CMO – Growth and Brand — Risk And Controls Estate

The mandate

A privately held bank has spread growth investment across media, partnerships, branches, relationship teams and digital channels without proving what demand is incremental. Each function reports its own attribution, while brand and performance activity compete for budget. The board now requires one growth system with defensible commercial and conduct evidence.

The CMO – Growth and Brand will influence approximately £57,800 million in loans and deposits and lead around 1,000 employees and material partners. Scope covers brand, customer strategy, acquisition, lifecycle marketing, channel investment, research, analytics, communications, agencies and marketing controls. Accountability goes to the Group Chief Executive or designated executive committee sponsor.

The baseline will connect spend to customer economics. Reach, clicks and leads must progress into eligible customers, funded relationships, persistency, service demand, credit performance and contribution. The CMO will separate demand shifted between channels from genuinely incremental demand and expose where incentives or discounts purchase short-lived behaviour.

Measurement will use controlled evidence appropriate to the decision. Experiments, holdouts, matched cohorts and econometric work each have limits. Assumptions, uncertainty and attribution windows should be explicit. Marketing will not claim every customer who saw an advert, nor wait for perfect proof before reallocating clearly weak investment.

Brand salience and commercial efficiency will be joined. Research should reveal which associations influence consideration and trust among priority customers, how they change and what experience supports them. Brand investment needs a role in the customer decision, while short-term acquisition cannot erode trust through inconsistent promises.

Channel allocation will consider complete cost. Media, creative, sales capacity, incentives, technology, fulfilment and service all belong in the case. The CMO will move funding as marginal return changes and stop annual allocations being defended because they match organisational ownership.

The risk and controls estate shapes growth. Promotions, targeting, disclosures, consent, financial inclusion, vulnerability and complaints need designed controls. Marketing data should follow clear purpose, access and retention. Independent challenge remains with risk and compliance, while the CMO owns practical execution and remediation.

Customer lifecycle matters beyond acquisition. Onboarding, early use, service events, renewal and attrition provide opportunities to improve value without excessive contact. Communications must coordinate across channels so customers do not receive conflicting offers or repeated prompts after a complaint or vulnerability event.

Agencies and technology partners require transparent economics, data rights, quality and exit. The bank should retain audience and performance knowledge rather than depend on supplier dashboards. Incentives should reward business outcome and responsible execution, not purchased volume alone.

The organisation will combine creative, analytical and commercial judgement. Leaders need authority over customer outcomes rather than narrow channels. Succession will develop executives who can present evidence to the board and defend brand choices during short-term pressure.

Why this seat is open

This planned new role belongs to the future operating model and is not an incumbent replacement. A four-to-six-month appointment process enables arrival before the next capital cycle while current leaders keep their accountabilities until formal activation.

What you will own

• Establish a common growth scorecard from spend to persistent contribution.
• Influence customer growth across £57,800 million of loans and deposits.
• Prove incrementality and reallocate investment across channels.
• Connect brand salience, customer experience and commercial demand.
• Govern targeting, consent, promotions, vulnerability and marketing data.
• Lead approximately 1,000 employees and partners with strong succession.
• Improve lifecycle value from onboarding through renewal and attrition.
• Give the board evidence ranges, decisions and downside options.

The first 12 months

The first 90 days should reconcile spend, attribution and customer economics. Meet the 30 stakeholders most consequential to growth allocation, including customers, product, finance, risk, sales, data and agencies. Stabilise priority control concerns, assess leaders and agree investment gates.

Months four to nine should introduce controlled measurement, redirect weak channel spend and align lifecycle communications. Reset material partners and fill capability gaps. Initial value may come through lower acquisition cost, stronger persistency, released budget, fewer complaints or an unproven campaign stopped.

By year end, efficient demand, brand salience and the common scorecard should show consistent improvement. Delivery must stay within 10% of approval and forecasts should reconcile customers, balances, cash and people over three quarters. Priority risks require independent closure evidence; severe escalation cannot remain open beyond 30 days.

What the board will measure

• Incremental funded customers and contribution after complete channel cost.
• Brand consideration and trust connected to priority customer behaviour.
• Persistency, early engagement, complaints and service demand by cohort.
• Spend reallocated when marginal evidence changes.
• Keep over nine in ten critical marketers and ready successors for seven in ten direct roles.
• Marketing controls and data use sustained under independent review.

The person

You are a CMO, Growth Officer or Regional Marketing Vice President with 22–28 years in banking or adjacent regulated services. You have proved incremental commercial contribution using controlled evidence, not only reach, activity or awards.

Your accountable P&L, book, budget or portfolio has been at least £33,500 million, and you have led 700 or more people. You can demonstrate results held across two subsequent reporting periods.

You understand brand, acquisition, lifecycle growth and regulated marketing. You can challenge cherished channels, explain measurement uncertainty and preserve creative ambition inside responsible customer practice.

Compensation and terms

Base compensation is £210,000–280,000 plus annual incentive. The permanent London appointment is onsite, supports international relocation and can accommodate notice up to six months.

Confidentiality

The institution, brand strategy and organisation design remain undisclosed. Further information follows mutual fit and confidentiality; all published facts are composite.