Customer Journey Manager

LE001 AQA Education; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 43,000 - 51,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Medical Insurance

Health Cash Reward Plan

Life Assurance

Employee Assistance Programme

25 days annual leave

Hybrid working

Job summary

AQA is seeking a Customer Journey Manager to design, build and optimise CRM-driven journeys across Marketing, Product, Sales and Service. You will lead hands-on creation of automated journeys, ensuring personalised experiences that improve onboarding, engagement and retention for schools and learners.

Working in a hybrid model, you’ll collaborate across teams, analyse data, and report on journey performance. This role combines technology, design and process thinking to deliver measurable impact.

Qualifications

• Experience with CRM campaign management and journey automation across multiple channels.
• Proven ability to collaborate with Marketing, Product, Sales and Service teams.
• Skilled in journey mapping tools such as Figma to visualise processes.

Responsibilities

• Design and manage automated, multi-channel customer journeys across the lifecycle.
• Lead creation and development of journeys in CRM for key customer segments.
• Translate journeys into automated campaigns and report on success metrics.
• Define and report on journey performance and optimise via A/B testing.

Skills

CRM campaign management

Journey automation

Stakeholder management

Journey mapping tools

Tools

Dynamics

HubSpot

Salesforce

Figma

Job description

Customer Journey Manager Permanent Manchester Salary: £42,500 - £51,000 Hybrid Working – a minimum of 2 days a week in the office

At AQA, we’re committed to advancing education and we’re committed to our people. As the largest provider of academic qualifications in the UK, we mark over 10 million exam papers each year and it’s our people who make this happen.

Ready to design and optimise journeys that make a real difference for schools, educators, and learners? If you’re passionate about creating seamless, personalised experiences, this is the role for you. As a Customer Journey Manager, you’ll play a key role in shaping how our customers experience AQA, by leading the hands‑on creation and optimisation of automated journeys in our CRM. You’ll connect experiences across Marketing, Product, Sales, and Service, ensuring every interaction is meaningful and measurable. Your work will help us deliver on our mission to support learners of all abilities.

Key responsibilities

• Designing and managing automated, multi‑channel customer journeys across the lifecycle.
• Collaborating with cross‑functional teams to embed CRM‑driven workflows that improve outcomes.
• Using data and insights to refine journeys and report on success metrics.

What’s in it for you

• The chance to shape customer experiences that impact thousands of learners.
• A working week of 35 hours with flexible, hybrid working
• A pension which could see up to a combined contribution of 18.5%
• 25 days annual leave with additional office closure days at the end of December
• The opportunity to join a variety of staff networks including Empowering Women, LGBTQ+, Disability, Parents and Carers, InterFaith, Neurodiversity and more.
• Private Medical Insurance, a Health Cash Reward Plan, Life Assurance and an extensive Employee Assistance Programme
• Access to professional development and growth opportunities.

What we are looking for

• Have experience with CRM campaign management and journey automation (Dynamics, HubSpot, Salesforce, or similar).
• Can work confidently with Marketing, Sales, and Service teams to deliver integrated experiences.
• Are skilled in journey mapping tools like Figma and process design.
• Bring excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.
• Have an analytical mindset and a passion for continuous improvement and A/B testing.

All applications will be read and responded to by a human.

Diversity and inclusion

At AQA, we’re committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels they belong and can do their best work. We value the different perspectives, experiences and backgrounds our people bring, knowing they strengthen our culture, decision‑making and impact. We foster an inclusive environment where everyone is treated with respect, has access to opportunities to grow and contribute, and feels able to be themselves. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

Full Job Description Summary

Purpose: At AQA we are more than just an awarding organisation, we are committed to advancing education by enabling both teachers and students to realise their potential. Our purpose drives everything we do – we're here to make a positive difference in the world by bringing out the best in educators and learners. The Customer Connections team plays a pivotal role in this mission, working across the organisation to ensure customers are at the heart of every interaction. This role is key in shaping how we connect with customers through personalised, automated journeys that support onboarding, engagement, and retention. As a Customer Journey Manager (CRM), you will design, build, and optimise customer journeys using our CRM platform. You’ll bring together data, technology, and creativity to ensure customers experience seamless, personalised interactions that make AQA the partner of choice in education.

