Global Retail Activations & Services Manager

Team: Brand

Department: Customer Experience

Reports To: Head of Global Retail Marketing

Location: London

Direct reports: Yes

WHERE YOU CONTRIBUTE

This role is responsible for designing and developing retail activations, services, and experience programmes, with a strong focus on pilot environments and flagship / test-and-learn stores.

You translate brand storytelling, product, and cultural insight into innovative, immersive, and commercially effective in-store experiences that drive engagement, participation, and conversion.

The role plays a critical part in delivering the Retail Acceleration ambition to create experience-led retail environments that build community, increase loyalty, and drive performance.

Partner with Retail Design & Concepts on all initiatives involving physical tools, fixtures, or hardware to ensure alignment with the overall retail concept and design language.

Ensure all outputs are developed with a clear understanding of the end-to-end retail concept, delivering cohesive, connected experiences across all store environments and touchpoints.

Core Accountabilities

Activation & Programme Ideation

• Lead the creation of global activation and experience concepts, aligned to brand and retail marketing strategy
• Develop innovative, experience-led programmes that drive traffic, engagement, and cultural relevance
• Translate brand narratives into in-store moments, events, and participation experiences
• Create and deliver GWP (Gift With Purchase) programmes that support key launches and commercial moments

Service Design

• Define and design new in-store services and consumer propositions (e.g. clientelling, personalisation, community-led experiences)
• Ensure services are aligned to consumer needs, behaviours, and expectations
• Embed service design into the overall retail experience ecosystem
• Design services and propositions that can be delivered across digital and physical touchpoints, from online journeys to in-store execution, ensuring a seamless end-to-end consumer experience
• This includes the development of services that require integrated physical environments, modular fixtures, and engineered solutions in partnership with Retail Design & Concepts.

Pilot Doors & Test-and-Learn

• Lead ideation and development of pilot concepts for key flagship and test locations
• Establish a structured test-and-learn approach:
• Trial new activations and services
• Measure impact and engagement
• Refine and iterate concepts
• Work closely with flagship teams to deliver high-impact pilot executions

Concept to Scaled Execution

• Translate successful pilots into scalable programme frameworks and playbooks
• Partner with:
• Retail Marketing (for integration into overall journey)
• Visual Merchandising (for in-store execution)
• Markets (for rollout)
• Global Supply Chain (to ensure feasibility, timelines, and readiness for rollout)
• Ensure integration with digital teams (e.g., eCommerce, CRM, web, social) to enable cross-pollination of initiatives and amplify activations and services through digital channels, building awareness and driving participation before, during, and after in-store execution
• Ensure concepts are repeatable, adaptable, and commercially viable

Consumer Engagement & Community

• Design experiences that drive:
• Participation and interaction
• Community connection and belonging
• Repeat visitation and advocacy
• Ensure activations go beyond events to create meaningful brand relationships

Performance & Impact

• Define and track activation and service KPIs, including:
• Engagement and participation
• Conversion uplift
• Customer capture and retention
• Ensure activations are clearly linked to commercial outcomes and brand impact
• Own budget tracking for Activations & Services, ensuring spend stays on plan

Key Skills & Capabilities

• Strong experience in retail activation, experiential marketing, or service design
• Ability to translate brand strategy into innovative physical experiences
• Strong understanding of omnichannel service delivery, with experience connecting digital and physical experiences to drive awareness and conversion
• Proven experience in concept development and pilot delivery
• Strong understanding of consumer behaviour within retail environments
• Experience working across global markets and scaling concepts
• Creative and commercially minded—balancing innovation with performance
• Strong project leadership and stakeholder management
• Comfortable operating in a test-and-learn, fast-moving transformation environment

Decision remit

• Owns concept direction for retail activations, services, and programmes
• Determines priorities for pilot initiatives and experience development
• Recommends which concepts are scaled vs refined or stopped
• Influences investment decisions relating to activation and service innovation
• Escalates decisions relating to brand positioning or major investment trade-offs

WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE IN YOUR ROLE

How I contribute to our strategy:

• Strong pipeline of innovative, high-impact retail activations and service concepts
• Successful delivery of pilot programmes in flagship and test stores
• Clear test-and-learn approach driving continuous improvement
• Scalable activation and service playbooks rolled out across markets
• Increased consumer engagement, participation, and loyalty
• Activations and services driving measurable uplift in traffic, conversion, and revenue
• Retail becoming a destination for experience, community, and connection—not just purchase

HOW YOU WORK

Our values shape how we show up every day, and the DM way is your compass for how we work and grow together. Dive in, get inspired, and bring these behaviours to life in everything you do – DM Way.