Account Director (Performance)

Please note: the UK clients are based in Dunton, Essex and a key requirement of the role is that the successful candidate work alongside the client team in Dunton each Monday and Tuesday. The remaining office days will be spent working from Sea Containers each Wednesday, and our Rose Court offices each Thursday.

Our client has recently undergone a transformative shift in its marketing activities, transitioning from predominantly ATL brand (and award winning) approaches, to a dynamic, performance-led strategy directly aimed at boosting sales figures.

This role presents a unique chance to engage in one of the most integrated client-agency relationships in the UK, offering an immersive experience with the client’s business.

Our WPP team spans across media, data, CX and insights. You’ll play a pivotal role in determining how to leverage these capabilities to influence creative strategies, and to ultimately generate Ford business.

If your expertise lies in Performance and delivering client business growth, this role presents a unique career defining and potentially award-winning opportunity’s.

The Role

The performance campaign manager will be responsible for analysing data and gathering insights that fuels the delivery of the content and creative work for the performance campaigns, working with the performance lead and the delivery functions.​

They will work closely with the Performance Lead & Live Planner (media) to ensure performance campaigns are aligned with, overall business objectives (leads & sales).

As the Performance Manager (Account Director Level), you will be a critical driver of our marketing effectiveness, translating complex data into clear, actionable strategies.

Operating at a senior level, you will be responsible for meticulously analysing marketing campaign performance across all channels, uncovering insights, and collaborating closely with the Performance Lead to develop and implement impactful optimization plans.

Your daily interaction with the Live Planner within our media team will ensure that these insights are directly translated into real-time media adjustments and budget allocations, maximising campaign ROI and driving our business objectives forward.

This role demands a sharp analytical mind, strong strategic thinking, and exceptional communication skills to influence decision-making across the marketing ecosystem.

Key Tasks

Data Analysis & Insight Generation:

• Lead the comprehensive analysis of marketing campaign performance data across all digital channels, media platforms, website analytics (e.g., Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics), and other relevant data sources.
• Identify key trends, anomalies, opportunities, and challenges within the data, translating complex datasets into clear, concise, and actionable insights.
• Understand customer journeys, conversion funnels, and key performance drivers.

Strategic Planning & Optimization (with Performance Lead):

• Collaborate directly with the Performance Lead to formulate data-driven marketing strategies and optimization plans aimed at improving campaign efficiency, effectiveness, and overall business impact.
• Contribute significantly to the development of our client's overarching performance marketing strategy, identifying new growth opportunities and innovative approaches.
• Develop hypotheses for A/B testing and multivariate testing, working with relevant teams to implement and measure outcomes, feeding learnings back into strategy.
• Provide strategic recommendations on budget allocation, targeting refinements, and creative effectiveness based on performance insights.

Real-Time Media Collaboration & Implementation:

• Provide daily/weekly performance reports and proactive recommendations to the Live Planner & Performance Lead to inform campaign adjustments, audience opportunities, channel mix, and creative rotation across all paid media.
• Work hand-in-hand with the media team to monitor in-flight campaign performance, identify underperforming areas, and swiftly implement optimisations to maximise results.

Stakeholder Communication & Influence:

• Present performance insights and strategic recommendations to senior stakeholders across marketing, sales, and product teams in a clear, compelling, and engaging manner.
• Build strong, collaborative relationships with internal teams (Brand, Digital, Product Marketing, Sales, Market Performance Teams) and external agency partners.
• Champion a data-driven culture, educating and empowering colleagues to make informed decisions based on performance metrics.

Market Intelligence & Innovation:

• Stay abreast of the latest trends, technologies, and best practices in performance marketing, digital analytics, and media optimisation.
• Monitor competitor activities and market shifts to identify new opportunities or threats and inform Ford UK's performance strategies.

Requirements

• Proficiency in data analysis and interpretation, with a proven track record of translating data into actionable business insights and strategic recommendations.
• Hands-on experience with major analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics 4, Adobe Analytics) and paid media platforms (e.g., Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, etc.).
• Proven ability to collaborate effectively with media planning and activation teams, directly informing and influencing real-time media optimisation strategies.
• Strong strategic thinking capabilities, with the ability to contribute to the development of overall marketing and media strategies.
• Strong communication, presentation, and storytelling skills, capable of simplifying data for diverse audiences and influencing senior stakeholders.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel/Google Sheets for data manipulation and analysis.
• Highly organised, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced, results-driven environment.