Acquisition Manager

Initiate; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Initiate in Cape Town is seeking an Acquisition Manager to lead our customer acquisition and performance growth in a fast-paced iGaming environment.

You will own the acquisition strategy, optimise the customer journey, and drive paid media initiatives across Search, Social, and Display while coordinating Affiliate, Content, Social Media and SEO activities. The role requires strong analytics, data-driven decision making and leadership to grow registrations and FTDs.

Qualifications

• 4+ years' experience in acquisition, growth, performance marketing or digital marketing.
• Hands-on experience managing Paid Media campaigns and budgets.
• Experience with Google Ads, Meta Ads and digital analytics tools.
• Strong understanding of acquisition funnels, conversion optimisation and marketing measurement.
• Commercially focused with strong analytical and problem-solving capabilities.
• Experience mentoring or developing team members.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement customer acquisition strategies across paid and organic channels.
• Manage acquisition budgets, forecasts and performance objectives.
• Improve registration, conversion and first-time deposit rates.
• Optimize the acquisition funnel through testing, analysis.
• Lead and develop the Growth/Acquisition team.
• Collaborate with CRM, Product, Data and Technology teams to improve journeys.

Skills

Commercial & Revenue Focus

Data-Driven Decision Making

Performance Marketing

Team Leadership

Testing & Optimisation

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Ownership & Accountability

Tools

Google Ads

Meta Ads

Digital Analytics Tools

Job description

About the Role

A fast-growing operator in the Sports Betting and iGaming industry is looking for a commercially driven Acquisition Manager to lead customer acquisition and performance growth within a fast-paced iGaming environment.

Reporting to the Head of Marketing, this role will take ownership of the acquisition strategy, performance and optimisation of the customer journey, with a particular focus on Paid Media, while coordinating Affiliate, Content, Social Media and SEO activity.

The ideal candidate will be highly analytical, commercially minded and passionate about using data, testing and optimisation to grow new customers and first-time depositors efficiently.

Your Key Job Responsibilities will include:

Acquisition & Growth

• Develop and implement customer acquisition strategies across both paid and organic channels.
• Manage acquisition budgets, forecasts and performance objectives.
• Identify opportunities to improve registration, conversion and first-time deposit rates.
• Continuously optimise the acquisition funnel through testing, analysis and experimentation.

Paid Media

• Take ownership of paid acquisition performance across Search, Social and Display channels.
• Manage campaign targeting, creative, bidding strategies and budgets to maximise ROI.
• Ensure robust tracking, attribution and performance reporting across paid channels.
• Identify opportunities to improve campaign efficiency and scale successful activity.

Affiliate, Content, Social Media & SEO

• Coordinate Affiliate, Content and Social Media initiatives in line with acquisition goals.
• Work alongside SEO teams to support organic traffic and customer growth.
• Ensure all acquisition channels operate cohesively and contribute towards overall commercial objectives.

Data & Performance

• Track and analyse core acquisition KPIs, including:
• Registrations
• First‑Time Depositors (FTDs)
• CPA / CAC
• Registration-to-FTD conversion
• ROAS
• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)
• Channel profitability
• Use performance data and customer insights to identify trends, opportunities and areas requiring improvement.
• Translate data into clear actions that improve acquisition efficiency and customer value.

Team Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead, support and develop the Growth/Acquisition team.
• Collaborate closely with CRM, Product, Data and Technology teams to improve customer journeys and overall growth performance.
• Promote a culture focused on ownership, experimentation, accountability and continuous optimisation.

Experience & Qualifications

Essential

• 4+ years' experience in acquisition, growth, performance marketing or digital marketing.
• Strong hands‑on experience managing Paid Media campaigns and budgets.
• Experience using platforms such as Google Ads, Meta Ads and digital analytics tools.
• Strong understanding of acquisition funnels, conversion optimisation and marketing measurement.
• Commercially focused with strong analytical and problem‑solving capabilities.
• Previous experience managing, mentoring or developing team members.

Desirable

• Experience within iGaming, online betting, gaming or another highly competitive digital environment.
• Previous exposure to affiliate marketing and affiliate programme management.
• Experience with A/B testing, CRO, GA4, GTM and customer value analysis.

Key Competencies

• Commercial & Revenue Focus
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Performance Marketing
• Team Leadership
• Testing & Optimisation
• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Ownership & Accountability

The Opportunity

This is an exciting opportunity for an acquisition specialist to take ownership of a key growth function within the iGaming industry. You'll have the scope to influence acquisition strategy, lead a team, optimise multiple channels and directly impact customer growth and commercial performance.