Head of Performance Marketing

Candidate Ltd; Greater Manchester; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Candidate Ltd in Greater Manchester is seeking a senior Head of Performance Marketing to lead our digital acquisition strategy and accelerate sustainable growth. You will own multi-channel campaigns, optimise spend, and drive measured commercial returns across paid search, social, and programmatic channels.

This senior role combines strategic oversight with hands-on execution, leading an internal team and external partners to maximise lifetime value and profitability.

Qualifications

• At least seven years' experience in performance marketing in a high-growth digital or transactional business.
• Proven hands-on expertise with Google Ads and Meta advertising and managing a diverse paid media portfolio.
• Track record of managing substantial marketing budgets and delivering efficiency and profitability.
• Strong commercial understanding of LTV, CAC, payback periods and value-based acquisition strategies.
• Experience with advanced tracking, offline conversions and first-party data.
• Highly analytical with ability to translate data into commercial recommendations.
• Experience developing AI-driven solutions and automations to improve processes and performance.
• Proven leadership including developing teams and managing agency relationships.

Responsibilities

• Own and deliver overall performance marketing strategy, including channel planning and investment allocation.
• Lead multi-channel campaigns across paid search, paid social, mobile, display, affiliates and programmatic.
• Develop acquisition strategies focused on LTV, CAC and long-term profitability.
• Drive optimization through creative testing, audience experiments and landing page improvements.
• Enhance measurement, attribution and tracking to improve visibility of performance.
• Partner with Finance, Data, Product and Customer teams to align activity with business goals.
• Recruit, develop and inspire a high-performing marketing team and manage external agencies.
• Explore AI-powered tools and automated workflows to boost efficiency and decision-making.
• Establish testing frameworks and incrementality measurements to back investment decisions.

Skills

Performance marketing

Google Ads

Meta advertising

Leadership

Budget management

Analytics

AI/automation

Team management

Programmatic

Job description

We're seeking an ambitious and commercially focused Head of Performance Marketing to lead our digital acquisition strategy and accelerate sustainable business growth.

This is a senior leadership opportunity for someone who combines strategic thinking with hands-on performance expertise. You'll be responsible for maximising the effectiveness of our digital marketing investment, building high-performing acquisition channels and ensuring marketing activity delivers measurable commercial returns.

You'll oversee a broad mix of paid acquisition channels, lead internal and external specialists, and develop a data-led approach to customer acquisition that balances growth, customer quality and long-term profitability.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and deliver the overall performance marketing strategy, including channel planning, investment allocation and acquisition targets.
• Lead multi-channel campaigns across paid search, paid social, mobile advertising, display, affiliates and programmatic platforms.
• Develop sophisticated acquisition strategies focused on customer lifetime value, acquisition costs and long-term profitability.
• Drive continuous improvement through structured creative experimentation, audience testing and landing page optimisation.
• Enhance marketing measurement, attribution and tracking capabilities to improve visibility of channel and campaign performance.
• Partner with Finance, Data, Product and Customer teams to align acquisition activity with wider commercial objectives.
• Recruit, develop and inspire a high-performing marketing team while managing external agencies and specialist partners.
• Identify opportunities to introduce AI-powered tools, agents and automated workflows to improve campaign efficiency and decision-making.
• Establish robust testing frameworks, including incrementality measurement, to ensure investment decisions are supported by reliable evidence.

About You

• At least seven years' experience in performance marketing, ideally within a high-growth digital, consumer or transactional business.
• Extensive hands-on knowledge of Google Ads and Meta advertising, alongside experience managing a diverse paid media portfolio.
• A track record of managing substantial marketing budgets and delivering measurable improvements in acquisition efficiency and profitability.
• Strong commercial understanding of customer lifetime value, CAC, payback periods and value-based acquisition strategies.
• Experience with advanced tracking infrastructure, offline conversion measurement and first-party audience data.
• Highly analytical, with the ability to translate complex performance data into clear commercial recommendations.
• Practical experience developing AI-driven solutions and automations to improve marketing processes and performance.
• Proven leadership experience, including developing teams and overseeing agency relationships.

Experience in financial services, fintech, insurance or another regulated consumer sector would be advantageous.

Knowledge of SQL, predictive customer value modelling and programmatic advertising would also be beneficial.

The Opportunity

We're looking for a forward-thinking marketing leader who is equally comfortable setting direction and getting into the detail.

You'll be naturally curious, commercially driven and confident challenging established approaches. You understand that sustainable acquisition is about attracting the right customers, not simply generating the highest volume of conversions at the lowest cost.

You'll also have a genuine interest in emerging technology and the ability to turn AI and automation opportunities into practical improvements.

This is an opportunity to shape a growing acquisition function, develop a talented team and make a significant contribution to the wider business.