Senior Manager, Strategic Planning

Checkout.com; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work model

Career development opportunities

Job summary

Checkout.com is seeking a Senior Manager, Strategic Planning to elevate our Marketing organisation. You will partner with the CMO and Leadership Team to shape strategy, planning, execution, and performance across the global marketing function.

You'll lead a small team, drive budgets, operating rhythms, and data-driven decision making, while enabling AI-driven change and collaboration with Product, Commercial, Finance, Data, and People teams.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in marketing strategy and planning.
• Strong strategic thinking with execution focus.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams.
• Experience with budgeting and governance in large organisations.
• Data-driven decision-making and analytics skills.

Responsibilities

• Translate business priorities into clear marketing plans and roadmaps across the Marketing organisation.
• Analyse options and structure problems to drive clear recommendations.
• Support prioritisation and board updates with the CMO and Marketing Leadership Team (MLT).
• Run the Marketing operating rhythm including planning cycles, leadership meetings, and reviews.
• Lead the Marketing budget process by function and by region with governance.
• Improve operational excellence through structured processes, documentation, and reporting.
• Support marketing talent development and resource allocation.
• Be the ambassador of AI-driven change and technology adoption in the team.
• Coordinate with Product, Commercial, Finance, Data, and People teams for alignment.
• Strengthen data-led decision-making and prepare leadership updates.
• Enable clear communication and alignment across senior stakeholders.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Execution

Marketing mindset

Data-driven

Cross-functional teamwork

Communication

Leadership

Job description

Company Description

We're Checkout.com. You might not know our name, but companies like eBay, Spotify, Klarna, Uber, and Sony do, because we're behind many of the digital experiences you use every day.

We are where the world checks out, enabling over 10 billion transactions yearly for more than one billion global shoppers.
Whether you want to book a holiday, order food, renew a subscription, or check out online, there's a good chance our tech powers the payments behind the scenes. Our platform helps the most ambitious businesses deliver effortless digital experiences, at scale.
If you want to do career-defining work, you've come to the right place. We move fast, think globally, and believe great teams are built by hiring exceptional people with conviction, curiosity, and the desire to make an impact.
With 20 offices across six continents and London as our HQ, we're shaping the future of fintech - and we're just getting started.

At Checkout.com, we create Marketing that Moves: moves people to buy our products, builds a brand where top-notch marketers trust us with their careers, and fuels growth to make Checkout.com the irresistible choice.

As our business ambition continues to grow, we're looking for a Senior Manager, Strategic Planning to help bring focus, momentum, and operational excellence to our Marketing organisation. This is a high-impact, hands-on role for someone energised by pace, problem-solving, and building in complex, fast-moving environments, with a genuine passion for marketing as a growth driver.

Working in close partnership with the CMO and the extended Marketing leadership team, you'll be exposed to the full breadth of how a global marketing organisation operates: strategy, planning, execution, and performance. You'll help connect the dots across teams, priorities, and data, ensuring great ideas turn into action and momentum is sustained as we scale.

This is an exceptional opportunity to work alongside a leadership team focused on building an iconic global brand. If you're a natural problem-solver who thrives on pace, brings clarity to complexity, and wants to shape how Marketing works and drives impact, this role is for you.

How You'll Make an Impact

• Leading a small team, you'll support marketing strategy and planning, helping translate business priorities into clear plans, goals, and roadmaps across the Marketing organisation. You'll highlight the trade-offs and options we have to deliver greater impact.

• You'll identify and help to structure problems, analyse options, and drive clear recommendations. You'll help the team capitalise on their largest opportunities.

• Partner closely with the CMO and Marketing Leadership Team (MLT) to support prioritisation, preparation for key forums, Board updates and follow-through on decisions and actions.

• Run the Marketing operating rhythm, including planning cycles, leadership meetings, business reviews, and goal tracking, keeping momentum as priorities shift. Forums include important planing and synchronisation meetings, including MLT, Regional go-to-marketing (GTM) Meetings, Weekly Planning Forums, Marketing All Hands and Half Yearly Business Reviews.

• Lead the Marketing budget process. Own the annual marketing budget by marketing function and by region. Drive the necessary debate and alignment in budget setting, measurements and governance. Detail the approach to Regional and Global Management best practice, be the single point of contact with the Finance Business Planning Team for Headcount planning, program spend and operating expenses management and analysis

• Improve operational excellence by bringing structure to processes, documentation, ways of working, and reporting. Drive execution across fast-moving, cross-functional initiatives by coordinating inputs, managing dependencies, and unblocking issues under tight deadlines. Own the Campaign Planning process helping to ensure that all marketers have quality work in the system.

• Supporting the marketing talent development process, throughout the lifecycle of talent - from attraction through to development and mobility. Set the talent level frameworks with the HR Business Partner, drive the setting and attainment of goals, steer the calibration and bi-annual performance management process with the leaders in the organisation. Coordinate resource allocation

• Be the ambassador of AI driven change. Drive technology adoption and skills sets in the marketing team, be the champion of AI across the team. Identify the processes and projects that can be fully automated and work with MLT and ensure that we are improving our technology skills across the organisation.

• Act as a connector across functions, working closely with Product, Commercial, Finance, Data, and People teams to ensure alignment and progress.

• Help strengthen data-led decision-making, supporting how insights, performance metrics, and results inform priorities and trade-offs.

• Enable clear communication and alignment by synthesising information and preparing leadership updates and materials as needed.

What We're Looking For

• Energised by pace, complexity, and problem-solving, with the ability to stay focused and effective as priorities shift.

• A strong strategic thinker who genuinely enjoys execution and making things happen.

• A clear passion for marketing, with curiosity about how brand, product, data, and performance come together to drive growth.

• Comfortable working with data, planning cycles, and performance metrics to support decision-making and prioritisation.

• Highly organised, with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and deadlines at once.

• An excellent communicator, confident working with senior leaders and cross-functional teams to drive alignment and decisions.

• A natural connector who builds strong relationships and helps teams work better together.
  Sound judgement and discretion when handling sensitive topics and information.

• A growth mindset, with strong motivation to learn, develop, and grow alongside a senior leadership team.

Additional Information

Bring all of you to work

We create the conditions for high performers to thrive, through real ownership, fewer blockers, and work that makes a difference from day one.

Here, you'll move fast, take on meaningful challenges, and be recognized for the impact you deliver. It's a place where ambition gets met with opportunity, and where your growth is in your hands.

We work as one team, and we back each other to succeed. So whatever your background or identity, if you're ready to grow and make a difference, you'll be right at home here.

It's important we set you up for success and make our process as accessible as possible. So let us know in your application, or tell your recruiter directly, if you need anything to make your experience or working environment more comfortable.

Life at Checkout.com

We understand that work is just one part of your life. Our hybrid working model offers flexibility, with three days per week in the office to support collaboration and connection.

Curious about what it's like to be part of our team? Visit our Careers Page to learn more about our culture, open roles, and what drives us.

For a closer look at daily life at Checkout.com, follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram