Head of Customer Acquisition

We want all of our Partners to have a good work-life balance and we support flexible working. This might mean flexible or compressed hours, job sharing or shorter hour contracts, where it is possible to do so. Please discuss this further with the hiring manager during your interview.

Our Purpose

Working in Partnership for a happier world - our shared Purpose that guides us in everything we do and inspires 3 important principles; happier people, happier business, happier world. The John Lewis Partnership is a truly unique business, one that seeks to make a positive difference to the lives of everyone.

At a glance:

Salary range - The Partnership salary range for this role is set at £121,000 - £170,000

Contract type - This position is a Permanent contract

Working pattern/flexible working - We know flexible working is important to you, and it is important to us too. The Partnership has adopted a blended working approach meaning you'll be able to work a mixture between the office and home based upon your personal needs whilst balancing the needs of the business. The Customer Acquisition team aim for up to 2 days a week in the office to connect and on a more ad-hoc basis to attend key meetings but again, are flexible on this.

Location - This role is based at our London Head Office campus in Pimlico.

About the role:

As the Head of Customer Acquisition, you are accountable for strategy development, leadership and overall customer acquisition plan. You will be responsible for developing and executing the customer acquisition strategy, working with the channels you're responsible for, across PPC, Affiliates, Programmatic, SEO and Media Planning. You will also be responsible for the technology which drives our customer acquisition, retention and growth.

You will have a focus on creating channel centres of excellence, with a passion on driving an outcome focussed team, that works collaboratively on customer goals, whilst striving to drive the businesses commercial and customer outcomes.

This role requires a strategic thinker with a deep understanding of digital marketing trends, technology landscape strong leadership skills, and a proven track record in driving and optimising customer acquisition campaigns.

The successful candidate will oversee a team of digital marketing specialists and collaborate closely with internal teams and external suppliers, and particularly counterparts in John Lewis Commercial and Technology teams to achieve business outcomes.

You will have a relentless focus on customer growth and customer lifetime value.

Key responsibilities:

1. Develop and implement a comprehensive customer acquisition strategy aligned with the customer plan and overall brand and customer strategy.
2. Manage and lead a team of channel leads, developing a "centre of excellence", providing guidance, support, and mentorship to drive performance.
3. Oversee the planning, execution, and optimisation of marketing campaigns from an acquisition perspective.
4. Enable a customer outcome focussed mentality and align on key performance indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of acquisition efforts.
5. Drive clear accountability for marketing ROIs and ensure a relentless focus on cost management and marketing effectiveness; using advances measurement methodologies where relevant.
6. Drive the product technology roadmap for the technology which drives our customer acquisition, retention and growth.
7. Stay updated on industry developments, emerging technologies, and best practices in customer growth, and proactively recommend new strategies and tactics to drive growth.
8. Manage relationships with external agencies to ensure timely and high-quality delivery of activity.
9. Oversee the collaboration with the e-commerce team to optimise the customer journey, improve website user experience, and drive conversion rates.
10. Provide regular reports and presentations to leadership teams, highlighting key performance metrics, insights, and recommendations.
11. Lead the team to deliver an ambitious performance plan and capability roadmap.

Essential skills you'll need:

1. Proven experience in customer acquisition, with a focus on e-commerce and retail environments.
2. Strong leadership skills and the ability to effectively manage and inspire a team.
3. In-depth knowledge of acquisition channels, strategies, technology and tools.
4. Excellent knowledge of PPC, SEO, Media Planning, Affiliates and Programmatic.
5. Analytical mindset with the ability to interpret data, generate insights, and make data-driven decisions.
6. Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to present complex ideas in a clear and concise manner.
7. Strong project management skills, with the ability to prioritise tasks, meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
8. A passion for staying abreast of industry trends and emerging technologies.
9. Comfortable in exploring opportunities to develop these into new projects.
10. Experienced at negotiating and confident making decisions.
11. Challenger mindset who consistently is looking to find incremental gains and uses innovation to drive the agenda.
12. Experience of reviewing numbers and turning insights into actionable plans.

Desirable skills you'll have:

1. Knowledge of CRM and retention.
2. Knowledge of ATL marketing.
3. Knowledge of advanced measurement (MMM).

Benefits of the Partnership and the role:

1. Hybrid Working.
2. Full time working holiday entitlement: 30 days per annum plus Bank Holidays, plus Christmas Extra Day. You can purchase additional days holiday in January each year (this is pro-rated for part time hours).
3. Excellent work life balance, including focus on well being and flexible working and our marketing leading equal parenthood leave Policy.
4. Defined Contribution pension scheme where your contributions will be matched by the Partnership (up to 8% of pay) and, after three years' service, you'll receive an additional Partnership contribution of 4% of pay, regardless of whether you pay in or not.
5. You'll get Partnership discount in store and online once you complete your Earning Membership period. That's 25% off in John Lewis & Partners (12% off electrical products, some exclusions apply) and 20% in Waitrose & Partners (some exclusions apply) You'll also be able to nominate someone you live with to share your discount.
6. Private medical: individual cover, can purchase family cover (does not include dental).
7. Car allowance: £270 net per month.
8. Simple cycle to work support scheme.
9. We're really proud of our exclusive hotels based in some of Britain's most beautiful areas and once you've been with us for three months, you're welcome to explore them.

The application form consists of a CV upload followed by application questions. Please ensure you refresh the page each time you complete a task to ensure you complete everything that you need to in time.

Once you've submitted an application the next steps of the process, if successful, are likely to include a 2 stage interview (wk comm 7th October 2024).

You'll be asked about any adjustments you might need to support the recruitment process. Let us know, and we'll be sure to discuss it with you.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime and for showing an interest in joining JLP.

We occasionally close vacancies early in the event we receive a high volume of applications. Therefore, we recommend you apply early.

At the John Lewis Partnership, we embrace our differences. We want you to be you. Because, well, we know you're at your best when you're free to be yourself. Being a truly inclusive employer to us means creating an environment which celebrates your contribution, regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, social background, religion or belief. We firmly believe that our future success lies in diversity of thought from all Partners and it's integral in our mission to build a happier world. We welcome applications from everyone interested in working for us.