Direct Channel Marketing Manager

Key Partnerships; Preston; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 45,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent financial services company in Preston seeks a Direct Channel Marketing Manager to lead email and direct marketing campaigns. In this role, you will collaborate with stakeholders to deliver effective strategies that meet monthly targets. The successful candidate will manage campaign production and analyze performance, utilizing platforms like Microsoft Dynamics and DotDigital. Ideal for creative problem solvers, this position offers 25 days of holiday, plus a charity day and opportunities for professional growth.

Benefits

25 days holiday plus bank holidays

1 charity day

Qualifications

• Experience managing email and direct mail campaigns from start to finish is essential.
• Proven ability to generate leads through targeted marketing campaigns.
• Strong organisational skills to manage day-to-day production of campaign assets.

Responsibilities

• Plan and execute automated lead-nurturing campaigns.
• Monitor and analyse campaign performance to optimize effectiveness.
• Develop landing pages to enhance campaign support.

Skills

CRM platforms expertise

Email marketing proficiency

HTML knowledge

Analytical skills

Strong communication skills

Data-driven mindset

Tools

Microsoft Dynamics

DotDigital

Job description

Key Partnerships is part of Key Group, one of the leading financial services groups for those both in and approaching retirement. We offer intermediaries a combination of specialist expertise in the equity release market and access to a whole-of-market service.

We have an exciting opportunity to join the team as a Direct Channel Marketing Manager.

This role sits within the Direct Channel marketing team where you will translate business objectives and brand strategies into effective email and direct marketing campaigns. This is a stand‑alone role, and you’ll work closely with key stakeholders and team members to understand campaign objectives and inform campaign structure and customer journeys. The crux of the role is to deliver marketing campaigns to achieve monthly volume targets, integrating activity with our outbound customer team.

The successful candidate will manage day‑to‑day production of campaign assets and the setup of email campaigns in our delivery systems (DotDigital and MSD365), and will have experience in managing a variety of email and direct mail marketing campaigns from inception to completion, including idea generation, process management, and post‑campaign evaluation. They will also have a proven ability to use marketing campaigns to generate leads, increase engagement, and grow customer lifetime value across both prospect and existing customer audiences.

If you’re a creative problem‑solver and a confident decision‑maker, proactive and flexible, with the ability to effectively prioritise workload, then this is the role for you!

Main Responsibilities

• Plan, design, and execute automated lead‑nurturing and trigger‑based email, SMS, and direct mail campaigns.
• Use analysis and performance measurement to ensure targets are met, making informed decisions about continuing or optimising campaign activity.
• Develop and optimise landing pages to support campaigns.
• Create test‑and‑learn plans to continuously refine and improve campaign effectiveness.
• Drive data segmentation and list selection; monitor email deliverability and recommend improvements to contact rates and communication strategies.
• Identify content and messaging that resonate with our target audiences and execute tactics that generate high‑quality leads.
• Develop nurturing campaigns to maintain top‑of‑mind presence with prospects and leads throughout the sales process.
• Ensure all marketing campaigns are delivered on time and within budget.
• Manage asset approval with key stakeholders and compliance teams.
• Analyse performance using available tools and in partnership with the marketing effectiveness team, making recommendations based on findings.
• Analyse enquirer contact data to build propensity‑based segments, enabling more targeted and relevant campaigns.
• Create a suite of reporting tools to share email effectiveness insights with the wider team.

Skills and Experience

• Confident using CRM and email marketing platforms; experience with Microsoft Dynamics and DotDigital (or similar) is advantageous.
• Good working knowledge of HTML to support email template development.
• Ability to work to organisational deadlines and KPIs.
• Results‑driven, ensuring marketing campaigns deliver against strategic and commercial goals.
• Strong analytical skills with a data‑driven approach to measuring ROI and applying learnings.
• Highly organised, methodical, and process‑driven, with a continuous improvement mindset, with exceptional attention to detail.
• Excellent organisational, interpersonal, and communication skills.
• Highly numerate, with confidence in working with conversion metrics, sales data, audience insights, and budget management.
• Dedicated and willing to go the extra mile to support team objectives.

Most of all we look for people who display and work around the core values of our business:

Ambitious – to break ground to help our customers enjoy a better retirement.
Supportive – relationships are key to everything we do.
Personal – going above and beyond to offer exceptional service.
Integrity – honest, true and transparent in all our relationships.
Responsive – whatever the challenge we’ll deliver the right result.
Expert – experts in our field, our thirst for knowledge never stops

• 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays. Rising to 28 based on length of service.
• 1 charity day