Project Director - Rebrand

Project Director (rebrand)
6 months
London - hybrid
£514 Outside IR35

Programme leadership & brand programme ownership

• Own the end-to-end Plusnet rebrand programme as the single point of accountability - from initial brand strategy and identity development through design system build, rollout planning, and full deployment across all touchpoints
• Build and maintain the master programme plan - mapping all workstreams, dependencies, milestones, and sign-off points across creative, digital, operations, and the wider Plusnet business
• Lead programme governance - chairing workstream reviews, tracking progress against plan, and producing clear reporting for senior stakeholders across The Exchange
• Act as the connective tissue between The Exchange's creative and design team and the Plusnet business - translating between creative language and business requirements in both directions

Brand understanding & design system knowledge

• Bring a deep understanding of how brands are constructed - positioning, personality, values, visual identity, tone of voice, and the systems that govern how these elements are applied consistently across every channel
• Understand design systems in practice - what components, patterns, and guidelines a robust brand system requires, how they are structured, and how they enable consistent execution at scale
• Be able to assess design work critically and meaningfully - not to make design decisions, but to judge whether the work is meeting the brand brief and programme objectives, and to articulate clearly when it is not
• Understand the difference between brand identity, brand guidelines, campaign creative, and production execution - and know what is needed at each stage of a rebrand programme
• Be comfortable in detailed creative and brand conversations with the Design Lead, Brand Designer, and Principal Creative - asking the right questions and keeping creative momentum without overstepping into creative decisions

Cross-functional collaboration & internal stakeholder management

• Build trusted relationships with all teams involved in the rebrand - creative, design, digital, copywriting, strategy, account management, and the wider teams
• Manage stakeholder expectations at every level - from day-to-day creative team conversations to Exec-level programme updates - communicating clearly, proactively, and without jargon
• Work closely with the Plusnet business to understand their requirements, constraints, and priorities; bring them on the creative journey rather than presenting finished work for approval
• Facilitate alignment across workstreams that involve multiple teams with different priorities and timelines - making sure nothing moves forward in isolation

Multi-workstream delivery & dependency management

• Manage multiple parallel rebrand workstreams simultaneously - including brand identity, design system, digital brand rollout, customer communications refresh, retail and OOH, and internal brand launch
• Map and manage dependencies across all workstreams rigorously - understanding what must be resolved before the next phase can begin and building this logic clearly into the programme plan
• Ensure the design system and brand guidelines are completed and approved before downstream production teams begin work - protecting quality and preventing rework
• Manage the handover from brand creation to brand rollout with precision - ensuring all teams receiving brand assets have exactly what they need, in the right format, with the right guidance

External partner & supplier management

• Brief, manage, and hold accountable any external agencies, specialist consultancies, or production partners contributing to the rebrand programme
• Ensure external partners are fully integrated into the programme governance structure and working to the same brief, timeline, and quality standards as internal teams
• Manage external partner costs and contracts in line with procurement and financial procedures

Cost control & commercial management

• Own the rebrand programme budget across all workstreams - tracking spend, forecasting to completion, and reporting clearly to senior stakeholders
• Manage purchase orders and supplier spend in line with procedures; ensure all expenditure is authorised before commitment
• Identify budget risks and efficiency opportunities throughout the programme; flag overspend risk before it becomes a problem

Risk, quality & governance

• Maintain a live programme risk register; identify, assess, and mitigate risks across all workstreams proactively
• Implement quality checkpoints throughout the programme - ensuring brand outputs are reviewed and approved at each stage before downstream work begins
• Ensure all rebrand outputs meet brand, legal, compliance, and accessibility standards
• Conduct a thorough post-programme review - capturing learnings for future large-scale brand programmes within The Exchange

The Skills Required
Essential experience

• 8+ years in senior project or programme management, with direct experience managing brand or creative programmes of significant scale and complexity
• Deep understanding of brand - how visual identities are created, what design systems require, and how rebrands are planned and executed across large, complex organisations
• Experience managing multi-workstream creative programmes involving design, digital, copy, strategy, and production teams simultaneously
• Strong track record of senior stakeholder management in complex, Matrix organisations - able to operate confidently at Exec level
• Commercial management experience - budget ownership, cost tracking, and supplier management across large programmes
• Experience working closely with design teams and the ability to engage meaningfully with brand strategy and visual identity work
• Experience managing external agency or specialist consultancy partners

Highly desirable

• Previous experience managing a full brand refresh or rebrand programme end-to-end
• Working knowledge of design systems, component libraries, and brand guidelines documentation
• Experience in consumer telecoms, technology, or retail - categories with high-volume, multi-channel brand execution requirements
• Previous experience working within or alongside an in-house creative agency
• Familiarity with digital brand rollout including web, app, email, and social brand application

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