Head of Performance Intelligence (AI & Automation)

Posted By: Greg Phipps
Salary: £DOE
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Job Type: Permanent
Category: Sales & Marketing

Central Employment are working in partnership with one of the region’s most established and forward thinking Digital Performance Agencies.  They have a new, exciting and industry leading opportunity for a Head of Performance Intelligence (AI/Automation).  

This role is responsible for turning data, AI, and automation into clear commercial advantage – improving efficiency, effectiveness, and results across channels. You will not run campaigns. You will  shape how decisions are made, using insight, modelling, and experimentation to drive measurable growth for our clients.

This is a senior, strategic role for someone who understands both advanced analytics and real-world performance marketing – and can bridge the gap between the two.

Key Responsibilities:- 

• Own the cross-channel measurement framework across PPC, SEO, Content and Outreach

• Define and maintain a single source of truth for performance reporting

• Lead attribution modelling and performance interpretation (accepting real-world limitations)

• Translate complex data into clear, actionable insight for channel leads and clients

• Design and deploy AI-driven models and automations to:
o Identify high-performing audiences, creatives, keywords and content themes
o Predict performance trends, saturation points and diminishing returns
o Improve budget allocation and prioritisation across channels

• Integrate AI tooling with advertising platforms, analytics stacks and internal systems

• Evaluate emerging AI technologies and apply them pragmatically (not experimentally)

• Own the agency-wide experimentation roadmap

• Design structured tests with clear hypotheses, success criteria and learning outcomes

• Introduce advanced testing methodologies (e.g. multi-armed bandits, automation-led testing)

• Ensure learnings are embedded back into channel strategies, not left as theory
Cross-Channel Enablement & Influence

• Act as a strategic partner to PPC, SEO, Content and Outreach team members

• Create performance feedback loops between channels

• Challenge assumptions and surface opportunities teams may miss

• Provide clear recommendations that channel leads are expected to action or challenge with evidence

• Support senior client conversations with insight, forecasting and performance rationale

• Help clients understand why performance is moving, not just what happened

• Drive measurable improvements in blended CPA, ROAS, efficiency and scalability

• Ensure AI and automation directly support commercial outcomes, not vanity metrics

Required Experience:-

• Strong background in performance marketing analytics, data science, or growth analytics

• Proven experience working across multiple channels (PPC, SEO, content, digital PR)

• Advanced skills in data analysis and modelling (Python, SQL essential)

• Experience with GA4, BigQuery, Looker (or similar BI tools)

• Understanding of ad platform mechanics and APIs (Google, Meta, etc.)

• Commercial mindset – able to balance statistical rigour with business reality

Desirable:- 

• Experience implementing AI or ML models in marketing environments

• Familiarity with automation tools, cloud data platforms, and LLMs for analysis

• Agency experience or working in fast-paced, client-facing environments

• Experience designing experimentation frameworks or predictive models