Head of Performance Marketing in London

Our vision is to be the world’s most thoughtful villa company. To achieve our vision, we are thoughtful, we work with integrity, and we take a principled, considerate, proactive and passionate approach to what we do. Every day.

Job Location: London, UK

Job Type: Full-Time, Permanent

Job Purpose: As the Head of Performance Marketing, you will be responsible for crafting, implementing, and optimising a comprehensive marketing strategy that spans paid search, display advertising, connected TV, paid social, and affiliate marketing channels. Your expertise will generate qualified leads across the relevant channels, increase bookings, and elevate our brand presence within the luxury segment in our core markets – UK, US/Canada, EU & Australasia – whilst generating significant cost efficiencies.

Your combination of technical expertise, industry insight, coaching skills, creative thinking and “roll-up-your-sleeves attitude" will be invaluable to our team. You'll play a key role in shaping our performance marketing strategy, aligning it with the unique demands of the luxury goods or travel sector, and driving our brand to new heights.

Reports To: Commercial Director

Direct Reports: Senior Paid Search Executive

Working Partnerships: Marketing Director (brand), Senior Graphic Designer, Senior Picture Editor, Social Media & Communications Executive, SEO Manager, Commercial Controller

Job Accountabilities:

• Paid Search: Responsible for the management of all paid digital performance channels.
• Global Strategy Development: Design and implement global paid search strategies that align with company goals, ensuring a consistent and tailored approach across diverse markets.
• Campaign Management: Execute and optimise our PPC campaigns, ensuring alignment with agreed regional villa sales objectives, budget management, and performance goals and identifying performance issues.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive paid search testing roadmap, outlining key priorities, test variations, and timelines to optimise campaign strategies and achieve performance benchmarks continuously.

• Paid Media: Develop and manage targeted paid social advertising campaigns across key platforms (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, GDN, Quantcast) tailoring content and messaging to drive engagement, conversion, and brand alignment.
• Brief, implement, and optimise compelling display advertising campaigns, utilising brand creatives from in-house design team and selecting strategic placement to maximise reach and ROI.
• Alongside the Senior Paid Search Executive, regularly monitor, analyse, and provide weekly reporting on the performance of both paid social and display advertising campaigns, leveraging data-driven insights to make informed decisions for continual improvement.
• Collaborate with internal teams to seamlessly integrate paid social and display advertising with the overall marketing strategy, maintaining brand consistency and maximising effectiveness.

• Affiliate Marketing: Establish, oversee, and refine a broad range of affiliate relationships, maintain acceptable acquisition costs and ensure consistency with the brand's values and overarching targets.
• Work closely and build strong relationships with internal teams and external partners to ensure seamless integration of affiliate marketing within the overall marketing strategy, maintaining clear and consistent communication.
• Ensure adherence to legal regulations and maintain the quality and integrity of the affiliate program by implementing robust monitoring mechanisms and ethical guidelines.

• Forecasting and Reporting: Collaborate with the Commercial Director and Commercial Controller in forecasting, setting annual and monthly, market and campaign-specific budgets, and allocate funds effectively across performance marketing channels to ensure alignment with strategic goals and maximise ROI.
• Work with the Marketing team in maintaining and improving our performance dashboards, identifying campaign performance issues, drawing actionable insights, implementing data-driven strategies for continuous improvement, providing weekly updates to senior management.
• Take responsibility for the setup, monitoring, and reporting of A/B tests to determine the effectiveness of different campaign strategies, ensuring outcomes are based on data-driven findings.
• Conduct thorough competitor analysis, understand market trends, and identify opportunities and threats to inform strategic solutions.

• Line management: Lead and support the Senior Paid Search Executive, setting clear goals, providing regular feedback, and fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.

Person Specification:

• Paid Search Expert: A minimum of 5 years in paid search marketing, including demonstrable success with PMax campaigns and hands-on skills in creating, executing, and optimising PPC campaigns that resonate with target audiences.
• Skilled in Paid Social Advertising: Substantial experience with paid social advertising strategies, utilising platforms such as Meta, Pinterest, Linkedin to craft engaging campaigns that drive both brand awareness and conversion.
• Affiliate Management Expertise: A hands-on understanding of affiliate management with a focus on content-driven and closed membership schemes. The ability to build, maintain, and enhance affiliate networks that align with strategic goals.
• Lead Generation Experience: A background working in the travel industry or respected consumer brands in generating leads and online bookings.
• Full Funnel Thinker: Considers the full user journey and not just marketing touchpoints. Looking at the user journey and how best to improve this to generate stronger performance across channels.
• Strategic Innovation: A forward-thinking approach, with the ability to innovate and adapt in a fast-paced, ever-changing digital landscape, all while keeping a firm eye on long-term brand growth and excellence.
• Growth Mindset: Showcases a genuine enthusiasm for fostering sales growth and a consistent dedication to achieving established performance deliverables.
• Data-Driven Insights: Ability to transform raw data from Google Analytics 4 and first-party sources (Zoho CRM) into actionable insights for improved campaign performance.
• Privacy-Centric Expertise: Familiarity with best practices in using first-party data while adhering to data privacy regulations and standards.
• Attention to Detail: Proven ability to meticulously oversee performance marketing campaigns, ensuring precision and efficacy in all related analyses.

Our Commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: At The Thinking Traveller, we value and prioritise diversity and inclusion within our workplace, recognising the importance of ongoing improvement in this area. Our goal is to cultivate a thoughtful culture where every individual feels genuinely appreciated, respected, and included. We firmly believe that by attracting a diverse group of talented individuals, we can benefit from a wide range of perspectives, experiences, and ideas. This diverse tapestry of Thinkers enables us to deliver exceptional results to our esteemed clients. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, irrespective of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, or disability. If you are considering joining our team, we encourage you to apply and inform us if any adjustments are required during our recruitment processes. Your unique perspective and potential contributions are valued, as we strive to create an environment that is inclusive and supportive to all.