Marketing Graduate Trainee

A rare opportunity to start your career with a leading Solent 250 business, with over 80 years of successful trading and three decades’ experience training and developing marketing graduates on a marketing career ladder. Whilst your friends are slogging their way through the anonymous London corporate world, you can be making a name for yourself, whilst enjoying all the benefits of living by the sea and avoiding the London costs and commute!

What we offer you

• A young, fun and dynamic team – most of whom joined as Graduate Trainees

• Experience the whole product journey – from sourcing and purchasing through to marketing and analysis

• Gain wide-ranging digital and offline marketing experience from Tik Tok to TV; Google to press advertising

• The opportunity to work towards a Diploma in Marketing (CIM or DMA)

• A well-established development path from Junior Product Manager, targeting a full Product Manager position within your first 3 years

• Additional opportunities to work as a marketing specialist or in product development

• Opportunities to progress into people management roles – your manager has taken that very same journey

• Experienced and capable management support, with 93% of our people stating they enjoy working for their manager

• Excellent bonus scheme that can pay out at 225% of target

Recruitment Day:

We’re excited to welcome the next generation of talent to our team with opportunities starting in Spring 2026. We will be running a Recruitment Day on Tuesday 17th March.

Start Date:

April 2026

About us

With almost 250 employees and sales of over £40 million, 288 Group is one the leading 250 businesses in the Solent region, spanning along the south coast from West Sussex to Wiltshire. Now under the leadership of the third generation of the Allen family, 288 Group offers the perfect blend of family business principles and a professional commercialism. We embrace that in our mission – “To Deliver Excellence to our Customers, our People and for Business Success”, and in our values of: Respect, Ambition, Openness and Support.

You will be working within our industry-leading collectables division, where, each year, we help over 200,000 customers build collections that range from the 50 pence coins you find in your change to exclusive gold coins issued in an edition limit of fewer than 25 pieces. Recognised as official distributors for The Royal Mint, The Royal Canadian Mint and Royal Australian Mint, as well as the official commemorative coin partner for Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, we are by far the UK’s leading independent distributor of new issue coins.

What we’re looking for in you

• You’re keen to be challenged and pushed to succeed

• You’re a confident communicator – face-to-face, in writing and on the phone

• You’re happy to work with autonomy and initiative (given the right training)

• You’ve got an appetite to learn and develop yourself

Benefits 

As well as receiving a competitive salary, you will also benefit from:

• 25 days annual holiday, plus all Bank Holidays, rising to 30 days with service

• Your birthday off as a FREE extra day’s holiday

• Flexible working hours

• Free parking

• Annual company trading bonus

• Private healthcare

• Free annual flu jab

• Enhanced company sick pay

• Additional maternity / paternity benefits

• Annual summer and Christmas parties

*Some benefits are subject to a qualifying period

Most of our graduate trainees have an excellent academic history, with a strong degree. We do not have any specific degree preferences and we are always happy to consider applicants with a less traditional educational background – please use your covering letter to explain your journey.

Starting salary: £27,000 + £1,500 Bonus

Application deadline: Tuesday 10th March