Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)

About the Group Whitecliffe Global Group is a dynamic, growing international education group operating across New Zealand, Australia, Germany, and Canada. Comprising a portfolio of distinguished higher education institutions, the Group is united by a shared commitment to creative, design-led, and professionally focused education that prepares graduates for careers in a rapidly changing world. At a pivotal moment in its global growth story, Whitecliffe is investing in brand, digital infrastructure, and marketing capability to strengthen its position as a recognised leader in international higher education. The Opportunity - A defining leadership role This is a newly created senior executive position reporting directly to the Executive Chairman. The CMO will be Whitecliffe's most senior marketing voice — responsible for building and executing a unified, high-impact marketing strategy across all four countries. You will lead a distributed team of in-country marketing professionals and centralised Group functions, bringing coherence, rigour, and creative ambition to brand positioning, digital marketing, PR, communications, and web presence. What You'll Do Group Marketing Strategy & Leadership Own and lead the Group-wide marketing strategy aligned with institutional priorities across all four countries Provide executive direction to in-country marketing teams in NZ, Australia, Germany, and Canada Build strong working relationships with each institution's CEO and the VP Global Sales Report regularly on performance and strategy to the Executive Chairman Brand & Identity Lead the development and stewardship of the Group's brand architecture across all institutions and markets Ensure brand consistency, integrity, and quality across all touchpoints Champion differentiation strategies and govern brand guidelines for all countries Digital Marketing Lead Group digital marketing strategy — SEO, SEM, paid media, email, social, and content Drive data-led optimisation and continuous improvement across all channels Oversee digital advertising spend and ROI across the Group Websites & Digital Presence Own the Group web strategy and executive oversight of all institutional websites Lead major website projects including redesigns and platform migrations Govern digital brand standards and agency/vendor relationships SEO Develop and lead the Group's SEO strategy across all markets with clear performance benchmarks Embed technical, on-page, and off-page SEO into all digital and web activity Build internal SEO capability across content and marketing teams PR & Communications Lead Group PR strategy and manage media relationships across all four markets Oversee press releases, thought leadership, and executive communications Develop crisis communications frameworks and support institutional CEOs Content & Creative Lead development of compelling content that supports brand awareness and engagement Oversee Group content calendar, editorial standards, and creative quality Source authentic institutional stories and build compelling Group narratives Team Leadership Recruit, lead, develop, and retain a high-performing distributed marketing function Build a culture of collaboration, accountability, and creative excellence Foster strong relationships between Group marketing and in-country institutional leaders Planning, Performance & Reporting Own the annual Group marketing plan and budget across channels and countries Establish robust performance frameworks, dashboards, and KPIs Manage agency, supplier, and technology vendor relationships About You You are a seasoned marketing executive with a track record of leading integrated marketing functions across complex, multi-brand or multi-market environments. Substantial senior marketing leadership experience at Group, multi-brand, or multi-market level Proven capability across digital marketing, SEO, brand management, and communications Experience leading and developing distributed, cross-cultural marketing teams A track record of building and executing strategies that deliver measurable brand outcomes Experience managing significant marketing budgets and demonstrating ROI A relevant tertiary qualification (or equivalent professional experience) Key Skills & Attributes Strategic thinker with strong execution ability Excellent executive-level communicator Data-driven with strong analytical instincts Commercially astute and outcome-focused Highly collaborative across cultures and geographies Strong creative sensibility and brand standards Resilient and energised by complexity Strong stakeholder management skills Desirable: experience in higher education or a regulated sector; exposure to multiple international markets; German language skills an advantage.