Head of Performance Marketing

The Opportunity African Safari Group is a fast-scaling luxury safari business generating 2,000+ qualified leads per month for a 100+ consultant sales team. We are building the next phase of growth before AI reshapes how travelers discover safaris, and we need a senior performance marketing leader to architect and own that future. This role sits on the leadership team alongside the Head of Sales, reports directly to the CEO, and carries one mandate: build ASG's growth engine beyond a single channel — through channel diversification, audience ownership, and destination authority. What You'll Lead Team Direct reports: PPC Specialist and Social Media Manager You grow the team and specialist-vendor structure as channels scale Set direction, hold performance standards, develop talent New Channel Development Launch paid social from zero — Meta, Pinterest, YouTube — as performance lead-generation channels, not brand channels Build the email and CRM nurture infrastructure that converts warm leads who don't book immediately Design and activate referral and affiliate partnerships: luxury travel agents, concierges, private banking relationships in key markets Evaluate and prioritise emerging channels as AI reshapes search behaviour Destination Domain Portfolio ASG holds an unusually deep portfolio of safari destination domains, with room to build out many more Develop each as a destination authority and lead-generation asset in its own right Lead GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation): positioning ASG content as the source AI tools cite when travellers ask safari questions Own conversion architecture across the domain network Performance and Reporting Weekly lead volume dashboard by channel Monthly channel P&L — cost per lead, cost per booking, by source Quarterly channel diversification targets against a defined roadmap Requirements What We're Looking For 7+ years in digital marketing, at least 3 in a senior or leadership role Proven track record in paid social performance marketing — Meta essential, Pinterest and YouTube a strong plus Experience in luxury, travel, or high-consideration purchase categories Understands paid search at a strategic level — can hold the PPC Specialist accountable without running the campaigns Has built email nurture and CRM programmes that measurably converted Comfortable managing agencies and contractors without abdicating ownership Data-first decision maker — you build the dashboard before you build the campaign Bonus: affiliate or partner channel development experience What This Is Not Not an agency-side role with 40 clients — you own one brand, deeply Not a brand or communications role — this is performance marketing with revenue accountability Not a bigger-budget PPC role — paid search is our solved problem; this role exists for everything we do not yet do Not a role for someone who needs a fully built team before they can start Benefits What You Get A seat at the leadership table, peer to the Head of Sales Direct access to the CEO with no political layers Real budget, real autonomy, real accountability A destination domain portfolio few competitors can match, ready to be built into a moat Competitive executive salary plus performance bonus tied to lead channel targets The chance to build the growth engine of a scaling luxury travel business