Gardening Express is a dynamic and expanding online retailer dedicated to bringing great value plants and garden-related products to homeowners via multiple sales channels.
Location & Working Model
Hybrid – based in Essex (minimum 3 days per week in the office) + remote flexibility.
Role Overview
As the Performance Marketing Lead, you will own the strategy, execution and continuous improvement of paid acquisition channels (PPC, paid social, affiliate) to drive measurable growth for our e-commerce business. You will lead the planning, deployment and optimisation of channels, work closely with agencies and internal stakeholders, and be accountable for driving efficiency, scale and return on investment.
Key Responsibilities
* Develop and lead the paid media strategy across PPC (search, shopping, display), paid social (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc.), and affiliate marketing channels.
* Set channel-specific targets (e.g., CAC, CPA, ROAS, volume, conversion rate) and ensure performance is tracked, analysed and reported to stakeholders.
* Manage and optimise budget allocation across channels to maximise efficiency, scale and return.
* Oversee agency relationships: briefing, performance reviews, service delivery and improvement of outcomes.
* Conduct rigorous testing (ad creative, audiences, landing pages, bid strategies) to improve performance and scale continuously.
* Work closely with creative/content, analytics, web/UX and merchandising teams to ensure campaigns align with brand messaging, customer journey and commercial priorities.
* Own campaign tracking, attribution modelling and performance reporting: ensure data integrity, automated dashboards, and actionable insight.
* Monitor affiliate network partnerships, identify new affiliate recruitment opportunities, optimise partner mix and remuneration models.
* Keep abreast of industry developments, channel innovations, platform changes and recommend adoption of new formats or tools.
* Provide leadership within the function: recommend improvements to processes, tools and team structure; mentor more junior team members as required.
Experience & Requirements
* Minimum of 5+ years’ experience in performance marketing roles (ideally within e-commerce, retail or direct to consumer) managing paid media/acquisition channels.
* Proven track record of working with agencies and delivering ongoing improvements in campaign performance (scale, ROI, efficiency).
* Hands-on experience with PPC (search, shopping, display), paid social (e.g., Facebook/Meta, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn) and affiliate marketing.
* Strong analytical mindset: comfortable working with metrics such as ROAS, CPA, CAC, CLV, CTR, conversion rate and able to translate insight into action.
* Skilled in tools and platforms: Google Ads, Microsoft/Bing Ads, Meta Ads Manager, affiliate network platforms, Google Analytics (GA4), tag management.
* Able to develop dashboards, visualisations and reports (Excel/Google Sheets, Looker Studio/Power BI or equivalent) to communicate performance to senior stakeholders.
* Excellent commercial awareness – you understand how paid channels feed into business outcomes, profit margins, customer lifetime value and brand positioning.
* Strong project management skills: able to prioritise, run multiple campaigns/channels simultaneously, and ensure smooth cross-functional collaboration.
* Excellent written and verbal communication: able to present insights, influence internal stakeholders and manage agency partners effectively.
* Comfortable working in a hybrid model and being in the Essex office minimum two days per week – able to engage with colleagues, attend in-person meetings and support the team culture.
Skills & Competencies
* Strategic thinking coupled with hands-on execution capability.
* Data-driven decision-making, with a willingness to test, fail fast, learn and iterate.
* Strong vendor/agency management skills — ability to set briefs, monitor delivery, challenge and drive improvement.
* Comfortable with ambiguity and change – digital performance marketing channels evolve quickly.
* Ability to interpret and respond to customer journey insights, attribution challenges and incremental growth levers.
* Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills, including with senior business leaders.
* Budget management and financial acumen – managing spend, forecasting, variance reporting.
* A growth mindset: always looking for new opportunities to scale, optimise and innovate.
How You’ll Fit With Us
* You’ll thrive in an environment that values huge choice, great quality at a great price, and ease of buying — aligning with our brand ethos.
* You’ll be motivated by measurable outcomes, pushing for continuous improvement rather than “set-and-forget”.
* You’ll be effective both independently (owning channels) and collaboratively (working with agencies, internal functions and wider marketing team).
* You’ll balance strategic priorities (where do we want to get to) with operational excellence (how do we get there, optimise daily).
No agencies, please. You must be based in the UK with permission to work and be able to get to Essex a minimum of three times a week.