Brand and Communications Director

Job description / Role

The company
Established in 2007, propertyfinder.ae, propertyfinder.qa and propertyfinder.eg are the leading group of property portals across the Middle East dedicated to creating the largest real estate community of buyers, sellers, renters, brokers and developers. Available in both English and Arabic, our websites provide visitors with comprehensive search facilities covering residential and commercial properties, real estate news, home advice and buying and selling guides, while agents enjoy access to the region’s largest potential audience of property seekers. A winner of the ‘Dubai SME 100’, Arabian Business SME of the Year and Gulf Capital SMEinfo Online Business of the Year awards and with a presence in the UAE, Egypt, Lebanon and Qatar, the propertyfinder group is one of the fastest growing companies in the region. Recently acquiring 100% of the Lebanese portal realestate.com.lb, the group aims to be in a total of nine countries, with a focus on the GCC and other parts of the Middle East.

Your role
Reporting to the CEO, you will be responsible for leading the marketing communications team in continually enhancing and evaluating the propertyfinder group of companies’ brand; increasing brand awareness, and providing after-sales support through advertisements, media, point-of sale, partnerships, and relationship marketing.
You are responsible for the brand, internal, institutional and external communication (Public Affairs), events, marketing partnerships, international marketing, offline graphic design and corporate social responsibility programs. You will lead the process of the company’s brand marketing planning and campaign execution and ensure that the brand messaging and targets are delivered in line with commercial objectives and company strategy. Together with your team, you will develop and implement an action plan for the countries that the company is and will be present in, ensuring the implementation of these actions, the analyzing of results and the adaptation of the actions according to the business needs. You will build and maintain key strategic relationships with external partners to establish branding opportunities to increase the visibility of propertyfinder. You will define the internal communication strategy for all employees within the propertyfinder family. You will need to closely collaborate with all internal departments to insure the identity rules of propertyfinder. You will support the senior management in all its’ internal and external communication.

Key competencies
Strategy and Planning
- Create and update the brand and marketing communications plan by country that meets the company and business objectives.
- Implement suitable action plans to ensure objectives and goals are met.
Research and Analysis
- Gather relevant data about the markets the company is in as it relates to its’ brand positioning and communications requirements.
- Regularly gather consumer/customer feedback on the company’s brand and communication programs through surveys, focus groups, meetings etc.
- Measure and analyse the effectiveness of the brand and communication campaigns by tracking the return on marketing investment.
- Oversee the data analyst to ensure that the company produces the best possible research reports and analysis.
Creative Thinking
- Create concepts and ideas to promote and enhance propertyfinder’s brand and communications across all countries.
- Think ‘outside the box’ and come up with new ideas that strengthen the brand.
- Develop messaging and communication documents.
- Develop new materials and tools that best reflect the company’s brand attributes and messaging needs.
Brand Ambassador
- Maintain corporate brand guidelines across all channels – offline and online.
- Ensure consistency in messaging and tone of voice.
- Help to position the company as a leader in its field through brand campaigns and communication tools including public relations.

Communication
- Oversee all internal and external communication programs and activities.
- Ensure tight integration across the different communication channels and media.
- Develop strong relations between the company and the media.

Partnerships
- Lead the efforts to identify and develop marketing partnerships that will propel the company’s brand and communication goals.
- Identify and negotiate the best possible deals for the company in terms of barters and so on with suitable partners.
- Monitor the effectiveness of such partnerships and report on the same.
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Execution
- Ensure timely and quality delivery of all brand and communication programs.

Management
- Lead and inspire the brand and communications team.
- Manage external agencies and third party suppliers.
- Manage and track brand and communications budget ensuring maximum value for money.

Requirements

Skills and Experience
- Minimum 10 years of experience in brand and marketing communication.
- Hold at least a Bachelor’s degree from a recognized Western university in Brand marketing, marketing communications or related subject.
- Be a top class communicator – both written and oral in English.
- Be able to influence others including senior management on brand requirements and execution.
- Experience of managing budgets and evaluating return on marketing investment.
- Possess strong organizational skills.
- Have strong analytical skills and an eye for detail
- Be able to inspire and lead a team.
- Have a strong work ethic built on teamwork.
- Be able to make decisions when needed.
- Work under pressure in a fast paced environment to tight deadlines.
Other
- UAE based preferred
- Having Arabic or French as a second language will be a plus.

About the Company

propertyfinder.ae is the UAE’s number one dedicated property portal. With a focus on joining property seekers with agents & brokers in both English & Arabic we provide buyers & renters with a comprehensive property search alongside tools and information – and provide real estate agents with the largest potential audience of house-hunters in the UAE.

You can use propertyfinder.ae to access over 50,000 up-to-date listings for residential & commercial properties and also view local real estate news, home styling & design features and useful advice & guides on buying and selling in the UAE.