At a Glance
- Tasks: Lead innovative CRM strategies and shape customer engagement for top brands.
- Company: Join Optima Partners, a dynamic consultancy driving AI transformation.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, flexible working, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Why this job: Make a real impact in marketing and technology while collaborating with industry leaders.
- Qualifications: 8+ years in data-driven marketing and strong leadership skills required.
- Other info: Be part of a fast-growing team with exciting career prospects.
The predicted salary is between 48000 - 72000 £ per year.
We are looking for a Principal Consultant specialising in CRM & Next-Best-Action Decisioning (NBA) to join our growing Customer Strategy & Engagement team. This is an exciting opportunity for somebody with 4+ years' consulting or relevant in-house experience, who is eager to make an impact at the intersection of marketing, technology and customer experience.
As part of our project teams, you will help leading organisations modernise how they plan, deliver and measure customer engagement, collaborating with clients to design future-fit customer engagement strategies, martech roadmaps, and marketing ops models that drive real business outcomes and deliver more personalised and effective customer experiences. This is a role that offers variety, challenge and the chance to learn from senior experts, while shaping the future of customer-centric marketing with some of the UK's most ambitious and well-known brands.
Key Responsibilities- Shape and own enterprise-level customer engagement and NBA strategies that connect marketing, data, and technology to deliver business growth and customer value.
- Set the strategic direction for client maturity progression - architecting the roadmap from campaign-based engagement to fully autonomous, real-time decisioning ecosystems.
- Define the vision and guardrails for the use of AI, adaptive models, and contextual data - ensuring responsible, value-driven application of advanced NBA capabilities.
- Oversee translation of business strategy into decisioning blueprints, prioritised use cases, and measurable success outcomes across multiple channels and lifecycle stages.
- Influence data and martech strategies to ensure readiness, integration, and scalability of NBA capability within the client's ecosystem.
- Establish enterprise measurement frameworks that quantify customer and commercial impact, embedding experimentation and continuous optimisation as business-as-usual.
- Govern experimentation and value measurement across programmes, ensuring rigour, comparability, and clear executive storytelling of performance and ROI.
- Articulate and simplify complex decisioning concepts for senior stakeholders, influencing investment and operating model decisions.
- Design and embed governance and operating models that enable sustainable NBA management, continuous learning, and cross-functional alignment.
- Lead and mentor multi-disciplinary teams, developing consultants and client practitioners to build enduring NBA capability.
- Develop and evolve Optima's intellectual property, accelerators, and methodologies that enhance market differentiation and delivery excellence in NBA decisioning.
- Act as a senior client partner, trusted advisor, and thought leader across accounts and industry forums, shaping the future direction of data-driven engagement.
- 8+ years' experience delivering data-driven marketing, CRM, or decisioning initiatives at a consultancy, agency or relevant industry role.
- Experience with technical configuration or integration of NBA/CRM platforms, including understanding of data pipelines, APIs, and workflow automation.
- Proven ability to shape and lead large-scale decisioning transformation programmes from strategy to deployment.
- Demonstrated experience defining NBA operating models, governance, and measurement frameworks.
- Skilled at advising senior stakeholders on how to scale NBA and AI-driven engagement.
- Leads teams of consultants and client personnel to design and implement NBA frameworks.
- Expertise in arbitration design, decision strategies, and business prioritisation.
- Shapes roadmaps and maturity progression — guiding clients from campaigns to always-on NBA decisioning.
- Strong client relationship and delivery management experience across complex, multi-stakeholder environments.
- Coaches and mentors teams to build client capability and adoption.
- Highly proficient in Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel.
- Deep expertise in decisioning platforms, e.g. Pega CDH, Adobe Experience Platform.
- Hands-on experience architecting multi-channel, real-time engagement ecosystems.
- Thought leadership contributions, e.g. white papers, conference talks, capability development.
- Proven experience leading cross-market or global deployments.
- Deep understanding of adaptive analytics, model governance, and responsible AI.
- Experience integrating NBA with CRM, DMP, CDP, and channel orchestration tools.
- Experience embedding test-and-learn frameworks and ROI measurement in decisioning programmes.
