Senior Manager, Performance and Growth Marketing

Madison Reed is looking for a performance marketer who wants to own a number, not run a channel. This person owns paid acquisition across our owned and operated business, with particular focus on driving Hair Color Bar growth and acquisition efficiency, and is accountable for the forecast, the budget and the results behind it. The work runs through two sets of hands that are not your own: an external performance media agency and one internal direct report. Your job is to set the direction, hold both accountable, and know the numbers well enough to challenge what comes back. You will still get into the platforms when the situation calls for it, but the seat is measured on whether acquisition grew and what it cost, not on campaign volume. We are looking for someone commercially minded and proactive. This role does not wait for direction or stop at reporting what happened. It anticipates where performance is heading, brings the recommendation before it is asked for, and connects what is happening in paid media to what is happening in the business. This role reports to the SVP, Growth Marketing, is full time and remote. While remote, this role may travel less than 5% of the time. The base salary range for this position is between $140,000 and $145,000. At Madison Reed, we aim to pay competitively. Factors which may affect starting pay within this range may include geography/market, skills, education, experience, and other qualifications of the successful candidate. Responsibilities Own acquisition and the number behind it • Own new customer acquisition targets, budget and performance across our owned and operated channels (Hair Color Bar and Direct-to-Consumer/E-commerce), with primary focus on Hair Color Bar growth, customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV) and media mix effectiveness. • Build and execute the paid acquisition plan in partnership with the SVP, Growth Marketing and the Business Owners (GMs), with particular emphasis on four-wall growth. • Partner with DTC, Amazon and Wholesale teams on strategies that drive new-to-brand growth for their businesses. • Translate business objectives into channel plans and measurable growth initiatives rather than waiting for them to arrive as briefs. Lead the agency relationship • Own the day-to-day relationship with our external performance media agency: set the strategic direction, the objectives, the KPIs and the testing priorities, and hold them accountable for execution. • Challenge agency recommendations rather than approving them. Evaluate what comes back against our own numbers and push when the case is thin. • Run a consistent performance cadence with the agency so problems surface early and in a meeting, not in a month-end report. • Work with the agency to improve media efficiency, acquisition cost, conversion and incremental growth across paid search, paid social, shopping and other performance channels. Forecast, budget and financial accountability • Own acquisition forecasting and budget management: media spend, new customer volume, CAC, ROAS and channel-level performance. • Build monthly and quarterly forecasts, and flag risks, opportunities and gaps to plan before they land. • Manage budget pacing and recommend investment shifts across channels, products and campaigns based on performance and business priority. • Partner with Finance to align acquisition investment to revenue targets, and own monthly media budget reconciliation and reporting with Finance and Accounting. • Turn performance and financial trends into forward-looking recommendations that inform where the next dollar goes. Media mix and four-wall growth • Manage media budget allocation across channels, products and campaigns, weighting intentionally toward four-wall growth channels (geo-targeted paid media, Direct Mail, Audio and similar) against DTC efficiency targets. • Build the strategies that drive Hair Color Bar traffic through geo-targeting, local marketing and audience segmentation. • Provide direction across paid and non-paid acquisition drivers including Paid Social, Paid Search and Shopping, Affiliate, Yelp, TV, Audio, Direct Mail, SEO, Referral and exploratory test channels. • Evaluate emerging platforms and partners to diversify the mix and find incremental growth. Lead one person, partner with many • Lead, develop and mentor one direct report, setting clear priorities and accountability alongside real development. • Build the cross-functional relationships the work depends on: Digital and Engineering on landing pages and marketing technology, Data Strategy on analytics, attribution, incrementality and in-store visit measurement, Creative and Brand on advertising and messaging, Finance on forecasting and budget, and CRM and Brand on how acquisition and retention meet. Bring the next thing, not just the last number • Anticipate performance problems and arrive with a recommendation and a plan, rather than a report on what already happened. • Build and run a testing roadmap across media, creative, audience, geography, landing pages, offers and new channels. • Use AI and automation, including our Pixis investment, to improve campaign performance and operating efficiency, and keep a point of view on where those tools genuinely help. • Stay current on growth marketing trends, competitive activity and emerging platforms, and bring what matters back to the team. Reporting and communication • Build and present weekly, monthly and quarterly performance updates that state the trend, the performance to plan, the risks and the recommended action. • Translate performance data into business implications that a senior audience can act on. Qualifications • Bachelor's degree. • 6+ years in performance marketing, growth marketing or customer acquisition. • Demonstrated ownership of an acquisition number: a forecast, a budget and a result you were accountable for, not support of someone else's. • Experience managing an external performance marketing agency, including setting direction, establishing KPIs and holding partners accountable. Agency-side experience that gives you the other half of that picture is also valuable. • Strong expertise in paid search and paid social, particularly Google and Meta, with enough hands-on depth to evaluate what an agency brings you. • Financial and analytical capability: acquisition forecasting, budget management, CAC, LTV, ROAS and performance modeling. • Experience managing meaningful annual media budgets. • Experience in an omni-channel business with four-wall retail or service alongside direct-to-consumer/e-commerce, or a clear appetite to learn the four-wall side quickly. • Working knowledge of marketing analytics, attribution and measurement, including offline attribution and in-store visit measurement. • Experience across upper-funnel media (TV, OTT, Direct Mail, OOH, Podcast/Audio) strongly preferred. • Familiarity with non-paid acquisition channels such as SEO, Affiliate and Referral. • Experience leading or mentoring at least one direct report. • Proactive self-starter with real ownership and urgency. Consistently anticipates challenges and moves things forward without being asked. • Strong communication and influencing skills across cross-functional teams. • Curious and adaptable, with genuine interest in using AI and automation to improve performance and efficiency. • Willing to balance ownership with hands-on problem solving and execution when the moment calls for it. Bonus industry experience • Multi-location fitness, beauty or wellness businesses. • Direct-to-consumer businesses that expanded into omni-channel retail or service. • Subscription or membership-driven businesses. Big on Benefits The Perks? Glad you asked… • Comprehensive Healthcare • 100% Company Paid Short and Long Term Disability • 401k Participation and Equity Grants • Continuing Education Contributions • HSA Employer Contributions and FSA Optio