Senior Marketing Manager - LIONS Riyadh - Arabic Speaker

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

This is an exciting opportunity for a Senior Marketing Manager with a strong focus on brand launch and event marketing.

The Senior Marketing Manager will play a key role in launching and growing LIONS Riyadh, translating the LIONS Riyadh proposition into high-impact campaigns that build awareness, audience demand and long-term brand relevance.

The role will work across brand, audience, digital, content and campaign marketing, helping position LIONS Riyadh as an essential destination for the region’s creative, marketing and media community.

The successful candidate will combine strong strategic thinking with hands-on campaign delivery, creative judgement and a deep understanding of how to engage different audience communities across Saudi Arabia, the GCC and international markets.

Working closely with the Head of Marketing, Content, PR, Creative and Commercial teams, the role will ensure every campaign is distinctive, culturally relevant, commercially effective and aligned with LIONS Riyadh standards.

Responsibilities:

I. Brand Launch:

• Market Research & Analysis: Understanding your target audience, competitors, and market trends is crucial. This involves conducting surveys, analyzing data, and identifying opportunities.

• Support the development and execution of the LIONS Riyadh brand and campaign strategy.

• Translate the LIONS Riyadh positioning into compelling audience propositions, messaging and campaign stories.

• Messaging & Positioning: Crafting compelling brand messages that resonate with your target audience and differentiate you from competitors. This includes developing taglines, brand stories, and key messages.

• Ensure all marketing activity reflects the creativity, quality and authority of LIONS Riyadh.

• Work with Creative teams and agencies to develop standout campaign concepts and assets across all channels.

• Content Creation & Marketing: Developing high-quality content that engages your target audience and communicates your brand message. This includes blog posts, social media updates, videos, infographics, newsletters, lead magnets and more. The Lions Riyadh Brand should be an expression of 360 marketing excellence all year through numerous content streams, to help support with brand awareness and acquisition.

• Use speakers, content, creative work, partnerships and Festival announcements as key campaign moments.

• Analytics & Measurement: Tracking key metrics to measure the success of your brand launch and identify areas for improvement. This includes website traffic, social media engagement, sales, and brand awareness.

II. Audience & Event Marketing Skills:

• Develop and deliver integrated marketing campaigns to attract priority audiences to LIONS Riyadh.

• Build targeted campaigns for CMOs, creative leaders, agencies, brands, media professionals, creators and emerging talent.

• Support audience-growth strategies across Saudi Arabia, the GCC and priority international markets.

• Deliver campaigns across paid media, social, CRM, email, digital, PR and strategic partnerships.

• Develop audience journeys that move from awareness and engagement through to registration and ticket conversion.

• Manage marketing budgets and ensure spend is optimised against agreed objectives.

• Manage external agencies and suppliers where required.

• Work closely with PR, Content and Partnerships to maximise the impact of key LIONS Riyadh announcements and Festival moments.

• Support onsite marketing activity and audience engagement during LIONS Riyadh.

• Conduct post-event analysis and use insights to improve future campaigns.

III. Digital & Performance Marketing

• Own and optimise digital campaign performance across paid social, search, display, CRM and other relevant channels.

• Use analytics and testing to improve audience acquisition, engagement and conversion.

• Monitor the LIONS Riyadh registration and ticketing funnel and identify opportunities to improve conversion at each stage.

• Develop audience segmentation and retargeting strategies.

• Manage PPC, SEO and digital acquisition activity where relevant.

• Use data and audience behaviour to continuously improve campaign messaging, creative and channel mix.

• Track campaign ROI and provide clear performance recommendations to the Head of Marketing.

• Manage and mentor marketing team members, providing direction and guidance against KPIs and objectives.

• Work closely with other departments to ensure alignment between marketing, content, commercial and Festival delivery.

• Collaborate closely with the wider LIONS Riyadh team to ensure campaigns remain aligned with brand standards and positioning.

• Work with Content and PR teams to identify stories and ideas capable of generating industry conversation around LIONS Riyadh.

• Partner with Commercial teams to support priority client campaigns and audience development where relevant.

• Champion creative quality, attention to detail and high standards across all LIONS Riyadh marketing output.

IV. Leadership & Collaboration

• Manage and mentor marketing team members, providing direction and guidance against KPIs and objectives.

• Work closely with other departments to ensure alignment between marketing, content, commercial and Festival delivery.

• Collaborate closely with the wider LIONS Riyadh team to ensure campaigns remain aligned with brand standards and positioning.

• Work with Content and PR teams to identify stories and ideas capable of generating industry conversation around LIONS Riyadh.

• Partner with Commercial teams to support priority client campaigns and audience development where relevant.

• Champion creative quality, attention to detail and high standards across all LIONS Riyadh marketing output.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 8–10 years of experience in marketing, with strong experience in brand building, audience marketing or major events.

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

• Proven experience launching or growing a major brand, event, Festival, media platform or cultural proposition.

• Strong experience developing integrated campaigns across paid, owned and earned channels.

• Strong experience in digital marketing, analytics and campaign optimisation.

• Experience managing ticketing or audience-acquisition campaigns.

• Strong knowledge of digital performance marketing, PPC, SEO and CRM.

• Strong creative judgement with the ability to recognise effective ideas, messaging and campaign creative.

• Excellent understanding of brand positioning, audience segmentation and customer journeys.

• Strong written communication and storytelling skills.

• Ability to manage agencies, budgets and multiple campaigns simultaneously.

• Confident working with senior internal and external stakeholders.

• Strong interest in creativity, advertising, media, culture and emerging industry trends.

• Strong team management experience, motivating and developing a team to achieve marketing optimisation and excellence

Desired Experience:

• Background in large-scale events, Festivals, media, entertainment, creative industries or premium brands.

• Experience marketing to senior professional audiences as well as creators and emerging talent.

• Experience within advertising, marketing, media or the wider creative industries is highly desirable.

• Saudi Arabia or GCC market experience is desirable.

• Experience working on international campaigns or global brands is advantageous.

• Experience with marketing automation, CMS, creator economy and social-media management platforms.

• Arabic language.

Additional Information

Core Benefits:

• Medical Insurance for individual and family
• Annual leave – 28 days
• Remote working on Sundays
• Working anywhere – 2 months 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.