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.

We are also part of dentsu – a global agency network with more than 46,000 dedicated employees in 145 markets. 

Merkle NE is creating a new role to lead and represent our delivery practices; this Chief Practices Officer will become the main driver and owner of setting the vision for the agency’s service offering and product.

The Chief Practices Officer (CPO) will be a key appointment to support the future growth of the CXM Service Line and the Merkle brand in the Northern Europe cluster and will have the ultimate responsibility for the quality and impact of all of our client solutions.

The CPO will be part of the Executive Leadership group, and directly manage a team of Practice Leads, each of them responsible for leading their craft and delivery teams across the cluster (including the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Norway). The CPO will be expected to drive the highest quality of output, delivering impactful and transformational CXM solutions for our clients.

The CPO will work with growth and commercial teams to identify competency gaps and produce investment cases for areas of development (technologies, skills, etc), while helping practice leads develop commercialised offerings to meet these opportunities.

The CPO is also expected to take on a client facing role, inspiring and challenging our largest and highest potential accounts to drive growth and new business sales.

The CPO has a key role in evaluating and driving improvement in operational best practice working with the COO to set direction for staffing and shoring pyramids, margin improvements etc., ensuring that practices work towards a common goal within a shared framework.

The role will work to strengthen both Merkle’s brand position within CX (with higher quality and more high profile projects) and the commercial and operational performance (with projects being delivered at higher rates and higher quality, following more efficient processes).

This will be achieved by constantly assessing, challenging and evolving three key topics:

1. Growing the commercial footprint of all practices: Working with Practice leads to increase revenue.
2. Drive industry leading position within CXM: Deliver attention worthy projects, develop attention worthy people and document attention worthy cases.
3. Lead high-performing teams: Working with Practice Leads to create high-performing culture that attracts top talent.

Role focus areas

Growing the commercial footprint of our practices

The CPO will lead and support the individual Practice Leads in increasing the revenue attributed to the practices by identifying and winning cross-sell opportunities with existing clients:

• Work with market leaders to uncover opportunities in existing client portfolio and develop clearly defined client development plans for all major clients to grow revenue.
• Support major pitches for cross-practice work
• Work with commercial leaders to determine strategy for correctly defining, scoping and costing  CXM projects, including determining our approach to “value shoring” resources.

Drive industry leading position within CXM

The CPO will support the individual Practice Leads in developing the necessary expertise to claim an industry leading position within their practice:

• Work with Growth Team/CMO to meet market opportunities for exposure
• Work with Growth Team/CMO to develop potential award-winning work and client-winning case studies
• Suppport Practice Leads in developing thought-leadership pieces, etc.
• Develop shared strategy for training and development of talent

Lead high-performing teams

Working with and through the Practice Leads, the CPO will be charged with building and developing a top-flight CXM craft organization:

• Assess, define and describe the right team constellations, capabilities and organisation to deliver on our ambitions
• Help identify and recruit the right talent
• Develop improved ways of working and inspire team to create deliver high-level work.
• Monitor and evaluate key performance indicators including practice level KPIs (share of revenue, project margins) and team KPIs (utilisation, scoping confidence, etc.)
• Help drive a culture that attracts top-tier industry talent

What success looks like

The role will be measured on the following:

• High quality solutions
• Growth in revenue
• Happy and well-performing teams
• Market recognition within CXM

What we are looking for in you

• 10+ years of industry experience
• 7+ years of management experience
• Strong strategic thinking and understanding of business models, processes and for ways of working
• Broad and significant experience of commercial terms of contracts
• Proven day-to-day experience in senior stakeholder management; navigating difficult conversations to mutual benefit, knowing when to challenge, when to go the extra mile to deliver, and prioritising efforts
• Strong leadership ability; providing mentorship, influencing internal leadership for mutual benefit, recruiting and retaining key talent

There is no application deadline, finding the right candidate is more important to us than a speedy process. We practice ongoing selection and therefore ask you to submit your application as soon as possible.

Please note: This job can be held anywhere in Northern Europe.