A Head of Market Growth & Positioning role has become available in Team Market Growth & Positioning at ENS. This position reports directly to the COO.

The Head of Market Growth & Positioning is responsible for strengthening the firm's position in its chosen markets, building preference for its brand and expertise, shaping the experience of clients and key stakeholders, and using digital, content, communications, market intelligence and targeted market activities to create measurable opportunities and sustainable growth. This role will be accountable for how the firm is understood, experienced and discovered in the market, and for ensuring that this position creates measurable opportunities for sustainable growth.

Purpose of the role

This is not a conventional Head of Marketing role. Its purpose is to ensure that the firm is deliberately positioned in the markets that matter to it, is visible and credible with the audiences that matter, and provides a consistent experience at every significant point of contact with clients and stakeholders.

The role will collaborate with the Growing Business, Operations & Logistics, Business Intelligence, Human Resources, Knowledge Management, Information Technology, Learning & Development and other functions in the firm to deliver results and help profile the firm positively. In particular, this function must work closely with the Business Development team. Market Growth & Positioning creates market interest, preference, engagement and opportunity. Business Development turns those opportunities and relationships into mandates, deeper client relationships and revenue. The two functions should operate from a common view of the market, clients, sectors and growth priorities.

Key responsibilities

Market positioning and brand

Define and continuously sharpen how the firm is positioned in its priority markets.
Translate the firm's strategy, African footprint, sector strengths and professional expertise into a clear and differentiated market proposition.
Maintain a disciplined view of competitors, changing client expectations and emerging areas of opportunity.
Protect the integrity of the brand while allowing it to remain contemporary, confident and relevant.

Digital market presence

Own the firm's digital market presence as a strategic asset. This includes the website, search visibility, social channels, digital campaigns, audience development, analytics and marketing automation.
Ensure that the remit extends beyond conventional search engine optimisation to the way the firm and its lawyers are discovered and represented through generative AI and other emerging forms of digital search.
Measure digital performance by the quality of audiences reached, engagement created and opportunities influenced, rather than activity alone.

Client and stakeholder experience

Take responsibility for the quality and consistency of the experience created around the firm's brand. This includes the experience of clients, prospective clients, alumni, regulators, business leaders, industry bodies, referral partners and other important stakeholders.
Collaborate with Business Development, Practice Leaders and Operational Teams to identify important moments in the client and stakeholder journey and improve them.
Use feedback, client listening, event experience, digital behaviour and other evidence to understand where the firm creates confidence and where the experience falls short.

Content and intellectual authority

Build the firm's reputation as a source of authoritative thinking on the issues that matter to its clients and markets.
Develop a content strategy around priority sectors, markets and themes. Help executives & practitioners convert deep technical expertise into useful, accessible and distinctive market insight.
Use written content, research, video, audio, media commentary and other formats selectively, with quality and authority taking precedence over volume.

Strategic marketing and market activation

Design campaigns and market interventions around defined commercial priorities.
Ensure that events, sponsorships, conferences and client programmes have a clear strategic purpose and identified audience.
Ensure that the function moves away from measuring success by attendance, output or visibility alone and towards evidence of engagement, relationship development, market influence and opportunity creation.

Reputation and communications

Lead external communications, media relations, executive profiling, internal brand communication and reputation management.
Maintain the firm's presence in relevant legal and business rankings where these support market credibility but avoid allowing directory submissions and awards activity to dominate the function.
Ensure that the firm's public voice is coherent, credible and appropriate to its position.

Market intelligence and performance

Build a reliable view of the firm's markets. Track competitor activity, sector developments, client sentiment, brand performance, digital behaviour and emerging areas of demand.
Translate this intelligence into practical choices about where the firm should invest its attention and resources.
Establish a concise performance framework that connects marketing activity to engagement, experience, opportunity and growth.

