Creative Lead

We have a fantastic opportunity for a Creative Lead to join our Customer team here at Greggs.

You'll lead the development of creative ideas and campaigns that drive sales, build brand fame and strengthen Greggs' position as one of the UK's most loved brands. Combining strategic thinking with outstanding creative judgement, you'll create distinctive work that captures attention, connects with customers and delivers real commercial impact.

Leading a small in-house team, you'll shape creative output across a wide range of customer touchpoints, from major campaigns and product launches to everyday customer communications. Working closely with teams across Marketing, PR, Digital and Customer, you'll champion creativity across the wider function, ensuring every idea works harder for our customers, our brand and our business.

What you'll be doing

Create campaigns that get people talking

• Develop creative strategies and campaign ideas that drive sales, build brand fame and support our wider business objectives
• Turn customer insight, products and trading opportunities into distinctive campaigns that capture attention and spark conversation
• Create integrated ideas that work seamlessly across our shops, digital channels, PR, social media and customer communications
• Challenge convention and ways of thinking to maximise both creative and commercial impact

Set the standard for creative excellence

• Take a hands-on approach to developing creative ideas and content, bringing concepts to life as well as directing the work of others
• Lead and develop our in-house creative team, setting high standards and creating an environment where great ideas can thrive
• Build and manage a network of external creative partners and freelancers, ensuring we have the right expertise when we need it
• Embrace new technologies and creative tools to explore ideas, improve efficiency and enhance the quality of our work

Shape and strengthen the Greggs brand

• Build distinctive creative assets that make Greggs instantly recognisable across every customer touchpoint
• Champion high standards of creative excellence, ensuring every execution is on-brand, consistent and impactful
• Balance long-term brand building with short-term trading priorities, helping us strengthen both brand affinity and commercial performance

Champion creativity across the business

• Partner with teams across PR, Social, Brand, CRM and Digital to uncover opportunities that capture customer attention and drive engagement
• Coach and influence colleagues to strengthen creative thinking, storytelling and innovation across the wider Customer team
• Foster a culture where experimentation, curiosity and bold ideas are encouraged

Deliver creativity that drives results

• Use customer insight, market data and business priorities to create work that delivers measurable impact for both the brand and the business
• Champion a test-and-learn approach, using performance insights and experimentation to continually improve creative output

Lead and develop a high-performing creative team

• Lead, inspire and develop a high-performing creative team, creating a culture of collaboration, accountability and continuous improvement
• Build strong relationships across the business and with external partners, positioning the creative team as trusted and commercially minded collaborators

What we're looking for

You will fit right into this role if you:

• Have a proven track record of developing standout creative campaigns that drive measurable commercial results and build brand fame
• Are an exceptional creative thinker who can turn customer insight, products and business challenges into simple, compelling ideas that people notice, talk about and remember
• Can move seamlessly between strategic thinking and hands-on execution
• Have significant senior creative experience gained within a consumer-facing brand, agency or in-house environment
• Have a deep understanding of brand building and customer communications, with experience developing integrated campaigns across multiple channels
• Are a confident storyteller and influencer, able to present ideas, challenge thinking and build support amongst senior stakeholders
• Have experience leading, coaching and developing high-performing creative teams
• Combine creative ambition with strong commercial awareness
• Are naturally curious, culturally aware and energised by spotting opportunities that help brands stay relevant and distinctive
• Have a strong portfolio that demonstrates creative excellence, leadership capability and commercial impact

It would be great if you also have experience in retail, hospitality, FMCG or another high-volume consumer environment; experience establishing or scaling an in-house creative function; experience in a loyalty, CRM or digital-first marketing environment; experience managing external agencies and creative partners; an understanding of AI-enabled creative tools and workflows; and a degree or professional qualification in a relevant creative, design, communications or marketing discipline.

What's on offer

• Circa £70,000 per annum, depending on experience
• Full-time, permanent role (Monday to Friday, with some flexibility depending on business needs; flexibility in hours will be considered), based at Greggs House, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE12 8BU
• Management Bonus Scheme worth up to 17.5% of your salary
• Pension scheme with matching employer contributions up to 7%
• Company car or car allowance
• Colleague discount, up to 50% off our own-produced products
• Profit share – 10% of profits distributed to colleagues with at least six months' service
• 25 days' annual leave, increasing with service, plus bank holidays and one additional floating day, with the option to buy more twice a year
• Colleague share plans
• Private medical insurance, income protection and death in service benefit of four times salary
• Virtual GP, physiotherapy and lifestyle consultations, plus an Employee Assistance Programme
• Savings and discounts, career progression and learning and development opportunities, and colleague networks

How to apply

Apply online via the Greggs careers site using the Apply button on the vacancy.