Howden is a global insurance group with employee ownership at its heart. Together, we have pushed the boundaries of insurance. We are united by a shared passion and no-limits mindset, and our strength lies in our ability to collaborate as a powerful international team comprised of 24,000 employees spanning over 56 countries.
People join Howden for many different reasons, but they stay for the same one: our culture. It’s what sets us apart, and the reason our employees have been turning down headhunters for years. Whatever your priorities – work / life balance, career progression, sustainability, volunteering – you’ll find like-minded people driving change at Howden.
The Head of Marketing Operations is accountable for designing and running the marketing delivery model that enables the function to deliver efficiently, predictably and at scale. This includes workflow management, process optimisation, core technology usage, vendor governance, resource planning and operational risk. Reporting into the Head of Marketing and supported by a Marketing Operations Coordinator, the role ensures the team delivers consistently and with measurable commercial impact.
Role purpose
To build a high‑performing marketing delivery process by designing and managing the processes, workflows, technology and standards that underpin delivery. The role leads end‑to‑end workflow management, owns marketing technology and data flows, oversees vendor and resource governance, and ensures operational excellence across the function. It has one direct report: the Marketing Operations Coordinator.
Key responsibilities1. Design and manage our marketing delivery modelDesign, own and continuously improve the full marketing operating model – processes, workflows, planning cycles and cross‑team coordination.- Lead end‑to‑end workflow delivery management across all teams to ensure efficient, timely and high‑quality execution.
- Build and enforce consistent planning, prioritisation and cross‑team working frameworks.
- Monitor capacity, bottlenecks and delivery pace, working with Team Leaders to resolve challenges and redistribute work where needed.
- Line‑manage the Marketing Operations Coordinator, providing direction, coaching and oversight.
- Serve as marketing product owner for the core marketing technology, with responsibility for Salesforce and Monday.com integration and ongoing optimisation.
- Lead scoping, implementation, rollout and continuous improvement of core platforms, ensuring they support lead flow, campaign execution, reporting and workflow management.
- Oversee data architecture, automation and system integrations between platforms.
- Maintain governance, standards, user training, adoption and issue resolution across all tools.
- Manage our database of external suppliers, technology partners, agencies and contractors used across the marketing team.
- Own procurement processes, supplier onboarding, contract management, renewals and performance reviews.
- Support resource planning across marketing functions, working with Team Leaders to ensure capacity and capability match demand.
- Provide governance to ensure consistent, compliant and cost‑effective use of external spend.
·Establish operational KPIs and reporting that drive accountability, predictability and continuous improvement.
·Identify, manage and mitigate operational risk, ensuring best practice and accuracy, together with compliance on data privacy, brand standards, financial controls and organisational policies.
·Surface operational issues early and lead resolution to maintain operational momentum.
- Define and embed best‑practice standards for briefing, documentation, approvals, quality assurance and workflow management.
- Ensure the consistent application of agreed processes, tools and standards across all marketing activity.
- Drive continuous improvement across ways of working, technology use and delivery disciplines.
- Support ongoing training and capability building across the marketing function.
- Demonstrable experience leading marketing operations in a B2B or professional services environment.
- Deep understanding of workflow management across multi‑disciplinary teams.
- Strong expertise in Salesforce and Monday.com.
- Proven ability to design, implement and scale operational processes.
- Strong analytical, organisational and governance capability.
- Experience line‑managing and developing team members.
- Effective stakeholder management and the ability to drive adoption of new processes and tools.
- Noticeable reduction in operational friction and improved delivery velocity.
- High and consistent adoption of Salesforce and Monday.com across the team.
- Predictable and reliable planning and delivery rhythms.
- Strong data integrity and improved performance visibility.
- Well‑governed vendor ecosystem with optimised resource use and cost control.
- Consistent compliance and standards across all activity.
- Positive development and impact of the Marketing Operations Coordinator.
A career that you define. At Howden, we value diversity – there is no one Howden type. Instead, we’re looking for individuals who share the same values as us:
Our successes have all come from someone brave enough to try something new
We support each other in the small everyday moments and the bigger challenges
We are determined to make a positive difference at work and beyond
We're committed to providing reasonable accommodations at Howden to ensure that our positions align well with your needs. Besides the usual adjustments such as software, IT, and office setups, we can also accommodate other changes such as flexible hours* or hybrid working*.
If you're excited by this role but have some doubts about whether it’s the right fit for you, send us your application – if your profile fits the role’s criteria, we will be in touch to assist in helping to get you set up with any reasonable adjustments you may require.
*Not all positions can accommodate changes to working hours or locations. Reach out to your Recruitment Partner if you want to know more.
Permanent
