Director of Performance Marketing & Growth
We're hiring exclusively on behalf of a national personal injury law firm for a Director of Performance Marketing & Growth. This is a confidential search, so the client is not named here. We'll tell you exactly who they are on our first call.
Why this role exists
The founder has personally run this firm's paid acquisition for close to twenty years. It is the engine that built the business, and it has worked: their average fee per case has gone from $28K to $128K in three years, and they're targeting $100M in revenue over the next three years on the way to $1B in total resolutions.
He is now handing paid acquisition to one person who will own it outright, so this is not a role managing an agency relationship or reviewing dashboards. You will be in the accounts, in the data, and accountable for the results.
The role
This is a hands-on role. You will personally own paid acquisition performance, using AI and automation as the primary lever for scale, not headcount. You'll be accountable for the results, and for building the playbook that lets this model expand beyond one account.
What you'll do
- Own paid digital performance end to end, with primary focus on Google Search and PPC, across a significant and growing budget. This is one of the most competitive auctions in the US, where clicks can cost $400 or more and the firm pays it happily at the right return
- Drive core performance metrics: CPA, ROAS, acquisition cost and revenue, and own the outcomes, not just the reporting
- Scale paid acquisition volume while holding or improving unit economics. Growth without degrading efficiency is the mandate
- Use AI and automation as your first additional resource before requesting additional headcount, agencies or contractors. An in-house development team is already building AI systems to manage paid digital, and you'll take those over and extend them
- Take accountability for SEO strategy and results in partnership with technical specialists. You don't need to be a technical SEO expert, but you own the outcome
- Build the operating model and playbook that lets this performance system extend to new practice areas and markets
- Work directly with leadership to translate one proven account into a repeatable, expandable platform
What you'll bring
- Roughly 6 to 12 years of total experience, ideally at Senior Manager or Director level. We're looking for someone still close to the work, not a career executive several steps removed from it
- A track record of personally managing $3M+ per year in paid digital spend
- Hands-on ownership of Google Search and PPC, not just agency oversight
- Direct, personal accountability for CPA, ROAS, acquisition cost, revenue or similar performance metrics in past roles
- Demonstrated ability to scale paid acquisition while maintaining or improving economics
- Real, applied experience using AI or automation to improve marketing performance, not just familiarity with the concept
- Active, hands-on PPC work within the last 3 years
- A stable track record. We look closely at tenure patterns and want to understand the story behind any short stints
- Background in high-spend, direct-response environments is a strong plus: personal injury or legal marketing, home services, insurance, consumer finance, marketplaces or performance agencies
What success looks like
- Connects advertising spend directly to qualified cases and business outcomes
- Moves quickly, tests continuously, and makes decisions using data
- Reduces wasted spend and improves lead quality
- Operates independently without relying on agencies or large teams
Who thrives here
Someone obsessed with ROI and cost per acquisition, who moves quickly, tests constantly and decides on data. The leadership team is in the marketing every day, changing things and brainstorming constantly, and they want the person in this seat in it with them, whether they're in Austin or remote. If your instinct when workload grows is to reach for automation before asking for a team of eight, you'll fit.
