Customer Journey Strategy & Governance Manager

AQA Recruiting; Manchester; Hybrid; GBP 54,000 - 61,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Medical Insurance

Generous pension

35 hour working week

25 days annual leave

Office closure end of December

Job summary

AQA is seeking a Customer Journey Strategy & Governance Manager in Manchester. You will shape how we plan, govern and improve customer journeys across Marketing, Sales and Technology, leveraging data and new CDP capabilities to drive engagement and retention.

This is a new role with room to influence how the function develops. You’ll work with colleagues across teams, set governance standards, and translate strategy into practical, measurable improvements.

Qualifications

• Experience designing, managing or optimising customer journeys.
• Ability to establish governance, standards and processes.
• Evidence using data to drive improvement and decisions.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain the customer journey strategy and roadmap across the customer lifecycle.
• Establish governance for journey prioritisation, contact, frequency, consent and review.
• Translate strategy into practical customer engagement plans.
• Lead governance processes for journey prioritisation, review and approval.
• Define journey design standards and operating principles.

Skills

Journey design

Governance

Change management

Data insight

Stakeholder mgmt

Tools

Dynamics 365

Customer Insights-Journeys

ClickDimensions

Salesforce

Job description

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.

Customer Journey Strategy & Governance Manager Permanent Manchester Salary: £54,400 - £60,700 Hybrid Working- a minimum of 2 days per week in the office

Turn customer strategy into journeys that work. As the Customer Journey Strategy & Governance Manager , you’ll shape how AQA plans, governs and improves customer journeys at a point when new customer data and marketing technology is being introduced across the organisation.

Make customer journeys clearer, joined up and measurable Customer journeys already exist across AQA, but they are managed in different places and at different levels of maturity.

You’ll bring that work together, create a consistent approach and translate agreed strategy into practical ways of working.

This is a new role with room to influence how the function develops.

You’ll work across Marketing, Sales and Technology, providing oversight of customer journeys while Customer Journey Managers configure and deliver them.

Your recommendations will help AQA prioritise customer contact, use data responsibly and improve engagement, conversion and retention.

What you’ll do

• Create and maintain the customer journey strategy and roadmap across the customer lifecycle, bringing together work that currently sits across different teams.
• Establish practical governance and standards for journey prioritisation, customer contact, communication frequency, consent and review.
• Turn insight into action by setting measures, reviewing performance and recommending improvements to customer journeys.
• Guide colleagues through change explaining complex customer journey and data concepts clearly and helping teams adopt consistent ways of working.
• Connect strategy with delivery working with Customer Journey Managers and other specialists who build and configure journeys in the CRM platform.

What's in it for you?

A genuine opportunity to shape a new role and influence how AQA manages customer journeys.

Work at the centre of new Customer Insights-Journeys and Customer Data Platform capability as it moves from agreed theory into day-to-day practice.

Visibility across Marketing, Sales, Technology and customer-facing teams.

• 35 hour working week, 25 days annual leave increasing with service with additional office closure at the end of December Private Medical Insurance, and a generous pension, including an AQA contribution of up to 11.5% of your salary

What you’ll bring

• You’ll be suited to this role if you can create structure, use evidence to make decisions and influence people with different priorities.
• You do not need experience of AQA’s technology, but you will need to understand how customer journeys operate in a CRM, customer data platform or marketing automation environment.
• Experience designing, managing or improving customer journeys and turning strategy into clear plans or frameworks.
• Experience creating governance, standards or operational processes that others can apply.
• Evidence of using customer insight, data and performance measures to improve outcomes.
• Experience leading change across different teams and achieving results through influence rather than direct authority.
• An understanding of customer data, consent, preferences and responsible customer communication.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365, Customer Insights-Journeys, ClickDimensions, Salesforce or similar technology would be useful, but the specific platform can be learned.

Diversity and inclusion statement

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

The Customer Journey Strategy & Governance Manager will lead the development, governance, optimisation and continuous improvement of AQA's end-to-end customer journeys, ensuring every customer interaction supports AQA's strategic objectives for customer retention, growth and successful adoption through assessment reform.

The role will act as the operational lead for customer journey management across the Customer Data Platform (CDP), translating commercial strategy into customer journey roadmaps, prioritising customer engagement opportunities and ensuring journeys are designed, governed and measured effectively.

