Chief Marketing Officer

A day in the life

In this role you’ll lead a team of marketing professionals overseeing the full marketing funnel – responsible for driving awareness, consideration, acquisition and customer retention. Within your remit will be brand, PR/communications, digital performance marketing, partnerships, product marketing and proposition. This role requires both strategic and operational expertise, with a focus on building marketing excellence across digital and traditional channels. Your role will be crucial in driving our growth and improving customer retention, with a strong focus on both using data to drive results (including effective measurement of cost of acquisition and LTV of customers) as well as the ability to take risks strategically.

As a key member of the UK Senior Leadership Team, the CMO will drive the growth agenda of the company, in close collaboration with the other business areas, in particular Underwriting (for the pricing of the insurance product), Digital Product (for the end-to-end digital CX), Operations (for the execution of the customer services in line with the proposition) and Finance/Strategy (for the alignment with the group strategy and financial results).

We are seeking a visionary leader who can be instrumental in promoting ManyPets as a distinctive provider of high-quality pet insurance and health solutions. Ultimately, the CMO is tasked with delivering profitable top-line growth through both acquisition and retention, building the ManyPets brand awareness and consideration with all critical audience segments and ensuring a strong presence in a highly competitive market. This role offers autonomy and encourages an innovative approach, balancing strategy with speed of execution.

Additional context

We are currently the third-largest player in the UK pet insurance market by premium, with the second-largest competitor within reach. Creating a clear lead over them would be a significant achievement for us. To do this, we can either expand the overall market, given that only a third of UK pet owners have pet insurance, or attract switchers from the market leader, which has a traditional, non-digital approach.

Our marketing channels include organic and paid search, social media (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter), TV, print and OOH, direct mail, price comparison and cashback sites, distribution partnerships, and email campaigns.  Although our focus has traditionally been direct-to-consumer, we are now expanding into new channels, especially aggregators, while also emphasising the importance of B2B partnerships.

The CMO is also in charge of our brand, PR and media relations, internal and external communications, content marketing, proposition, and product marketing.

Your responsibilities

Strategy and Marketing

• Create and deliver a strategic marketing plan outlining steps for growth and transformation as we move into our next stage of profitable growth.
• Build a highly data-driven approach to marketing, driving efficiency and effectiveness through clear KPIs and a marketing strategy aligned to commercial goals, fostering a "measure what's important" culture.
• Lead the UK business to new business growth and increased renewals, ultimately driving a sustainable virtuous cycle of growth.
• Identify and lead potential commercial partnerships to drive growth and improve our proposition to customers.
• Identify industry trends, opportunities, and risks, and benchmark against competitors.
• Partner with compliance to ensure all marketing is within risk controls and within the regulatory frameworks in markets we operate in.

Leadership

• Communicate clearly and effectively at all levels with both the team, CEO, Board, investors, and the general market, spreading confidence amongst the audience. You listen to understand and make others feel properly heard.
• Set a clear strategy and accountability for the team – fostering an ‘impact, not effort’ environment, encouraging collaboration across the business.
• Understand what motivates people to deliver their full potential and creates the optimal environment for individuals to thrive, championing a performance management culture with clear goals and support through training and coaching.
• Promote technology-led alternatives to enhance work processes and customer experiences.
• Build trust and respect with your peers and the broader team, encouraging people to proactively seek your support and guidance. You are equally comfortable asking for help and being open about knowledge gaps, when needed.
• Promote ManyPets culture, champion diversity and inclusion, act as a role model for company values and behaviours.

Your skills and experience

• You’re a highly commercial Marketer who has a deep knowledge of marketing principles, including customer acquisition and retention, performance marketing, product marketing, brand building and PR & comms.
• You have a strong understanding of both digital marketing channels (particularly PPC, SEO, Facebook Ads, Email, & Marketing Automation) and traditional marketing channels (TV, OOH, PR, etc) and are comfortable building full-funnel marketing strategies that maximise performance across both.
• You have experience in successfully scaling the growth of retail digital products, ideally retail insurance or financial products, and understand the dynamics of driving growth in a highly regulated environment and selling through aggregators.  
• You have broad budget management / P&L ownership experience, managing eight figure budgets comfortably and being responsible for both budgeting and marketing spend performance.
• You are highly data-driven and are comfortable defining and managing the marketing performance KPIs necessary for success.
• You have experience in building and managing teams, and know how to create a high-performing environment that gives the team the tools they need to succeed.
• You’re an empathetic, human-centric leader who has engaging and clear communication skills. You value diversity, inclusion, and an equitable customer and employee experience.
• You hold a Bachelor's degree in marketing, economics/business administration or a related field. An advanced degree (e.g., MBA) or a relevant professional qualification is highly desirable but not essential.

The interview process

This position has a three-step interview process, which will be held partly in person, partly via Zoom based on convenience.  We’ll also ask you to sign an NDA up front and we may ask you to complete a psychometric profile if you reach the final stage, so we can tailor our values questions to your approach and working style.

• Screening call – an informal 45-minute meeting with our recruitment lead. We’ll explain more about the process, the role, and assess if you’d be a good match for the role.
• Stage 1 – you’ll meet our Group CEO and Chair for a technical deep dive into your experience. This meeting will last about an hour.
• Stage 2 – we will share a topic with you and invite you to present this back to the Group CEO and up to two other members of our SLT. This meeting will probably last around 90 minutes and will be a mix of competency questions and follow up questions on your presentation.
• Stage 3 – an informal chat with a couple of investors, members of our Board