CRM Lead / Senior CRM Manager Accommodation Marketplace Scale-up

Student.com; London; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading company in student accommodation seeks a VP of Performance Media to pioneer and lead their CRM function using HubSpot. This strategic role focuses on enhancing customer engagement and retention while optimizing user experiences through data-driven insights. The successful candidate will have a proven track record in CRM strategy and HubSpot management, alongside a passion for improving the student living experience globally.

Benefits

Comprehensive healthcare coverage

Mental health support

Subsidised gym membership

25 days of annual leave

Additional holiday after five years service

Free snacks

Monthly team lunch

Volunteer opportunities

Qualifications

• 3+ years of hands-on experience with HubSpot.
• 8+ years overall CRM experience.
• Strong technical background in CRM tools integrations.

Responsibilities

• Lead CRM function with strategy development and team management.
• Build automated customer journeys within HubSpot.
• Create data-driven segmentation and personalisation strategies.

Skills

Customer Engagement

Customer Retention

Data Analytics

Marketing Automation

HubSpot Expertise

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business or related field

Master's preferred

Tools

HubSpot

Google Ads

Meta Ads

Hotjar

Job description

Student.com is the world’s leading marketplace for student accommodation and services, a leader in student marketplace technology and an innovator in an industry that needed an upgrade. We are passionate about helping students find their perfect home and supporting their educational journey. To date, we have helped students from over 170 different countries. We understand the student journey because we've lived it, and we're committed to providing safe, inspiring foundations for students to grow and make the most of their educational experience abroad. The VP of Performance Media will work with a global team to challenge the status quo while building the global Student.com brand with an emphasis on engaging and informative content, driving an unparalleled student marketplace experience.

The Role
Pioneer and lead our CRM function to drive customer engagement, retention, and growth. As a foundational hire, you'll establish the strategy, systems, and processes that power meaningful customer relationships at scale. We utilise HubSpot as our core CRM platform, and it's now an exciting time for us to scale CRM activity through data-driven personalised strategies.

Please note: deep, demonstrable experience with the HubSpot platform (3+ years) is an absolutely essential requirement for this role.

Key Responsibilities

· Lead the CRM function with responsibility for team management, strategy development, performance targets, and budget oversight.

· Build the CRM function from the ground up, including strategy and operating model, leveraging HubSpot extensively.

· Design and implement automated customer journeys within HubSpot across acquisition, onboarding, and retention.

· Partner with Growth, Marketing, Data and Product team members to optimise user experiences and conversion (e.g., booking rates).

· Create data-driven segmentation and personalisation strategies using HubSpot's capabilities.

· Develop measurement frameworks to track customer engagement and business impact.

· Lead experimentation to continuously improve customer communication effectiveness.

· Establish best practices for customer data management and privacy compliance.

· Own the relationship with HubSpot and manage our HubSpot instance effectively, ensuring optimal use of its features.

What You'll Build

· End-to-end CRM technology stack and data infrastructure, centred around HubSpot.

· Automated, personalised communication flows across the customer lifecycle within HubSpot.

· Dashboard and reporting systems for customer insights, primarily using HubSpot reporting tools alongside other analytics platforms.

· Testing and optimisation frameworks.

· Team structure and processes as the function scales.

What does success look like?

· Building and operating a revenue-driving CRM Engine, powered by HubSpot.

· A programme of continuous CRM improvement – even if the solutions are temporary builds awaiting a more optimal solution.

· A decrease in unsubscribes, and an increase in customers re-engaged.

· An increase in open rates, website visits and booking conversion.

· Delivery of robust reporting and measurement where people are made accountable for KPIs.

· High rates of utilisation of segmented data and customer data in CRM and customer comms using HubSpot – delivering higher rates of response, higher revenue and more loyalty.

· High impact customer and competitor insight, delivered into senior management and acted upon by the organisation.

Impact You'll Have

· Opportunity to impact the student living experience globally.

· Shape how students worldwide discover and secure their ideal accommodation.

· Enhance the overall university/college experience for students by ensuring they have a comfortable and secure place to live.

· Influence the future of student accommodation services and personalised experiences.

Requirements

• Essential: A minimum of 3+ years of recent, hands-on, and demonstrable experience with the HubSpot platform. This must be clearly evidenced in your application and you should be prepared to showcase how you have leveraged HubSpot to its full potential in previous roles to drive CRM strategies, build complex workflows, and deliver measurable results.

Candidates without this specific HubSpot experience will not be considered for this role and need not apply.

• 8+ years overall CRM experience with proven success building CRM programmes from scratch.
• Deep expertise in marketing automation principles and customer analytics.
• Strong technical background in CRM tools and integrations, with a primary focus on HubSpot.
• Demonstrable experience in successfully setting up, managing, and optimising HubSpot marketing integrations to enhance marketing effectiveness and data flow. You must be able to provide clear evidence of your hands-on experience with a range of key integrations, for example, with platforms such as Google Ads, Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram), Hotjar and others
• Proven experience in shaping and executing data strategy within a CRM environment (ideally HubSpot), demonstrating a strong data-oriented mindset. This includes technical expertise in customer data modelling, establishing data quality frameworks, implementing advanced segmentation techniques, and leveraging reporting/analytics tools (including advanced HubSpot reporting or integrated BI solutions).
• A solid understanding of data integration principles for a unified customer view and ensuring data governance (e.g., GDPR compliance) is also essential to translate customer data into actionable insights and improved campaign performance.
• Experience partnering with Product and Growth teams.
• Track record of data-driven experimentation and optimisation.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business, or related field

Key Behaviours & Competencies

· Passionate about the customer, passionate about insight, commercially focussed, and highly influential.

· Collaborates and develops great relationships with internal teams.

· Able to convince the business to stretch beyond a minimal viable product mind-set and focus on the best possible solutions.

· Continually monitors current trends, new technology solutions, and competitive strategies – and then translates them into new ideas and approaches.

· Identify new prospective solutions and best practice case studies which act as benchmarks for our strategy.

· Develops trusted, long-term relationships with key contacts, executive leadership.

· Experienced with 8+ years working for organisations who are leaders in CRM, CX, and have demonstrable experience of transforming performance at those organisations.

Education

· Bachelor's degree in related field, Master's preferred.

· UK resident with existing permission to work in the UK.

We offer a competitive and thoughtfully designed benefits package to support your well-being both in and out of work. This includes comprehensive healthcare coverage, mental health support, and a subsidised gym membership to help you stay healthy and energised. You’ll enjoy 25 days of annual leave, with additional holiday granted every five years of service, as well as the opportunity to volunteer for causes you care about. Our vibrant office culture includes free snacks, a monthly team lunch, and a supportive environment that values balance, wellness, and growth.