Working across Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, Technology and Analytics teams, the role will provide a single point of accountability for journey effectiveness, customer data quality from a business perspective and customer engagement governance, ensuring AQA delivers joined-up, data-driven and customer-centric experiences at every stage of the customer lifecycle.

The role will act as the deputy and trusted partner to the Customer Connections Manager, providing oversight of the customer engagement ecosystem and maximising the value delivered through AQA's CDP investment.

Landscape

Assessment reform represents one of the most significant commercial opportunities and risks facing AQA over the coming years. To successfully retain existing customers, grow market share and improve customer advocacy, AQA is investing in a Customer Data Platform (CDP) to create personalised, insight-led customer experiences at scale.

The CDP will enable AQA to manage increasingly sophisticated customer journeys across the full customer lifecycle, from lead generation and customer acquisition through onboarding, adoption, retention and advocacy.

As capability grows, the need for strategic ownership, governance and optimisation of customer journeys becomes critical.

The Customer Journey Strategy & Governance Manager will work across multiple functions, bringing together customer insight, journey design, segmentation strategy, performance analysis and governance frameworks to ensure customer engagement activity is aligned to commercial priorities and delivers measurable business outcomes.

This role will play a key part in embedding customer-centric ways of working and establishing best practice customer journey management across AQA.

Activities

The role holder will be expected to be responsible for the following:

• Customer Journey Strategy: Develop and maintain AQA's customer journey strategy and roadmap across the customer lifecycle.
• Identify opportunities to improve customer experience, engagement and commercial outcomes through journey optimisation.
• Translate commercial objectives and reform priorities into journey requirements and customer engagement plans.
• Work closely with Marketing (propositions and operations) and Customer Success teams to align customer engagement activity.
• Journey Governance: Establish and manage the governance framework for customer journeys and customer communications.
• Define journey design standards, best practice guidance and operating principles.
• Lead governance processes for journey prioritisation, review and approval.
• Develop and maintain customer contact policies, communication frequency standards and channel governance.
• Ensure customer journeys remain aligned to customer needs, organisational priorities and regulatory requirements.
• Journey Performance & Optimisation: Define and monitor the performance framework for customer journeys.
• Track customer engagement, conversion, retention, adoption and advocacy measures.
• Lead journey reviews and identify opportunities to improve customer outcomes and business performance.
• Establish an experimentation and optimisation framework including A/B testing and continuous improvement activity.
• Translate customer and business insights into actionable recommendations.
• Customer Data Quality & Insight: Act as the business owner for customer data quality requirements within customer journeys.
• Work with Technology, Product and Data teams to improve data completeness, accuracy and usability.
• Champion the effective use of customer data, behavioural insight and customer intent signals.
• Ensure customer journey decisions are informed by evidence, performance data and insight.
• Support the development of customer segmentation and personalisation strategies.
• Stakeholder Management & Leadership: Build strong partnerships across Commercial, Technology, Product, Analytics and operational teams.
• Act as the subject matter expert for customer journey management and customer engagement governance.
• Influence stakeholders to adopt customer-centric approaches and best practice journey management.
• Support organisational adoption of CDP capabilities through coaching, guidance and community building.
• Deputise for the Customer Connections Manager where required.

To be successful in this role, you will need to demonstrate:

Essential Criteria

• Experience designing, managing or optimising customer journeys within a customer engagement, CRM, CDP or marketing automation environment.
• Experience establishing governance frameworks, standards or operational processes.
• Evidence of using customer insight, data and performance measures to drive improvement.
• Strong stakeholder management skills with experience working across multiple business functions.
• Experience leading change or transformation initiatives.
• Excellent communication, facilitation and influencing skills.
• Experience managing competing priorities and delivering outcomes through others.
• Strong problem-solving and continuous improvement mindset.

Desirable Criteria

• Experience of Customer Data Platforms (CDP), Dynamics 365, ClickDimensions, Customer Insights Journeys or similar technologies.
• Understanding of customer segmentation, personalisation and lifecycle marketing.
• Experience within education, qualifications, membership, public sector or highly regulated environments.
• Knowledge of customer experience (CX), customer success or service design methodologies.
• Experience of experimentation, testing and optimisation frameworks.
• Understanding of data governance, customer consent and customer communication compliance requirements.
• Experience supporting large-scale customer, digital or CRM transformation programmes.

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.

Diversity and inclusion

AQA is 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 welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and lived experiences.

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.