Head of Marketing (m/w/d) – K-Beauty

About the role

OneWave is helping shape the future of the European beauty market by introducing some of the most innovative Korean brands to Europe. The company is now looking for a marketing leader who can turn this area into a true growth engine.

In this position, you will take full ownership of the strategic and operational development of marketing. Your work will help build visibility, desirability, and commercial success for the brands across the European K-Beauty market, while also strengthening the team behind it.

Your mission

Your focus is to position international K-Beauty brands successfully in Europe, generate demand, accelerate sell-out growth, and develop the marketing team both in capability and structure. You will work closely with management, sales, key account management, brand relations, design, operations, and international brand partners.

Marketing strategy and brand leadership

• Own the overall marketing strategy for OneWave and its K-Beauty portfolio.
• Build a clear marketing roadmap designed to create commercial impact in the European market.
• Shape the presence of international brands across DACH and Europe with consistent brand worlds across all channels.
• Ensure marketing contributes measurably to growth, brand awareness, and sell-out performance.

Go-to-market and European market entry

• Develop local go-to-market plans for international brands and product launches.
• Assess market potential, target audiences, channels, and launch priorities.
• Plan and manage product launches, category pushes, and brand activations with a strong commercial focus.

Retail, trade marketing, and brand activation

• Create retail and trade marketing strategies for partners such as dm, Rossmann, Müller, Douglas, Flaconi, and Zalando.
• Lead promotions, point-of-sale activations, sampling, retail media, and launch campaigns.
• Align brand marketing, trade marketing, influencer activity, and social media with a shopper-first approach focused on visibility, conversion, and sales.

Digital, e-commerce, and performance

• Strengthen digital brand and product presence across retailer platforms and other relevant touchpoints.
• Develop conversion-focused assets such as PDPs, A+ content, product imagery, brand stores, and campaign formats.
• Use performance data to manage activity across the consumer and retail funnel and improve results.

Team leadership and organizational development

• Lead, develop, and scale the marketing team.
• Define clear roles, processes, and standards for campaign planning, reporting, and asset management.
• Provide hands-on support where the growth phase requires it.

Budget, reporting, and KPI management

• Plan, control, and monitor the marketing budget based on commercial impact.
• Track key metrics such as sell-out, sales uplift, conversion, campaign and promotion ROI, retail media, influencer and social performance, and brand awareness.
• Prepare regular reports for management and stakeholders.

Stakeholders and international brand partners

• Act as a sparring partner to management on all marketing and brand strategy topics.
• Work strategically with international brand partners to localize and position their brands effectively.
• Manage external agencies, freelancers, and creative partners.

What you bring

• 7 to 10 years of relevant marketing experience, ideally in beauty, FMCG, lifestyle, or consumer goods.
• Several years of leadership experience in a marketing team or similar management role.
• Proven success in brand building, go-to-market, retail/trade marketing, brand activation, or consumer marketing.
• Strong understanding of retail, e-commerce, marketplace mechanics, and digital commerce platforms.
• Confident handling of marketing KPIs, budget control, reporting, and data-driven optimization.
• Experience in the K-Beauty market or a strong interest in Korean beauty is a clear advantage.
• A degree in marketing, communications, business, international management, or a comparable field.
• Fluency in German and English; Korean is an advantage.

Personal profile

• Strong strategic thinking combined with a hands-on approach to execution.
• Entrepreneurial mindset, ownership, and strong self-drive.
• Ability to think creatively while keeping commercial goals in focus.
• Excellent leadership and communication skills with a confident presence toward management, partners, and service providers.
• High execution strength in fast-moving growth environments.

What you can expect

• A key leadership role with real scope to shape how marketing is built strategically and operationally at OneWave.
• A growing company operating in one of Europe’s most exciting beauty markets.
• Close collaboration with management, sales, brand relations, and international brand partners.
• Short decision-making paths, high responsibility, and strong impact.
• Flexible working hours and, after successful onboarding, the option for hybrid work in the future.
• Ramen bar, snacks, good coffee from a portafilter machine, and staff discounts on K-Beauty products.
• Training opportunities, company events, team spirit, and an environment where work should also be enjoyable.

About OneWave

OneWave GmbH has been one of Europe’s leading K-Beauty distributors since 2016. From its headquarters in Sulzbach, the company brings innovative Korean brands into European retail across skincare, makeup, beauty tech, and lifestyle.

The long-term goal is to become Europe’s leading K-Beauty distributor.

Additional information

Flexible working hours are offered, and hybrid working is planned for the future after a successful onboarding period. The role is based in Sulzbach, Hesse, Germany and is currently onsite.