What does a head of performance marketing do?
The head of performance marketing is responsible for the strategy, execution, and performance of all paid digital channels. They oversee campaign planning, performance optimisation, budget management, and lead generation efforts.
This senior role involves setting KPIs, managing large budgets, leading a team or agency partners, and aligning marketing activity with business goals. They report on ROI, acquisition cost, and channel effectiveness.
In scale-ups, they might help build the performance function from the ground up. In larger teams, they focus on strategic oversight, expansion planning, and aligning paid marketing with long-term growth.
Key responsibilities of a head of performance marketing.
The head of performance marketing is responsible for overseeing the digital acquisition strategy at scale. Their typical responsibilities include:
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Setting performance marketing goals across all paid channels
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Managing budget allocation, forecasting, and investment strategies
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Leading paid teams across search, social, and programmatic platforms
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Driving cross-channel attribution and measurement strategy
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Collaborating with senior stakeholders to align acquisition with revenue targets
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Developing testing and optimisation processes at scale
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Working with data science and BI teams to analyse customer LTV and CAC
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Partnering with CRM, content, and product teams to support funnel efficiency
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Managing vendor relationships and evaluating new platform opportunities
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Reporting to senior leadership on ROI, channel effectiveness, and growth plans
The role blends acquisition leadership, strategic planning, and commercial responsibility.
Skills and requirements for a head of performance marketing.
Heads of performance marketing lead paid strategy, scale acquisition, and align digital spend with business goals. Employers typically look for:
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6–10 years of experience in paid media or growth marketing
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Track record of delivering measurable ROI across channels
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Experience managing teams, agencies, and media partners
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Confident owning budgets and performance across multiple platforms
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Strong understanding of attribution, testing, and channel mix
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Ability to communicate performance to senior leadership
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Experience with tools like Google Ads, Meta, GA4, and Looker Studio
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Comfortable leading experimentation and growth projects
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Skilled at aligning performance with revenue and business KPIs
Most heads of performance come from agency or high-growth teams and are used to scaling spend, building teams, and delivering results.
Average salary for a head of performance marketing.
In the UK, the average salary for a head of performance marketing typically ranges from £80,000 to £120,000, reflecting leadership of paid media strategy across multiple platforms.
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Mid-level heads of performance tend to earn between £80,000 and £100,000
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Senior heads, especially in businesses with global reach or £1m+ ad budgets, often earn between £101,000 and £120,000
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These roles frequently come with strategic ownership of revenue-generating campaigns and large team management
London and tech hubs see top-tier salaries in ecommerce, scale-ups, and performance-led agencies.
Career progression for a head of performance marketing.
A head of performance marketing oversees all paid acquisition efforts. It’s a senior leadership role with a clear pathway into growth, digital, or commercial directorship. A typical career ladder includes:
PPC or performance executive
Handles campaign execution, bid optimisation, and ad copy testing.
Performance marketing manager
Owns budget and strategy across one or more paid channels. Delivers performance insights.
Head of performance marketing
Leads the function. Drives ROI, allocates budget across platforms, and aligns with revenue targets.
Director of acquisition / digital
Owns cross-channel strategy, including search, social, affiliates, and programmatic.
Chief marketing or revenue officer
Oversees customer acquisition, brand, and long-term commercial growth strategy.
SEO and Content Executive
Senior SEO Consultant
Senior Paid Media Manager
Senior Paid Media Manager
salary guide
Our UK marketing salary guide.
Hiring a head of performance marketing means looking for someone who can scale acquisition channels and lead a team. These candidates expect competitive packages that reflect responsibility and results.
Our 2025 UK marketing salary guide includes benchmarks for senior digital roles across the UK. Use it to shape informed, compelling offers.
FAQS
Head of performance marketing FAQs.
They set the vision and direction for paid acquisition channels — overseeing PPC, paid social, affiliates, programmatic, and sometimes SEO. They manage teams, budgets, martech integrations, and are accountable for pipeline or revenue impact.
It often sits within the senior marketing team and reports into the Marketing Director or CMO. In growth-stage businesses, they may be the performance lead. In enterprise, they manage large cross-functional teams and global media spend.
This role is highly analytical. The head of performance marketing must understand attribution modelling, customer journey tracking, CAC vs LTV analysis, and how each channel contributes to business KPIs.
While they may not design ads directly, they guide messaging direction based on testing data, advise on ad variants, and drive creative iterations to improve engagement or conversion outcomes.
Most candidates have 7–10+ years in paid media or growth roles, including managing large budgets and cross-channel campaigns. Experience scaling acquisition in B2C or B2B is essential — especially with measurable commercial outcomes.
