Digital Acquisition Manager Hybrid in Manchester

Forward Role are working with a successful B2C lead generation business that is looking for an exceptional Group Digital Acquisition Lead to take complete ownership of their acquisition strategy across the group. This is a senior, high-impact role for someone who wants to move beyond channel management and take true strategic ownership of growth. You will be responsible for connecting paid media, SEO, and conversion rate optimisation into a single, integrated strategy that drives profitable, scalable revenue growth.

If you are a commercially-minded performance marketer who thrives on accountability, loves turning data into action, and wants genuine autonomy to shape strategy and drive results, this could be the perfect next step.

The Role

Reporting into the Marketing Director, you will own the end-to-end digital acquisition strategy, with full responsibility for performance, budgets, forecasting, and outcomes. This role blends strategic leadership with hands-on performance oversight – you will set the vision while staying close enough to the data to spot opportunities and solve problems quickly.

You will manage and align multiple specialist agencies (PPC, paid social, SEO, web development) to ensure all acquisition activity is efficient, insight-led, and laser-focused on commercial outcomes.

Your key responsibilities:

• Building and executing the overarching growth strategy that brings together paid channels, organic search and website optimisation into one unified approach.
• Getting the best out of external agency partners, challenging performance and ensuring every pound spent is working hard to deliver results.
• Keeping a daily pulse on what is working and what is not, making rapid adjustments to protect efficiency and capitalise on opportunities.
• Breaking down silos between paid traffic, SEO and on-site experience so they function as one intelligent system.
• Exploring how AI and automation can give you an edge in campaign optimisation and website performance.
• Building a culture of testing and experimentation, with a clear roadmap for improving conversion rates and lead quality across the funnel.
• Working hand-in-glove with the CRM team to ensure the leads you are generating are being nurtured and converted effectively.
• Spotting white space opportunities where new channels, platforms or tactics could unlock additional growth.
• Keeping tabs on what competitors are doing and staying ahead of platform changes that could impact performance.
• Turning mountains of performance data into compelling narratives and actionable recommendations for leadership.
• Being the go-to expert on all things growth, helping shape commercial decisions beyond just the marketing function.
• Producing sharp, outcome-focused reporting that tells the story of performance without drowning stakeholders in unnecessary detail.

What You Will Bring

Essential experience:

• Proven track record leading digital acquisition, coming from a hands-on PPC management experience.
• Strong exposure to SEO, CRO and UX is desirable, at least a strong understanding of how channels work together.
• Exceptional analytical capability – confident working with large datasets, attribution models and complex performance metrics.
• Commercially minded and target-focused, motivated by delivering measurable business outcomes.
• Ability to translate complex data into clear insights and recommendations for senior leadership.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple workstreams and competing priorities.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with confidence influencing decision-making at a senior level.

Personal attributes:

• Detail-driven and analytical, with a natural instinct to question performance and find improvements.
• Commercial thinker who understands how acquisition performance directly impacts revenue and profitability.
• Proactive and accountable – you take ownership of both challenges and solutions.
• Curious and forward-thinking, actively exploring new tools, approaches and ideas.
• Collaborative and pragmatic, comfortable working across teams and external partners.

What is On Offer

• Competitive salary with performance-based bonus.
• Hybrid working model with flexibility.
• Genuine autonomy and strategic influence.
• Opportunity to shape and lead group-wide growth strategy.
• Work with best-in-class tools and agency partners.
• Professional development and career progression.
• Supportive, collaborative culture that values expertise and initiative.

Why This Role?

This is a rare opportunity to step into a genuinely strategic growth leadership position where you will have real ownership, significant budgets, and the backing to make bold decisions. You will be working with a business that understands the value of performance marketing and gives you the tools, team and trust to deliver exceptional results.

If you are ready to take the next step in your career and want a role where your impact is measured, visible and rewarded, I would love to hear from you.