Merkle is a leading data-driven, technology-enabled, global performance marketing agency that specialises in the delivery of unique, personalised customer experiences across platforms and devices. We call it ‘people-based’ marketing, and with over 25 years’ experience, we are proud to be recognised as a global leader.

Merkle’s heritage in data, technology and analytics is the foundation for our understanding of consumer insights that drives our people-based marketing strategies. Combined with our expertise in performance creative and media, we can then offer our clients content-driven, contextual and compelling customer experiences that drive business growth.

In 2016, the agency joined the Dentsu, one of the world’s biggest media companies to form the Customer Experience Management (CXM) Line of Business.

The Role

As a Principal Consultant you will lead a team of consultants in helping our clients achieve their aims of enriching their customer experiences using Salesforce Marketing Cloud. You will work across the full transformational journey including business requirements gathering, technology selection and enablement, migration and operationalisation of the software.

The Platform Enablement team is responsible for delivery of the following services:

• Front-end platform configuration
• Campaign/journey migration
• New client onboarding and transition to Managed Service team based on Merkle WoW
• In-house client team set-up
• Platform-user role definitions, career frameworks, placement and training
• Process design and operational handbooks
• Deployment of workflow and MI tools
• Platform usability audit and optimisation

You will act as a Salesforce evangelist helping grow the practice within the business and work closely with other Principal Consultants to evolve our offering and deliverables.

Life as a Principal Consultant at Merkle

As a Principal Consultant, you will be responsible for leading the discovery, definition and execution of our client’s strategic priorities for the SFMC platform. As a SFMC expert, you will utilise industry and product best practices when it comes to data structure in subscriber data management, navigating the marketing cloud setup, initiating functional and non-functional platform improvements and their delivery to both the client and internal teams.

You will take on an advisory role when it comes to integrating SFMC with other platforms by offering broad knowledge of different modules and functionalities within SFMC and engaging with technical solution architects when it comes to defining solution and data architecture decisions.

Through your extensive hands-on experience with SFMC, you will lead on requirements gathering and initial documentation of client deliverables, designing and implementing a high-level platform configuration plan to translate complex business needs into clear, measurable, reportable initiatives and tasks.

You will look beyond existing methodologies and own discipline to define and resolve complex problems and propose improvements to existing consultancy processes and models.

You’ll act as the Principal Consultant on any new client campaign project, offering support in the following remit:

• Demonstrate skills and expertise required to put together data and segmentation strategy for the customer and recommend appropriate customer skill sets required to utilize the application
• Take ownership of the migration and implementation planning – plan the lift and shift of campaigns from one tool to another, working closely with the client’s project team to capture, document and translate business requirements to actionable tasks
• Offer best practice and standardization advice regarding Campaign design – utilize relevant modules withing Marketing Cloud and develop new campaign briefs, journeys, diagrams and campaign lifecycle documentation for both peers/colleagues and clients
• Data design – display excellent understanding of the client’s data requirements and availability to support campaign execution during workshops, meetings and day to day activities
• Campaign operations stage gate – act as a gate keeper to best practice campaign process adoption including campaign RACI and ways of working (WoWs) ensuring the platform is fit for purpose
• Campaign execution support – defining and communicating project responsibilities and expectations while independently building, testing, QAing, delivering, measuring customer journeys, sometimes across multiple client accounts
• Governance and control – lead on QA, testing, proofing, peer review tasks and their continuous optimisation
• Training – buddying, desk-side support, bespoke campaign training, technical skills assessment and benchmarking
• Best practice consultancy – stay on top of industry news, optimisation techniques, controls, measurement, DPA and privacy, GDPR

You could also lead a team of 2-4 Campaign Consultants (pending agreement and opportunities to do so); providing training and support to the team as and when required, discussing career progression and opportunities to grow as solution experts.

A few of the benefits

Whether it’s the joy of working with people at the top of their game or the Merkle social calendar, people love working here – and we hope you will too

• Career development through Merkle University and other tools; with access to courses, textbooks and mentorship
• Private Medical Insurance, Company Pension, life insurance and other corporate benefits
• A selection of other benefits including ability to buy additional holiday, season ticket loan and 2 volunteer days

Diversity & Inclusion

At Merkle, we believe that a diverse and inclusive environment improves us as a community and as a business. We want to foster an environment of growth, where ideas and contributions are actively encouraged. We need this culture of courage to continue to thrive in our fast-paced industry.

We have created six Diversity and Inclusion Pillars. Each pillar is made up of a community of members who serve as role models and spread a message of inclusion throughout our global workplace. Pillar members are responsible for planning initiatives, events and training, along with championing change within our business. These pillars are Gender, Ethnicity, Mental Health, Religion, Disability, LGBT+.

Merkle is a place that embraces differences of opinion. To be an advocate for real change we really encourage applications from women, candidates with disabilities and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates as we recognise that these groups are currently underrepresented in our marketing/technology industry.

What we are looking for in you

• Circa 7 year of experience of manipulating, segmenting, selecting data and activating customers through Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC certification preferred)
• Experience of leading migration projects from start to finish across all project stages (from discovery to closure)
• Previous responsibility of managing day to day client relationships with the ability to carefully manage client expectations and build excellent working relationships
• Experience in assessing client requirements, providing recommendations and estimating cost of delivery
• Good understanding of relational data and database marketing, campaign and reporting tools 
• Excellent written/verbal communication and time management skills 
• Excellent organisational skills to deliver against the required deadline 
• Excellent attention to detail and appreciation of need to follow process/treat data securely 
• Good team working skills with the ability to work collaboratively and flexibly  
• Previous experience of managing a small campaign team desirable

At the point of application, the candidate must have the legal right to work in the UK as we are unable to sponsor visas as this time.

Merkle does not discriminate against job applicants on the basis of age, disability, gender reassignment, marital or civil partner status, pregnancy or maternity, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation. Experience stipulated in this job description serves as a guide only and all applications will be considered on their merits, irrespective of experience. 

As part of our Diversity and Inclusion agenda, and as an Equal Opportunities employer, if you require reasonable adjustments during the selection process please engage directly with your Recruiter.