ThinkEngine
Founder's Associate
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Job Specification: Founder's Associate
Company: ThinkEngine
Location: Hybrid (3 days in Shedfield, Southampton / 2 days Remote)
Reports to: Managing Director & Leadership Team
Contract: Full-time, Permanent (37.5 hours/week)
Salary: £25,000.00-£30,000.00 per year
About ThinkEngine
ThinkEngine is an award-winning digital marketing and technology agency experiencing rapid growth. We scale high-performing B2B brands across Financial Services, Real Estate, Technology, and Sustainability—partnering with everything from ambitious SMEs to global powerhouses generating revenues in excess of $4bn.
We foster a culture where flexibility meets high performance. Celebrated as the Best B2B Digital Marketing Agency of the Year – Hampshire in the last few years, our commitment to social purpose is unmatched and is engineered directly into our business model. With aggressive growth plans and expanding operations across our ecosystem, we are scaling for long-term market leadership.
The Role
This is a high-velocity launchpad to work directly alongside our Managing Director and Leadership Team, gaining front-row access to how a scaling technology and marketing & tech engine operates commercially, strategically, and operationally. Think of this as an accelerated masterclass in executive leadership, growth strategy, and general management.
As the Founder's direct right hand, you will blend strategic foresight with tactical execution—acting equal parts executive partner, project manager, and growth architect. One week you will be helping evaluate strategic partnership opportunities, mapping intelligent automation workflows, or executing high-impact internal marketing initiatives; the next, you will lead cross-functional projects across our sister companies, optimise operational systems, or sit in on high-stakes executive planning. Built for an ambitious early-career professional who hungers for total commercial breadth—owning strategy, growth, technology, internal marketing, and group operations with genuine autonomy from day one.
What You'll Do
Strategic Growth & High-Impact Partnerships
- Partnership Acceleration: Cultivate and support strategic alliances across key technology platforms, commercial networks, and ecosystem partners.
- Growth Engine: Support the MD in architecting growth initiatives, conducting targeted research, refining value propositions, and driving sales pipeline momentum.
- Group Synergies: Serve as an operational bridge driving cross-functional projects, strategic alignment, and execution support for our sister business.
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Operational Project Management & Optimisation
- Special Projects Command: Lead high-priority internal projects end-to-end—ranging from deploying cutting-edge operational tools to launching firm-wide efficiency transformations.
- Process Engineering: Relentlessly identify operational friction, redesigning workflows to build a faster, leaner, and more scalable business engine.
- Resource & Delivery Optimisation: Monitor team throughput, safeguard project milestones, and maintain internal delivery workflows across departments.
Internal Marketing & Brand Elevation
- ThinkEngine Brand Engine: Own and elevate ThinkEngine’s internal marketing channels—driving social media execution, crafting bold visual assets (using Canva/Adobe Suite), and magnifying our market presence.
- Group Marketing Initiatives: Strategise and execute brand initiatives for our sister entities to build market authority across the entire group.
Technology, Software & Automation
- Tech Stack Optimisation: Evaluate, manage, and master our internal software ecosystem (CRMs, project tools, and communication suites).
- Workflow Automation: Eliminate repetitive manual tasks by engineering automated workflows (via Power Automate, Zapier, Make) to unlock massive team productivity.
Executive Command & Leadership Support
- Strategic Co-Pilot: Maximise MD leverage by triaging priorities, guarding focus time, and orchestrating executive schedules.
- Leadership Governance: Craft compelling briefing notes, synthesise action items, and aggressively drive follow-through on strategic decisions.
- Commercial Intelligence: Build and maintain performance trackers, dynamic reporting dashboards, and commercial analytics to inform top-level decision-making.
What You'll Learn
By Year One, you will possess a comprehensive command of how a scaling agency group operates. You will know how to architect operational systems, build low-code automations, structure commercial partnerships, drive multi-channel brand campaigns, and run complex multi-stakeholder projects to completion. Crucially, you will master founder-level decision-making, executive communication, and cross-company scaling dynamics.
Who We're Looking For
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Essential
- Ambitious Operator: A high-caliber graduate or early-career professional with exceptional intellectual curiosity about commercial strategy, technology, and business growth.
- High Agency & Resourceful: You possess a bias for action—identifying friction and building solutions before being asked.
- Polished Communicator: Outstanding written and verbal command; capable of drafting executive-ready assets that the MD can share externally without delay.
- Systems & Tech Fluent: Naturally curious about new software, modern agency stacks, and digital workflow optimisation.
- Analytical & Detail-Obsessed: Comfortable handling numbers in Excel/Sheets, paired with a meticulous eye for precision under competing priorities.
- High Integrity & Discretion: Trusted to handle sensitive commercial data, strategy, and strategic plans with absolute confidentiality.
- Location & Mobility: Ready to collaborate in person at our Shedfield hub 3 days a week (full UK driving licence and vehicle access recommended due to rural location).
Desirable
- Exposure to fast-paced digital marketing, tech, SaaS, or B2B agency environments.
- Practical experience with design tools (Canva, Adobe) or low-code automation platforms (Power Automate, Zapier, Make).
- Proven track record in an entrepreneurial, startup, or high-growth SME setting.
What We Offer
- Direct Founder Mentorship: Daily collaboration and direct guidance alongside the Managing Director and senior leadership team.
- Unmatched Commercial Exposure: 360-degree visibility across strategy, finance, technology, growth, internal marketing, and multi-entity operations.
- Accelerated Career Runway: Proven track record of expanding responsibilities into fast-tracked operational, strategic, or specialised leadership roles.
- Dynamic Hybrid Balance: 3 days of high-energy collaboration in our Shedfield headquarters and 2 days of focused remote work.
- Mission-Driven Culture: Join a growing business with a culture of innovation and a team first culture.
- Competitive Package: 24 days holiday (excluding bank holidays), company pension scheme, and free on-site parking.
Benefits:
- Company events
- Company pension
- Free parking
- Work from home
Application minimum requirements:
- Live within 30 miles of our head office location in Shedfield, Southampton
- Driving Licence
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