Head of Digital

CMG (Connective Media Group); South Africa; Hybrid; ZAR 800,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading performance marketing agency in South Africa is seeking a Head of Digital to lead their integrated digital marketing strategy. This role involves overseeing performance media, SEO, and content marketing while mentoring a diverse team. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of experience, agency leadership, and excels in data-driven environments. You'll manage client relationships and ensure metrics alignment to support growth, ensuring excellence in execution from the teams involved.

Qualifications

• 10–12+ years in digital marketing with deep expertise across multiple channels.
• Proven track record leading PPC, SEO, content, CRM, and/or development teams.
• Agency leadership experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with high-volume accounts and performance-driven environments.

Responsibilities

• Own CMG’s end-to-end digital marketing strategy framework for all clients.
• Lead and mentor PPC specialists, SEO analysts, content strategists, CRM managers, and web developers.
• Act as senior client partner for all digital accounts and manage complex stakeholder environments.
• Establish measurement frameworks, KPIs, and dashboards for each channel.

Skills

Digital marketing

PPC expertise

SEO expertise

Content strategy

CRM management

Team leadership

Performance measurement

Client communication

Tools

Google Ads

Meta Ads

SEO tools

Google Analytics

CRM platforms

CMS platforms

Job description

CMG is a US-based performance marketing agency with a global workforce, specializing in the healthcare sector. The agency helps healthcare brands maximize ROI through data‑driven strategies, precision targeting, and measurable results that fuel sustainable growth.

Role Overview

The Head of Digital is responsible for leading CMG’s integrated digital marketing ecosystem across performance media (PPC), SEO, content marketing, CRM/lifecycle, and web development. This leader sets the strategic vision, drives measurable growth for clients, and ensures excellence in execution from all technical and creative teams. The role requires a hybrid strategist‑operator who is hands‑on when necessary, highly technical, and capable of directing multi‑skilled teams to deliver consistent, scalable results.

Responsibilities

• Digital Strategy Leadership – Own CMG’s end‑to‑end digital marketing strategy framework for all clients, develop integrated strategies combining PPC, SEO, content, CRM, UX, and web development, translate client business goals into measurable performance KPIs and channel‑specific plans, lead cross‑functional planning sessions with PPC, SEO, Content, CRM, Data, and Dev teams.
• Team Leadership – Lead and mentor PPC specialists, SEO analysts, content strategists, CRM managers, and web developers; implement strong processes for planning, QA, testing, reporting, and cross‑channel collaboration; ensure team accountability, performance tracking, and continuous skills development; partner with Operations to improve delivery workflows, SLAs, and resourcing model.
• Technical Direction – Must have the ability to step in, review work, troubleshoot issues, and guide teams across PPC (Google Ads, Meta, TikTok Ads, bid strategies, audience segmentation, attribution, feed optimisation), SEO (technical audits, schema, site structure, keyword research, content optimisation, Core Web Vitals), Content Strategy (topic clustering, content calendars, long‑form and short‑form content planning, channel alignment), CRM (lifecycle strategy, segmentation, automation journeys, email optimisation, deliverability), Web Dev (UX/UI principles, CMS management, CRO best practices, QA processes, sprint planning).
• Client Leadership – Act as senior client partner for all digital accounts, present strategies, roadmaps, performance insights, and growth opportunities, manage complex stakeholder environments with clarity and authority, identify upsell, cross‑sell, and scope expansion opportunities.
• Performance Measurement and Analytics – Establish measurement frameworks, KPIs and dashboards for each channel, oversee accurate attribution, conversion tracking, and data quality, guide the team in insight generation and data‑driven optimisation, ensure data compliance, security standards, and tracking integrity.
• Innovation and Improvement – Champion testing frameworks such as A/B, multivariate, messaging, UX, bidding; stay ahead of platform changes, AI‑driven automation, privacy updates, and martech tools; bring forward new methodologies, tools, and process improvements to drive efficiency and scale.

Required & Preferred Qualifications

• 10–12+ years in digital marketing with deep expertise across multiple channels.
• Proven track record leading PPC, SEO, content, CRM, and/or development teams.
• Agency leadership experience is strongly preferred.
• Experience working with high‑volume accounts, and performance‑driven environments.

Technical Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and Google Workspace.
• Google Ads, Meta Ads, TikTok Ads Manager.
• Google Analytics 4, Tag Manager, Looker Studio.
• SEO tools: Ahrefs, SEMrush, Screaming Frog.
• CRM platforms – GHL HubSpot, Klaviyo, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, etc.
• CMS platforms – WordPress; understanding of custom/development pipelines.
• Strong understanding of HTML/CSS basics, tracking scripts, and site performance metrics.

Soft Skills and Cultural Fit

• High accountability and strong operational discipline.
• Exceptional communication and client presentation skills.
• Able to simplify complex digital topics for non‑technical stakeholders.
• Comfortable managing senior specialists and giving corrective direction.
• Strong problem‑solving ability and calm under pressure.

Seniority level

• Executive

Employment type

• Full‑time

Job function

• Marketing and Sales
• Marketing Services