Brand Director, Brand & Marketing

Want to influence the bigger picture? At Saab, you can realise amazing innovations that keep people and societies safe. Together, we can truly make an impact – and your part matters.

Your role

As Brand Director in Group Brand & Marketing, you lead Saab’s brand strategy, translating business priorities into clear positioning, narratives and direction across markets, Business Areas and key audiences. This is a senior role in the team, working as a strategic partner to the VP, Global Head of Brand & Marketing.

You will work in close partnership with our Brand Strategy Lead: you lead brand strategy, positioning and narrative; they lead the brand identity, design system and design execution. Together, and in collaboration with agency partners, you turn the strategy into a distinctive and consistent Saab brand.

You are a commercially minded senior brand strategist who understands brand as a system rather than a set of assets and turns business strategy and customer insight into a clear brand direction. You can make complex technology and Saab’s total offer easy to understand and explain why customers should choose Saab. We are building a world-class brand and marketing team for the whole group, with a new brand platform rolling out across the organisation, and you lead the programme to embed it across Saab. At Saab’s scale that is as much a delivery challenge as a brand one, so you are a strong programme leader as well as a senior brand voice.

You will work closely with Group Strategy, Global Business Development, Business Areas, Business Units, markets, property, product and engineering functions, HR and external partners, and the rest of the Brand & Marketing team. The role requires travel.

Core Areas of Responsibility

• Own Saab’s brand platform, positioning and narrative, and their continued development as the business evolves.

• Partner with the Brand Strategy Lead to translate brand strategy into a distinctive visual identity and a consistent brand experience.
• Define the brand objectives and strategic briefs for spatial and physical environments: exhibitions, offices, showrooms, wayfinding, workwear and promo items.
• Lead strategic brand governance and advise on brand architecture, including co-branding, naming, partnerships, acquisitions and divestments.
• Lead the development of audience and market narratives and the adoption of the brand platform across the organisation in partnership with Business Areas, markets and communications teams.
• On marketing campaigns you will work closely with the Integrated Marketing Lead to develop clear propositions and strategic briefs that support campaign objectives.
• Lead the brand platform rollout as a programme, holding scope, phasing, budget, quality and risk across a multi-year roadmap.
• Commission, brief and direct external brand strategy agencies, design agencies and production partners.
• Explore the use of AI and automation to scale brand enablement and governance across the group.
• Build understanding of brand and marketing across Saab at every level, from leadership teams to engineers, sales and communications teams, and make the case for what a strong brand does for the business in clear, commercial terms.
• Build brand capability through training and practical guidance and represent brand in Group and Business Area leadership forums.
• Set measures for brand awareness, perception and preference, and use the results to guide priorities and investment.

Your Profile

• A relevant university degree or equivalent qualifications within brand, marketing, business or communication.

• Senior brand leadership at group level in a large international organisation, or as a senior strategic lead in a brand consultancy. You have carried the brand agenda with an executive audience, not only delivered projects into it. You can challenge constructively and build alignment across a decentralised organisation.
• Strong commercial judgement and deep expertise in brand strategy. You can develop a clear positioning and narratives, translate business and customer insight into strategic choices and write briefs that give design and creative partners clear direction.
• You have developed and embedded brand platforms at scale, from strategy through rollout and into governance. You understand how strategy translates into identity and experience, and work effectively with senior design specialists.
• Strong programme and project leadership in a complex, international and matrixed organisation: multi-year rollouts, budget, phasing and dependencies.
• Proven experience both of leading teams and of directing external agencies. Both are requirements in this role.
• The judgement to balance a consistent global brand with different customer and market needs, and the ability to influence without relying on formal authority.
• Excellent communication skills in English.
• A military background, or experience from the tech or defence sector, is an advantage.

This position requires that you pass a security vetting based on the current regulations around/of security protection. For positions requiring security clearance additional obligations on citizenship may apply.

What you will be part of

Explore a wealth of possibilities. Take on challenges, create smart inventions, and grow beyond. This is a place for curious minds, brave pioneers, and everyone in between. Together, we achieve the extraordinary, each bringing our unique perspectives. Your part matters.

Saab is a leading defense and security company with an enduring purpose, to help nations keep their people and society safe.

Empowered by its 30,000 talented people, Saab constantly pushes the boundaries of technology to create a safer and more sustainable world.

Saab designs, manufactures and maintains advanced systems in aeronautics, weapons, command and control, sensors and underwater systems. Saab is headquartered in Sweden. It has major operations all over the world and is part of the domestic defense capability of several nations. Read more about us here