Head of Marketing and Engagement

Salary: £60,000

Location: National Botanic Garden of Wales, Llanarthne, Carmarthenshire

Job type: Full-time, Senior Leadership Team

Closing date: 23 October 2026

Reporting line: Director, National Botanic Garden of Wales

We are seeking an ambitious, creative and commercially minded Head of Marketing and Engagement to join the Senior Leadership team and help shape the future of one of Wales’ leading charitable visitor attractions.

The Head of Marketing and Engagement will play a pivotal role in positioning the National Botanic Garden of Wales into the future through planning and executing marketing campaigns that increase visitor numbers and engagement, grow membership and income streams, strengthen brand awareness, expand digital reach, promote the Garden’s core programmes and help the Garden achieve its long-term strategic ambitions.

Success in this role will require you to bring strong strategic leadership while maintaining a practical, hands on approach to delivering impactful results.

Level: Sits on the Senior Leadership Team

Team: 4 Direct reports, who are bilingual, and volunteers to support the work of the Department.

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and lead the Garden’s marketing, media content and audience development strategy, and associated campaigns, to align with the charity’s mission, strategic objectives and growth agenda.
• Contribute as a member of the Senior Leadership team to organisational planning and decision making.
• Provide strategic thought leadership and expert advice on best practice for marketing, brand and audience trends to the Director and Board.
• Working closely with the Director and the Senior Leadership Team to develop and facilitate a network of supporters and advocates who contribute to the organisation’s profile and impact.
• Respect and acknowledgement of Welsh heritage and culture, including its language is essential.

People Leadership

• Lead, develop and inspire a bilingual multidisciplinary team working across marketing, communication and engagement, including lifelong learning. This role must provide visionary, charismatic leadership to lead, motivate and inspire the team and wider staff engagement and support.
• Foster a high performance, collaborative and customer focused culture.
• Develop the annual budget and manage budgets effectively, including quarterly reforecasts, and ensure a strong return on marketing investment, which is recorded and reported regularly.

Marketing and Brand

• Lead the development of integrated marketing campaigns across digital, print, media and partnership channels.
• Develop a media content framework to support communications about and within the Garden.
• Protect and enhance the Garden’s brand, reputation and public profile.
• Manage and report on market research, audience insights and performance analysis to support decision making and resource allocation.

Visitor Growth and Commercial Development

• Lead and collaborate on campaigns to grow admissions, memberships, retail, catering, events and other income streams.
• Develop campaigns that promote year-round visits and attract new audiences.
• Support fundraising team by leading on key donor stakeholder communications.

Communications and Public Relations

• Strategically lead media relations, public affairs and stakeholder communications.
• With the Director, manage reputation and crisis communications as required.

Ambassadorial Duties

• Represent NBGW externally and maintain effective relations with clients, partners, key stakeholders, media and supporters across the country and potentially abroad.
• Act as a spokesperson for NBGW as required.

Skills, knowledge and experience required

Essential criteria

• Significant senior level marketing experience
• Proven track record of delivering successful marketing strategies for audience growth, brand development and income generation.
• Experience leading, inspiring and developing high performing early – mid career teams.
• Experience in successfully managing complex stakeholder relationships (internal and external).
• Outstanding communication skills. Experience of acting as an organisational spokesperson, liaising with journalists and media outlets.
• Future thinker with an ability to horizon-scan and identify opportunities and threats for the Garden.
• Proven success in harnessing digital marketing and audience engagement.
• Data informed and results driven - experience analysing market trends and driving business development and presenting performance and financial data.
• Strong financial and budget management skills with commercial acumen.
• Commitment to the people, language, and culture of Wales.

Desirable Criteria

• Understanding tourism and visitor attractions
• Sales and marketing experience in the creative, educational or science sectors
• Experience with integrated charity and commercial culture, heritage, visitor attractions
• Fluency in written and spoken Welsh and a commitment to support bilingual communications.
• Proficiency in establishing and managing CRM systems
• Experience of membership-based organisations
• Experience supporting fundraising and philanthropic objectives
• Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives: Experience in developing and implementing initiatives to ensure accessibility and appeal to diverse and underrepresented audiences.

The closing date is 23 October 2026. Interviews will follow as soon as practical afterwards.

NBGW welcomes applications submitted in Welsh, and an application submitted in Welsh will not be treated less favourably than an application submitted in English.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews at the National Botanic Garden of Wales. There will be a two-stage interview process.

The NBGW welcomes applications from everyone – diversity, inclusion and the feeling of belonging matters to us. By attracting people to work for us from a broad range of diverse backgrounds we can continue to look at the world with fresh eyes and find new ways of doing things. We offer a stimulating and professional environment in which to work. This is a remarkable place and we look for staff who can work according to our values – we champion diversity, encourage creativity, we are connected, and we value evidence.

Informal enquiries are welcome and should be directed initially to Dr Lucy A. Sutherland, Director: Lucy.Sutherland@gardenofwales.org.uk.

Applications, in the form of a cover letter and CV demonstrating how you meet the essential and desirable criteria should be sent via email to the HRManager@gardenofwales.org.uk

Please note references will not be contacted until after an offer is made to a successful candidate.

Use of AI in Applications

We want to understand your genuine interest in our vacancy and for your written application to accurately reflect your own communication style. Applications that rely too heavily on AI tools can appear generic and lack the detail we need to assess your skills and experience.

We do not use AI as part of our recruitment process.