Fractional Chief Marketing Officer | Sydney NSW

This is a fast-growing early learning group operating across 21 centres, with further expansion underway. The operational foundations are strong, the internal team is capable, and the infrastructure is in place. What the business needs now is a senior strategic mind to unlock the next phase of growth.

This is not a traditional advisory role. It is a flexible fractional engagement built around one commercial objective: materially increasing group occupancy by finding and fixing every gap across the marketing and enrolment journey — and doing it now.

The Opportunity

Why this role exists

The business has a clear enrolment journey: Lead → booked tour → completed tour → enrolment

Every stage of that journey represents an opportunity, and right now, not every opportunity is being fully captured.

There is an internal marketing team and an external agency managing paid social, search ads, and the website. What is missing is the senior strategic layer — someone who can audit the entire funnel with fresh eyes, identify where leads are being lost, where conversion is underperforming, and where marketing spend is not delivering the expected return, then build and direct solutions to fix it.

This role owns the thinking. The team delivers the execution. The leader ensures the right actions are taken in the right order, with the right creative and commercial logic behind them.

The Role

What you will be responsible for

• Conducting a comprehensive audit of the full marketing and enrolment funnel, identifying inefficiencies, leakage points, and missed conversion opportunities across every stage
• Developing and owning the overarching marketing strategy across a multi-site operation, with clear priorities and measurable outcomes tied to occupancy growth
• Driving improvements in lead volume and lead quality simultaneously, without simply increasing spend

Dual Focus Areas

Marketing and enrolment — both matter equally

This role operates across two equally critical domains. Candidates who only focus on lead generation will not be the right fit. The enrolment journey is just as important as the top of the funnel.

Marketing performance:

• Reducing cost per acquisition through smarter channel strategy, creative direction, and campaign structure
• Designing and directing campaigns across paid social, search, local area marketing, and traditional channels
• Managing and mentoring internal marketing team members
• Coordinating external agencies to ensure accountability and alignment
• Providing clear, data-informed recommendations on where marketing investment should be focused

Enrolment journey:

• Improving booked tour rates, completed tour rates, and enrolment conversion
• Treating each stage of the journey as a distinct optimisation problem

The Candidate

What we are looking for

• Proven experience in a senior marketing leadership role with measurable commercial impact
• Strong ability to diagnose root causes of underperformance, not just surface-level issues
• Deep understanding of conversion funnel optimisation
• Experience improving lead quality and volume while reducing cost per acquisition
• Strong creative and strategic campaign thinking
• Experience across both digital and traditional marketing channels
• Local area marketing experience across multiple sites
• Agency management and accountability experience
• Strong understanding of reputation and review management
• Ability to optimise lead response, nurture processes, and conversion stages
• Experience identifying CRM and process gaps

Experience in early education or a similar trust-driven, localised sector is preferred. Otherwise, a strong track record of entering complex markets and delivering fast, measurable results is required.

The role requires someone comfortable operating as both a strategic leader and a hands-on operator.

Engagement terms

Structure and pathway

This engagement is structured as a fractional appointment, with a clear pathway to a permanent leadership role based on performance and mutual fit.

• Commitment: Flexible (Part-time or Full-time considered)
• Structure: Fractional
• Pathway: Permanent
• Location: Sydney, NSW
• Network: 21 centres
• Start: Immediate

Occupancy growth is an immediate priority. The right person can make a measurable impact in the near term. This is not a role for someone who needs extended ramp-up time - the expectation is to diagnose quickly and lead with confidence from the outset.