ZURU Toy Company Looking for Global Head of Digital at Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand Full Time

ZURU is on a mission to disrupt across industries, challenge the status quo and catalyst change through radical innovation and automation advances. This is in play in different pillars of the company: ZURU Toys are re-imagining what it means to play; ZURU Tech is shaping a better future by leading the next building revolution; ZURU Edge is pioneering new generation FMCG brands to better serve modern consumers.

Founded in 2003 by EY Entrepreneur of the Year and World Entrepreneur Hall of Fame brothers Nick and Mat Mowbray, ZURU has quickly grown to a team of over 5000 direct and indirect members across more than 30 international locations.

One of the largest toy companies in the world, globally recognised and award-winning brands include Bunch O Balloons, Mini Brands, XSHOT, Rainbocorns and Smashers. Our global FMCG brands include MONDAY Haircare, Rascal + Friends, NOOD, BONKERS, Gumi Yum Surprise and Dose & Co.

Your Role

You are leading a full service, internal digital planning and buying team into the future. Overseeing the ZURU Group +$100m annual media investment, you will drive a holistic media agenda while championing ZURU as global digital media and marketing leaders.

You will be a brilliant people leader; an expert at media strategy; comms planning; channel strategy; media efficiency analysis and you will be an expert at navigating complex stakeholder management. You will have an ability and willingness to be all over the details of implementation and global execution. You are a critical business partner to our lead Marketers across ZURU Toys, ZURU Edge and Rhodes Pet Science and our chief media visionary.

How You Will Make An Impact

Your media experience, marketing science and stakeholder management skills will have a direct impact in the success of our ZURU Group brands’ growth, helping deliver campaigns that deliver media driven growth directly attributable to your strategies & tactics. You are ideally globally experienced. You will be an exceptional people leader that lives & breathes the ZURU DNA and is capable of interpreting this while challenging and nurturing a group of talented digital and data specialists in your team.

You will ensure that ZURU Group continues to be recognised globally as setting the highest industry benchmarks. You are our chief media visionary, leading a roadmap of innovation & continuous improvement. You will be determined to ensure that the ZURU Group stays at the forefront of global media excellence in both strategic planning and digital implementation.

Note: We will start reviewing the applications in mid-January 2024.

What You Will Be Doing

• You are a leader in the ZURU Group business driving a philosophy of modern media investment and execution for global brands. You will be an expert at media strategy; comms planning; channel strategy; media efficiency analysis and you will be an expert at navigating complex stakeholder management.
• You partner with Marketing leadership to drive forward their vision/s of their brands. You deliver cutting edge digital media strategies with insight led planning excellence.
• You lead and coach the digital and data functions to allocate, invest, and optimize the global digital media budget/s across all channels to meet business marketing objectives effectively & efficiently.
• Work with internal members & external media partners to build a world-class paid digital media engine across strategy, planning, targeting, execution, measurement and optimization
• Oversee campaign management and reporting in a hands on fashion, including in-depth ROI & effectiveness analysis of digital media in relation to offline retail sales events or brand awareness/consideration, delivering actionable insights and business growth across the group portfolio
• Lead and develop the process for innovating and implementing test and learn strategies to drive actionable insights & lessons, and manage this process with both digital media and brand marketing teams
• Lead the establishment of media department vision, goals, performance standards & procedures, and ensure the highest calibre of stakeholder management at a granular level, for effectiveness & efficiency across all touchpoints with brand marketing e.g. WIP meetings, recommendations, plans & reporting outputs.
• Drive Joint Business Partnerships with Google, TikTok, The Trade Desk, Facebook and any emerging media partners to leverage support and insights that guide strategies and identify opportunities
• Drive our marketing science agenda, using cutting edge techniques such as causal inference geo-lift studies, marketing mix modelling, brand lift studies & brand tracking
• Oversee our media tech stack to ensure we maximise both our digital marketing capability & simplicity, with everything ZURU needs to win, yet no bloat that bogs the team down – automating everything possible
• Work with the Marketing Leadership team to share media insights, developments and performance changes to ensure all processes, strategies and procedures are updated or amended as the industry evolves
• You will scope and roll out a shared services digital and data team within our ZURU India office to support the New Zealand based team in growing effectiveness, efficiency and measurement across all of our digital media buying, owned channels and Data & Analytic functions.

Your Skills & Experiences

• 12+ years’ experience in media strategy & planning, with a focus on digital media, social & programmatic, including a good understanding of the wider (offline) media landscape
• Exceptional leadership skills and experience managing a large in-house or agency team.
• Experience interfacing directly & effectively with senior stakeholders, including marketing directors, senior management and senior retail + media partners
• FMCG or CPG digital media experience driving success at retail, including an in-depth understanding of the growing retail media landscape: functional expertise in performance marketing, acquisition marketing and performance/growth marketing with direct oversight of Facebook & Google (JBPs), SEO, display, funnel optimisation and other techniques
• Skilled in in driving a business’s marketing science agenda, including applications such as geo-lift studies & marketing mix modelling
• Experience managing off-shore resource in support of our global head office hubs.
• Recent experience working in a global remit across markets with large populations, (USA and Europe preferred)

LIFE@ZURU

At ZURU, we have cultivated a high-performing culture that encourages excellence. Our team works towards ambitious goals, learning, performing, and improving together, all while having fun. We empower talented individuals to do their best work every day.

At ZURU, you get out what you put in. You are responsible for driving your own career and we provide the platform to achieve it. As ZURU is on such a fast growth trajectory, there are opportunities here that you won’t find anywhere else.

We recognise that ZURU’s success stems from our people and you can only be at your best when you are looking after yourself. ZURU encourages all our team members to invest in their wellbeing by providing an array of benefits and tools.

What We Offer

🌱 Culture for Growth

🧘 Health & Well Being Benefits (including an onsite 24/7 gym)

🌎 Global Opportunities

💡 Surrounded by an A Player Team

💰 Competitive Remuneration

🐶 Furry Office Friends

🍓 Lots of fresh fruit, coffee, pals fridge and more

ZURU – Tomorrow Reimagined

🚀 ZURU.com