Landscape: AQA is a leading exam board and education charity, known for delivering high‑quality assessments and trusted support for schools and educators. The Customer Connection team ensures that customer needs are reflected across all touchpoints. This role will report into the CRM Manager, who is responsible for setting and delivering the CRM strategy across Customer & Product (C&P). The CRM Manager leads the development of personalised, data‑driven experiences and oversees the evolution of our CRM capabilities. In this context, the Customer Journey Manager will focus on the hands‑on creation and optimisation of automated journeys, while playing a pivotal role in connecting customer experiences across multiple teams across C&P. They will work closely with Marketing, Product, Sales, and Service stakeholders to design journeys that are impactful for customers, foster cross‑team alignment, and deliver measurable outcomes for the business.

Activities

• Develop and manage customer journeys
• Lead the creation and development of customer journeys in CRM for key customer segments, covering multiple touchpoints and stages of the lifecycle (e.g. awareness, onboarding, lead nurture, in‑life service).
• Translate customer journeys into automated, multi‑channel campaigns (e.g. email, SMS, and alerts to Sales/Service).
• Work with stakeholders to ensure journeys not only deliver communications but also trigger actions across teams that improve customer outcomes.
• Define and report on clear success metrics of each journey
• Regularly refine and A/B test customer journeys based on new insights, customer feedback, and business objectives.

Customer centric culture champion

• Foster a customer‑centric mindset across the organisation by ensuring all teams understand the importance of the customer journey and how they contribute to the overall experience.
• Advocate for customer‑focused changes and improvements, ensuring that customer satisfaction is prioritised at every touchpoint.

Journey optimisation and continuous improvement

• Identify key pain points, bottlenecks, and opportunities across the customer journey and work with relevant teams to implement changes that enhance the overall experience.
• Track customer experience metrics and continuously monitor performance to identify trends, issues, and areas for improvement.

Data‑driven insights and reporting

• Leverage both qualitative and quantitative customer insights to make informed decisions regarding journey optimisation.
• Conduct regular reporting on customer journey performance, providing insights and recommendations to leadership for continuous improvement.
• Champion a “test and learn” approach, sharing outcomes of A/B tests and optimisation experiments to embed best practice across teams.

Technology & tools management

• Oversee the implementation and use of journey mapping tools and customer experience platforms (e.g. Visio and Figma) to effectively visualise and manage customer journeys.
• Build and optimise real‑life automated campaigns and workflows in CRM, translating journey designs into measurable, scalable experiences.
• Ensure that the technology stack supports customer journey initiatives, including data integration across customer touchpoints.

Need to know

• Strong experience with CRM automated campaign management and journey automation (Dynamics, HubSpot, Salesforce, or similar)
• Experience working with cross‑functional teams, particularly Sales, Marketing, and Service, to embed CRM‑driven workflows into daily practice.
• Strong background in visual design, process mapping and the use of journey mapping software (e.g. Figma).
• Experience partnering with Functional Specialists to translate business requirements into practical CRM journeys and ensure solutions meet both customer and operational needs.

Key skills

• Strong stakeholder management – you’ll be connecting customer journeys across multiple teams and departments, from Marketing through to Sales and Service.
• Core project management skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities and drive initiatives forward
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present to senior leadership and facilitate discussions across diverse teams.
• Strong analytical mindset – confident with KPIs and optimisation
• Curious and experimental, with a drive for continuous improvement
• Familiarity with customer journey analytics tools and lifecycle marketing strategies.

AQA is an independent charity that sets and marks over half of all GCSEs and A-levels in the UK every year. Our purpose is to advance education by helping students and teachers to realise their potential. As part of AQA, you’ll very quickly appreciate the determination and unwavering passion to deliver this goal in everything we do. To help drive these ambitions, AQA invests in the development of its people by offering a range of professional development and learning opportunities leading to over 50% of our permanent roles being filled internally.

Reasonable Adjustments

If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process or in the role, please contact the recruiter named in the vacancy advert or your interview correspondence. They will work with you to ensure the appropriate support is in place and that the process is as accessible and equitable as possible. If you’re unsure who your recruiter is, or can't reach them, contact Faye Harrison (she/her) at [e-mail] or 07813 724161, and she'll direct you to the right person. Please note that Faye cannot assist with temporary vacancy enquiries or non‑recruitment matters. For temporary vacancies, contact [e-mail].

Smart Working

We’re operating a smart working model. This allows for our colleagues to work from two days a week in one of our offices across England.

Conflict of Interest

Please note that due to the confidential nature of our work, we are unable to employ people for our temporary roles who are currently a candidate for Key Stage 4 and 5 public examinations.

Safeguarding

AQA is committed to the safeguarding of children and adults at risk. We’re dedicated to reducing the risk of employing or contracting any person intent on abusing their position of trust, along with identifying and responding to any incident of alleged abuse from its employees or associates fairly and swiftly. For more information on safeguarding at AQA please visit the AQA website here.