- Acts as practice or capability lead, defining standards and accelerators for reuse.
- Experience in regulated industries with complex governance needs, e.g. banking, insurance, telecoms.
You will be part of Optima's Customer Strategy & Engagement service line; a dynamic group of strategists who help clients unlock customer value and deliver transformation and bring bold ideas and practical solutions to every engagement. You will collaborate closely with colleagues across other services lines, including Growth, Delivery Office, Data Science and Data Engineering, contributing your marketing expertise to shape integrated, future-ready solutions.
Our team is based all over the UK, but every individual is aligned to one of our offices in either Edinburgh, London or Bristol.
Optima Partners brings together expertise in design, transformation, data, marketing and technology to help organisations grow and thrive. We are the go-to challenger consultancy for AI-driven transformation in the financial services, energy and telecoms industries, helping clients move from strategy to outcomes fast. Our clients include Lloyds Banking Group, Barclays, Virgin Money, Royal London, Aviva, Ovo Energy, The AA, and more.
Our approach is hands-on: we stay embedded through delivery, simplify complexity, and always focus on lasting results. We believe in forming deep partnerships with clients, so our work doesn't just advise but delivers impact in practice.
For those joining us now, it’s an especially exciting time - we’re scaling fast and building the next chapter of our growth story.
Ready to lead the next wave of marketing transformation? We’d love to hear from you.
Principal Consultant – CRM & Next-Best-Action Decisioning in Edinburgh employer: Optima Partners
Contact Detail:
Optima Partners Recruiting Team
StudySmarter Expert Advice 🤫
We think this is how you could land Principal Consultant – CRM & Next-Best-Action Decisioning in Edinburgh
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Get out there and connect with people in the industry. Attend events, join online forums, and don’t be shy about reaching out on LinkedIn. You never know who might have the inside scoop on job openings or can refer you directly.
✨Tip Number 2
Prepare for interviews by researching the company and its culture. Understand their CRM strategies and how they implement Next-Best-Action decisioning. Tailor your responses to show how your experience aligns with their needs, and don’t forget to have some insightful questions ready!
✨Tip Number 3
Showcase your expertise! Create a portfolio or case studies that highlight your past successes in CRM and decisioning projects. This will not only demonstrate your skills but also give you something tangible to discuss during interviews.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! We’re always on the lookout for talent like yours. Make sure to keep an eye on our careers page for the latest opportunities and apply directly to stand out from the crowd.
We think you need these skills to ace Principal Consultant – CRM & Next-Best-Action Decisioning in Edinburgh
Some tips for your application 🫡
Tailor Your CV: Make sure your CV is tailored to the Principal Consultant role. Highlight your experience in CRM and decisioning, and don’t forget to showcase any relevant projects that demonstrate your ability to drive customer engagement strategies.
Craft a Compelling Cover Letter: Your cover letter is your chance to shine! Use it to explain why you’re passionate about this role and how your background aligns with our mission at StudySmarter. Be sure to mention specific skills or experiences that relate to the job description.
Showcase Your Impact: When detailing your past roles, focus on the impact you made. Use metrics and examples to illustrate how you’ve driven business growth and improved customer experiences. We love seeing quantifiable results!
Apply Through Our Website: We encourage you to apply through our website for a smoother application process. It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it shows you’re keen to join our team!
How to prepare for a job interview at Optima Partners
✨Know Your Stuff
Make sure you brush up on your knowledge of CRM and Next-Best-Action Decisioning. Understand the latest trends, tools, and technologies in the field. Be ready to discuss how you've applied these concepts in your previous roles.
✨Showcase Your Experience
Prepare specific examples from your past work that demonstrate your ability to lead large-scale decisioning transformation programmes. Highlight your experience with data-driven marketing and how you've influenced senior stakeholders in complex environments.
✨Ask Insightful Questions
Come prepared with thoughtful questions about the company's approach to customer engagement and decisioning strategies. This shows your genuine interest in the role and helps you assess if the company aligns with your career goals.
✨Demonstrate Leadership Skills
Since this role involves mentoring and leading teams, be ready to discuss your leadership style and how you've developed others in your previous positions. Share examples of how you've fostered collaboration and built client capabilities.