Senior Lead – Brand Strategy & Activation

About the Opportunity

We’re looking for a strategic and operational brand leader to drive N26’s global brand forward. You’ll not only define the brand strategy but also ensure it is executed end‑to‑end. You will drive high-impact campaigns and always‑on social activations, across markets, channels, and customer touchpoints.

You’ll act as a true brand advocate, embedding brand thinking across the organisation, aligning teams, and making sure our positioning, narrative, and personality are consistently reflected in everything we do. At the same time, you’ll be deeply operational, turning strategy into measurable, shipped outcomes that build awareness, trust, and cultural relevance.

In this role you will:

• Lead global brand strategy and activation, turning positioning, narrative, and brand personality into campaigns, social content, and culturally relevant activations that connect with audiences and deliver measurable impact.
• Lead and develop the Social Media and Community team, setting clear direction, elevating quality, and building a high‑performing function that strengthens audience connection and brand presence.
• Define N26’s role in culture, setting our cultural lens and frameworks, then operationalising them through authentic activations, in the short term focusing on organic social media.
• Drive strategic planning across brand, social, and always‑on activations, translating insights and performance data into clear direction that keeps teams focused on what matters most.
• Develop scalable frameworks for brand storytelling, social content, community engagement, and activation that work across markets while maintaining creative excellence and cultural relevance.
• Build strong senior stakeholder relationships across marketing, product, and creative to embed brand thinking across the organisation and unlock cross‑functional innovation.
• Define and manage brand measurement, setting KPIs, rigorously interpreting performance, and turning insight into clear, actionable recommendations for senior leadership.
• Elevate team capability through coaching, strategic thinking development, and fostering a culture of curiosity, creative confidence, data‑informed decision‑making, and commercial accountability.

What you need to be successful:

• 9+ years in brand strategy, activation, or marketing roles, with leadership experience.
• A portfolio full of culturally relevant campaigns, and a track record of driving impact.
• Proven experience owning brand strategy, governance, activation, and measurement at scale, ideally in consumer, fintech, or technology environments.
• Experience leading social, community, or cultural brand channels as strategic levers.
• Demonstrated ability to drive brand thinking in a product‑led, cross‑functional organization.
• Track record of building and activating always‑on, long‑term brand strategies.
• Comfort making strategic decisions without controlling creative execution.
• Experience operating with metrics, ROI, and insight‑led frameworks.
• Deep understanding of consumer financial pain points and cultural context, with the ability to apply this insight to brand strategy and activation.

Skills

• Strong analytical capability — translating data, research, and customer insights into actionable brand strategy.
• Expertise in defining and evolving brand identity, messaging, and tone of voice.
• Excellent brief‑writing skills — creating insight‑led, decision‑driving creative briefs.
• Ability to plan and execute global campaigns with cultural and audience relevance.
• Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills across senior leaders and cross‑functional teams.
• Familiarity with brand measurement tools, social analytics, and performance frameworks.
• Ability to balance long‑term brand building with short‑and mid‑term business impact.

Traits

• Strategic and structured — comfortable operating at the intersection of brand, product, and growth.
• Analytical and outcome‑driven — focused on metrics, ROI, and measurable impact.
• Globally minded, culturally fluent, and customer‑centric.
• Collaborative — able to work across functions without micromanaging creative execution.
• Proactive, curious, and comfortable challenging the status quo.
• Bias for action and delivery while maintaining strategic clarity.

What’s in it for you:

• Accelerate your career growth by joining one of Europe’s most talked about disruptors, and a LinkedIn Germany Top Startup Employer three years running