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Head of acquisition and retention
Department name: Marketing strategy and planning
Directorate: Product and marketing
Job level: 4
Organisational overview
The National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) is a brand new workplace pension scheme. It’s been
designed around the needs of employers and workers and offers a high quality, easy to use way to
save for retirement.
NEST Corporation is the Trustee of the scheme and is a non-departmental public body independent
of government but accountable to Parliament through the Department of Work and Pensions.
We work with the best outsourcing partners to deliver the scheme. Our employees are highly
experienced coming from both public sector and private enterprise and combine a wealth of
relevant commercial experience with a passion to bring a bold new vision to workplace pensions.
Departmental overview

Marketing Strategy and Planning is a new function that is responsible for defining and implementing
measurable marketing and digital strategy based on customer insight. The team will develop a
marketing strategy including a digital channel plan with appropriate KPIs, an associated activity
plan, track delivery, and commission implementation from services across NEST. We will also
provide customer and market insight based on research and web analytics, and regularly assess and
report on the success of marketing activities and the digital channel.

A new role, the Head of Acquisition and Retention will be responsible for revenue generation
against clear KPIs, assessing and reporting on our return on investment.
Scope & deliverables
Key areas
Accountability
Role deliverables

Work with and direct relevant outputs of insight, corporate strategy, product,
operations and market facing teams to build a forward looking and relevant
context for marketing strategy development.

Ownership of implementation (with support from the marketing services
management team) of an effective marketing plan on an annual basis – setting
out activities, goals, resources and deliverables against marketing strategies &
other business goals or initiatives.

Own and develop roadmap and reporting framework that supports review of
activities against goals and intelligent adjustment of priorities against new
requirements.
This job description is intended as guidance to the typical requirements of this job and not as an
exhaustive list. Over time jobs can vary within reason of the original remit.
Head of acquisition and retention
Department name: Marketing strategy and planning
Directorate: Product and marketing
Job level: 4
Deliverables
Relationships &
autonomy

Reporting into the assistant director of marketing strategy and planning, lead a
team of five marketing managers and marketing executives, setting objectives
and inspiring a high-quality performance.

Manage external partners and build new relationships as required to drive
effectiveness of channel mix

Oversight and management of processes within marketing – commissioning,
budgeting, sign-offs, risk and compliance

Management of the marketing expenditure ensuring budget is reconciled and
maximised. Responsible for accurately forecasting and reporting as required.

Ensure quality and brand standards are met with all marketing activity and are
consistent with NEST’s brand. Where a change is required, work with Corporate
communications to implement as necessary

Develop a set of acquisition and retention strategies with clear KPIs to grow
revenue profitably from new and existing customers

Define and implement strong propositions that deliver NEST significant
competitive advantage across all employer and intermediary segments

Create and execute rolling customer focussed activity plans for members,
employers and intermediaries in support of the marketing strategy

Provide strategic advice to the assistant director of marketing strategy and
planning and assistant director of marketing services management

Create and manage reporting and evaluation frameworks for marketing to
ensure learning and improvement

Define a set of ROI measures linked to business targets

Ensure resource requirements are accurately forecast as part of the annual
planning cycle and in-year as required.

Fully understand the Data Protection Act, TPR regulations and other relevant
legislations – how these impact NEST and apply NEST policies in all marketing
material

Regularly interact with and influence ET and Head of

Build strong relationships with Product Design and Management, Marketing
Services Management to develop and deliver the marketing strategy

Head of Digital Strategy to ensure the digital channel plans are taken into
account
This job description is intended as guidance to the typical requirements of this job and not as an
exhaustive list. Over time jobs can vary within reason of the original remit.
Head of acquisition and retention
Department name: Marketing strategy and planning
Directorate: Product and marketing
Job level: 4

Insight and Analytics to define projects for generating relevant customer insight
and tracking

Head of Member Proposition to develop marketing plans
Role requirements
Experience and technical skills
The employee will be able to demonstrate the following experience and technical skills:

Extensive commercial marketing experience in a regulated environment

Expert senior strategic experience in marketing strategy and planning

High level evidence of development and delivery of marketing strategy and plans to affect KPIs and
business change

Expert experience of working as senior influencer within a marketing team to ensure development
of skills and competencies across the team

Exceptional commercial awareness and business acumen with strong understanding of P&L drivers
and decision making framework

In depth knowledge of end to end marketing management practices

Excellent stakeholder relationship management at all levels internally and externally

Line management and proven team leadership experience.

Experience of handling and tracking multi million pound budgets.

Proven understanding of customer insights and their role in ideas development.
Personal attributes required
The role will require someone with the following personal attributes:

Proven results and change driven approach

Able to work in a fast-paced start-up environment

Collegiate and empowering
This job description is intended as guidance to the typical requirements of this job and not as an
exhaustive list. Over time jobs can vary within reason of the original remit.
Head of acquisition and retention
Department name: Marketing strategy and planning
Directorate: Product and marketing
Job level: 4

Strong communicator who can influence at all levels
Education, qualification and professional membership requirements

Degree level education or equivalent experience.

Either CIM qualified or equivalent experience.

Highly numerate and creative with strong analytical skills
Differentiators

NEST has a unique culture due to its position of operating as a not-for-profit in a predominantly
private sector industry whilst being funded by government. This leads to a high level of scrutiny,
reporting and collaborative decision making.

NEST is a relatively young organisation and many of the marketing challenges are related to
transforming our business processes from that of a start up to that of a more established operation.
For these reasons it is important that holders of this role are comfortable working in uncertainty
and attempting to change and alter previous legacy issues.

NEST is part of the largest behavioural economics and social change policy to be implemented in a
long time. This context provides a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be part of an exciting
marketing challenge - positioning a digital self-serve pension scheme in an environment dominated
by traditional players and some ‘me too’ brands to provide a ‘public service’ while ensuring
commercial sustainability for the business in the long-term.
This job description is intended as guidance to the typical requirements of this job and not as an
exhaustive list. Over time jobs can vary within reason of the original remit.