experience as Marketing Manager

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience

• Relevant professional experience in digital, event, media or brand marketing may be considered in place of formal qualifications.

Background Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Thorough understanding and experience of digital marketing, including PPC, SEO, online advertising and direct marketing.

• Database development and growth, including segmentation and advanced targeting.

• Strong experience using analytics to measure and optimise campaign performance.

• Strong copywriting and communication skills.

• Strong relationship-building skills with internal teams, partners and agencies.

• Analytical and questioning mindset.

• Experience managing multiple campaigns and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

• Good creative judgement and ability to recognise strong ideas, messaging and campaign execution.

• Strong understanding of audience journeys, brand positioning and conversion.

• Interest in and awareness of the creative, advertising, marketing, media and cultural sectors.

• Ability to communicate ideas clearly, persuasively and with strong attention to detail.

• Experience working with cross-functional teams across Content, PR, Creative and Commercial.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and Arabic.

• Technology savvy and able to quickly adopt new platforms and tools.

Desirable

• Experience using marketing automation platforms such as Eloqua.

• Experience with CMS platforms.

• Experience managing social media through scheduling and listening platforms.

• Experience using analytics and reporting platforms such as Google Analytics or Adobe.

• Formal business or marketing qualification.

• Events, Festival, media, entertainment or creative-industry marketing experience.

• Saudi Arabia or GCC marketing experience.

• Experience working on a premium, international or culturally led brand.

• Experience targeting senior professional audiences alongside creators and emerging talent.

Additional Information

Core Benefits:

• Medical Insurance for individual and family
• Annual leave – 25 days
• Remote working on Sundays
• Working anywhere – 1 month every year
• School fees contribution, 40,000 SAR per child per year (up to a max of three children)
• Wellbeing Benefits
• Residency visa including yearly dependent fees
• Individual annual flight allowance for expats Local Relocation Package*:

• Paid flight to Riyadh – individual and family
• 30 days accommodation or suitable serviced apartment from arrival date or a one-off payment of SAR 5,000
• Up to SAR 2,500 reimbursement of shipping goods/excess baggage costs*If eligible

International Relocation Package*:

• Paid flight to Riyadh – individual and family
• 60 days accommodation or a suitable serviced apartment from your arrival date, or a one-off payment of SAR 5,000
• Up to SAR 2,500 reimbursement of shipping goods/excess baggage costs
• Paid flight home for individual and end-of-service gratuity payment when leaving the company (if applicable)*If eligible

We work hard to make sure life at Tahaluf is rewarding, supportive and enjoyable for everyone. We’re not solely focused on a checklist of skills. We champion energy and ambition and look for colleagues who will roll their sleeves up, join in and help make things happen. We don't just accept difference, we celebrate it. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and circumstances and base hiring decisions on relevant qualifications and merit. We are proud to provide a disability-friendly environment. If you require any support or adjustments to participate in our interview or selection processes, please let us know.