Head of Performance Marketing

Ready to chart a course for explosive growth in the exhilarating world of cruise travel?

This isn't just another marketing leadership role. This is a unique opportunity to helm the performance marketing strategy for Europe’s leading cruise travel agency. As our Head of Performance Marketing, you'll be instrumental in driving our ambitious plans, leveraging the existing talent within our dynamic team and injecting your vision to propel us to even greater heights.

If you're a data-driven, results-oriented leader with a passion for travel and a knack for unlocking exceptional performance in performance marketing, then prepare to embark on an incredible journey with us!

About Iglu:

Iglu.com , is a successful and award winning online travel agency specialising in Ski and Cruise holidays. Through our award winning brands Iglu Cruise, Planet Cruise and Iglu Ski, we provide expert service and exceptional ski and cruise holidays to locations around the world.

Role Purpose:

As the Head of Performance Marketing, you will be the driving force behind our customer acquisition and revenue growth across all digital paid performance channels. You will be responsible for developing and executing a cutting-edge performance marketing strategy, optimising our existing successful campaigns, and identifying new opportunities to reach and engage travel audiences.

This pivotal role will see you lead and mentor our talented performance marketing team, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the exciting and ever-evolving cruise travel industry.

Key Responsibilities:

• Define and implement a comprehensive, data-driven performance marketing strategy aligned with our ambitious growth objectives across all European markets.
• Oversee and optimise performance across key digital channels including Paid Search, Paid Social, Display Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, and potential emerging channels.
• Develop and manage significant performance marketing budgets, ensuring optimal ROI and accurate forecasting.
• Lead, mentor, and inspire our existing performance marketing team, fostering a collaborative and high-performing environment. Identify skill gaps and implement training and development plans.
• Collaborate with analytics teams to ensure robust data collection, integration, and accessibility for performance marketing insights.
• Utilise advanced analytical techniques to segment audiences, identify high-value customer cohorts, predict future performance, and optimise bidding strategies.
• Oversee and optimize our marketing technology stack, including ad platforms, analytics tools and tag management systems. Evaluate and implement new technologies to enhance performance.
• Champion a culture of continuous testing and experimentation across ad creatives, landing pages, audience targeting, and bidding strategies to maximize conversion.
• Work with teams to develop and refine multi-touch attribution models to accurately measure channel effectiveness and optimise budget allocation.
• Establish robust tracking, measurement, and reporting frameworks to monitor campaign performance, identify key trends, and communicate actionable insights effectively to stakeholders through clear and concise presentations and dashboards.
• Evaluate and manage relationships with external agencies, technology providers and commercial partners.
• Work closely with other departments, including Sales, Product, Commercial and Analytics, to ensure alignment and maximise the impact of performance marketing activities.
• Stay ahead of industry trends, competitor activities, and emerging technologies within the dynamic travel and marketing landscapes.

Skills and Experience:

• Proven experience (8+ years) in performance marketing with a significant portion in a leadership role, ideally within the travel, e-commerce, or high-growth digital sectors.
• Deep expertise across a range of performance marketing channels, including but not limited to Google Ads, Meta Ads, and programmatic platforms.
• Strong analytical skills and a demonstrable ability to interpret complex data, generate actionable insights, and measure ROI effectively.
• Proficiency in web analytics tools (e.g., GA4, LookerStudio) and experience with data visualization platforms (e.g. Tableau.
• Demonstrable expertise in leveraging data for strategic decision-making, audience segmentation, and campaign optimisation.
• Strong understanding of data warehousing principles and experience working with large datasets.
• Experience in setting up and managing tracking and tagging frameworks (e.g., Google Tag Manager).
• Solid understanding of marketing technology ecosystems and experience managing various MarTech tools.
• Familiarity with Customer Data Platforms (CDPs) or Data Management Platforms (DMPs) and their application in performance marketing is highly desirable.
• Experience managing significant advertising budgets and delivering against ambitious targets.
• Excellent leadership and team management skills with a proven ability to motivate and develop a team.
• Strong understanding of attribution models and methodologies.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills, with the ability to articulate complex ideas clearly and persuasively.
• Experience with A/B and multivariate testing methodologies and tools.
• Familiarity with CRM systems and marketing automation platforms is a plus.
• Fluency in English is essential; additional European languages are highly advantageous.

Behavioural Role Fit:

• You are ambitious and results-oriented, proactively seeking opportunities to exceed targets.
• As a strategic thinker, you develop long-term plans with meticulous attention to execution details.
• You are a data-driven decision maker, relying on insights and analysis to inform your strategies.
• Your collaborative and influential nature enables you to build strong relationships and drive results across departments.
• You thrive in a fast-paced and dynamic environment, readily adapting to changes within the exciting travel industry.
• You remain calm and effective under pressure, maintaining focus and a positive outlook when facing challenges.
• With a curious and innovative mindset, you constantly seek improvements and stay ahead of digital marketing trends.
• You demonstrate resilience and flexibility when faced with ambiguity or unexpected shifts.
• A genuine passion for the travel industry, particularly cruise holidays, will be a significant asset.