Key measurements of success

Success should be visible in the market, in the experience of clients and stakeholders, and in commercial outcomes. The firm should become more clearly associated with the sectors, capabilities and ideas it has chosen to lead. Its digital presence should make its expertise easier to discover. Clients and stakeholders should experience a more coherent and responsive institution. Executives should have stronger platforms from which to develop relationships. Marketing investment should increasingly be connected to identifiable engagement, opportunities and growth.

Key performance indicators

Strength of the firm's position and reputation in priority markets and sectors.
Quality of client and stakeholder experience, supported by structured feedback and client listening.
Growth in engagement among priority client and stakeholder audiences.
Digital visibility and authority in conventional and AI-enabled search environments.
Quality, reach and influence of the firm's thought leadership.
Campaign and market activity contributes to identifiable opportunities and pipeline growth.
Target-client penetration and engagement is improved and measured jointly with Business Development.
Marketing investment is evidenced in supporting the firm's strategic growth priorities.

Qualifications and experience

Post Graduate degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, Commerce or a related field. A relevant postgraduate qualification, such as an MBA or postgraduate degree in Strategy, would be advantageous.
At least 10 years’ experience in marketing, market positioning, brand, communications or business growth.
At least 5 years’ experience in a senior marketing role, with direct reports and a track record of managing a marketing function, including substantial leadership responsibility.
Experience in the legal sector and/or the broader professional services environment would be an advantage.
Demonstrated experience developing and executing integrated market, brand and growth strategies across multiple markets, sectors or jurisdictions.
Strong experience in a professional services, legal, financial services, consulting or similarly complex stakeholder environment would be preferred.
Proven ability to translate organisational strategy and technical expertise into a clear and differentiated market position.
Experience leading digital strategy, content, thought leadership, communications, campaigns, market intelligence and reputation management.
Demonstrated understanding of digital platforms, analytics, marketing automation, conventional search and emerging AI-enabled search environments.
Experience using client listening, stakeholder feedback and market insights to improve the client and stakeholder experience.
Proven ability to connect marketing activity and investment to audience engagement, opportunity creation, pipeline development and strategic growth priorities.
Experience managing multidisciplinary teams, external agencies, budgets and complex cross-functional initiatives.
Demonstrated ability to influence and work effectively with senior executives, business leaders and specialist professionals.
Experience operating across African or other multi-jurisdictional markets would be advantageous.

Personal attributes

Exceptional commercial and strategic acumen;
Strong intellectual curiosity;
Sound judgement and a high level of digital, data and technology fluency;
Confident and credible and ability to work with senior leadership;
Excellent relationship-building and communication skills;
Ability to translate complex professional expertise into clear market positioning;
Highly disciplined, decisive and results-oriented, with strong prioritisation and delegation capabilities; and
Demonstrated commitment to client experience, reputation, collaboration and measurable growth.

The person appointed should not be consumed by routine production. Administrative events, repetitive credentials material, merchandise, basic social posting and other recurring work should be systematised, delegated, automated or outsourced where appropriate. The Head of Market Growth & Positioning should spend the greater part of their time on market choices, positioning, client and stakeholder experience, digital relevance, strategic campaigns and measurable growth.

The Head of Market Growth & Positioning is accountable for how the firm is understood, experienced and discovered in the market, and for ensuring that this position creates measurable opportunities for sustainable growth.
This position deals with difficult judgement calls, last-minute changes, tight deadlines, frustrated clients, extremely high levels of ongoing pressure and long hours.

It is also essential that the successful incumbent is able to be flexible, understands urgency, knows when to escalate problems, (e.g., knowing when to seek guidance and when to check if something does not turn out as planned or takes longer than anticipated), and is able to give ongoing and regular feedback to clients with regard to the status of and decisions taken in relation to, all activities, tasks and projects.

ENSafrica is committed to transformation and achieving equity in its workplaces. Preference will therefore be given to suitably qualified and skilled EE candidates. The closing date for all applications is close of business on 01 November 2026.