Head of Digital Marketing and Performance

Location

Remote-first (UK-based), with regular in-person meetings in Birmingham and Sheffield.

About Harper James

Harper James is a modern, ambitious law firm built to support entrepreneurial businesses with accessible, high-quality legal services. We combine legal expertise with a commercial mindset and a scalable operating model designed for growth. We are one the first legal services businesses to advertise on OpenAI ads within the UK!

We are now looking for a commercially driven Head of Digital Marketing and Performance to lead and scale our digital acquisition engine.

This is a senior leadership role with significant influence across commercial strategy, growth planning and performance governance. You will work closely with the CCO, senior leadership team, Business Development, Brand, CRM/Data, Finance and external partners to build a more predictable, scalable and commercially effective acquisition model.

The Role

As Head of Digital Marketing and Performance, you will own the strategy, execution and optimisation of Harper James’s digital acquisition and demand-capture performance.

You will be responsible for improving the quality, efficiency and commercial value of enquiries across the full digital funnel, from website sessions and qualified enquiries through to SQLs, deals created and revenue contribution.

This role goes beyond channel management. You will bring commercial rigour, analytical thinking and strategic leadership to digital growth, ensuring investment decisions are aligned to CAC efficiency, ICP-fit demand, conversion performance and EBITDA contribution.

You will operate at senior leadership level, translating digital performance into clear commercial insight, recommendations and investment cases for executive and Board-level stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Digital Acquisition Strategy

• Own and evolve Harper James’s digital acquisition strategy across paid, organic and AI-led discovery channels.

• Translate revenue targets and go-to-market priorities into commercially governed acquisition plans.

• Drive scalable qualified demand growth while maintaining CAC efficiency, lead quality and ICP alignment.

• Establish clear operating rhythms including forecasting, reporting, test roadmaps and performance reviews.

Paid Media and Performance Marketing

• Lead paid acquisition strategy across Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, paid social, YouTube and emerging AI/search formats.

• Manage agency relationships and performance against commercial outcomes and ROI.

• Optimise channel structure, bidding strategies, conversion signals and budget allocation to improve efficiency and conversion quality.

• Take ownership of significant acquisition budgets with accountability for performance and revenue contribution.

SEO, AI Search and Organic Visibility

• Own SEO, AIO and LLM visibility strategy across priority services, sectors and content areas.

• Strengthen discoverability as search behaviour evolves across AI-powered search and discovery platforms.

• Partner with Brand and content teams to improve authority, visibility and conversion performance.

• Use market and competitor insights to inform acquisition priorities and content investment decisions.

CRO, UX and Funnel Optimisation

• Lead CRO strategy across landing pages, service pages, forms and acquisition journeys.

• Use data and insight from GA4, GTM, HubSpot and Business Development feedback to identify friction and funnel leakage.

• Run structured testing programmes with clear hypotheses, success metrics and commercial evaluation.

• Improve conversion performance and enquiry quality across key acquisition journeys.

Attribution, Reporting and Commercial Insight

• Own marketing performance reporting requirements across attribution, tracking and data visibility.

• Work closely with CRM/Data, Finance and Business Development teams to connect digital activity to pipeline and revenue outcomes.

• Develop reporting that goes beyond platform ROAS to include lead quality, cohort analysis, CAC, LTV:CAC and downstream revenue impact.

• Present clear commercial narratives, risks and investment recommendations to senior leadership.

Team and Agency Leadership

• Lead and develop the acquisition/performance marketing function and external agency relationships.

• Build a high-performance culture focused on measurable outcomes and accountability.

• Determine the most effective internal and external delivery model for capability, scale and efficiency.

• Coach and develop internal talent while ensuring agencies deliver measurable commercial value.

What Success Looks Like

• Increased qualified enquiry volume and improved lead quality.

• Stronger CAC efficiency and full-funnel conversion performance.

• Improved attribution and visibility from acquisition through to revenue.

• Better alignment between Marketing, Business Development, CRM/Data and Finance.

• Scalable, commercially disciplined acquisition systems and governance.

• Clear executive-level reporting on performance, risks and investment opportunities.

About You

You will bring deep expertise in digital acquisition and performance marketing, alongside strong commercial judgement and leadership capability.

You are likely to have:

• Significant senior-level experience in performance marketing, digital acquisition or growth marketing (at head/director or VP level).

• Strong experience managing paid media strategy and optimisation across major acquisition channels.

• Expertise in CRO, UX optimisation, funnel analysis and conversion testing.

• Experience working with GA4, GTM, HubSpot or comparable marketing and attribution platforms.

• A strong understanding of funnel economics including CAC, LTV:CAC, conversion rates and lead quality.

• Experience managing seven-figure acquisition budgets and improving commercial efficiency.

• Confidence working with senior stakeholders, including Board or investor-level reporting environments.

• Experience leading teams, agencies and cross-functional delivery.

• A commercially analytical mindset with the ability to translate complex data into practical decisions and recommendations.

Experience within legal or professional services is beneficial but not essential. High-growth digital acquisition experience is more important.

Why Join Harper James?

This is an opportunity to shape one of the company’s most important growth functions at a critical stage of scale.

You will have the autonomy, influence and support to:

• Lead a strategically important commercial function.

• Shape how digital demand is generated, measured and scaled.

• Work closely with senior leadership on growth strategy and investment decisions.

• Build a modern, performance-led acquisition capability.

• Influence innovation across AI search, attribution, automation and digital growth.

If you are excited by building scalable growth systems, improving commercial performance and leading digital acquisition at a strategic level, we would love to hear from you. There are three short questions to complete as part of the application process.

NO AGENCIES PLEASE