Head of CRO

Join us on the Journey...

National Express are recruiting an experienced Head of CRO to join the team. Based at our Head Office in Digbeth, the successful candidate will will  be responsible for improving conversion rates and driving measurable performance improvements through A/B testing, UX optimisation, behavioural analysis, and collaboration with digital trade, digital marketing, digital product, UX, and development teams.

What you'll do:

• CRO Strategy Development: Define and lead a company-wide CRO vision and roadmap aligned to business objectives, customer needs, and platform migration timelines. Champion a test-and-learn culture, moving the business toward a more agile, experimentation-driven approach to digital decision-making
• Digital Experimentation & Innovation: Oversee the design, deployment, and interpretation of A/B, multivariate, and personalisation tests across high-impact areas (e.g. homepage, PLPs, search, checkout). Integrate AI/ML-driven optimisation and targeting strategies where applicable to future-proof performance delivery
• Friction & Funnel Improvements: Lead ongoing identification of customer pain points and conversion blockers across the end-to-end funnel using behavioural analytics, heatmaps, session replays, and customer feedback. Partner with product and UX to transform insights into scalable solutions that remove friction and enhance commercial outcomes
• Platform Migration & Infrastructure Readiness: Own the CRO perspective across platform migration planning, ensuring new systems (CMS, app, personalisation engines) are optimisation-ready and technically robust. Ensure continuity of testing frameworks and metrics across legacy and new digital environments
• Personalisation & Customer Segmentation: Lead the definition and execution of personalisation strategies using behavioural, contextual, and demographic data to enhance relevance and engagement across journeys. Build segmentation strategies in partnership with data, CRM, and marketing teams to deliver high-performing, targeted experiences
• Team Leadership & Stakeholder Influence: Manage, grow, and mentor a high-performing CRO function including analysts, developers, and UX partners. Act as a strategic advisor to senior stakeholders, sharing insights and recommendations that influence product, trading, and marketing roadmaps
• Performance Reporting & Governance: Establish robust governance around test design, prioritisation, and measurement, ensuring CRO efforts are scientifically rigorous and results are business-relevant. Define and track CRO KPIs (uplift metrics, velocity, win rates, test ROI) and communicate success stories to drive wider organisational buy-in
• Collaboration & Stakeholder Management: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including marketing, design, development, and product, to ensure alignment with business objectives. Communicate test results and strategic recommendations to senior leadership
• Continuous Learning: Stay at the forefront of CRO and digital experimentation trends, including AI-led testing, behavioural science, and low-friction UX design. Proactively introduce and test new tools, frameworks, and hypotheses to keep the business competitive

What you'll need:

• 5+ years’ experience in digital optimisation, ideally within a multi-channel or e-commerce/travel organisation, with proven success scaling experimentation programmes and conversion impact
• Experience leading through digital transformation and platform migrations
• Expertise in CRO tools (eg AB Tasty, Google Optimize), web analytics platforms (eg Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager), and user research tools (eg Hotjar, UserZoomGo). You should be comfortable with creating and managing new tests, with a technical skillset that includes the ability to implement changes, troubleshoot, and optimise new tools and features
• Understanding of AI/ML principles in personalisation, journey optimisation, and predictive UX
• Awareness of how evolving digital behaviours and tools (e.g., GA4, privacy regulations) are changing experimentation
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, run A/B tests, and make data-driven decisions
• Understanding of the conversion funnels and the customer journey, channel behaviours, UX/UI best practices and how to optimise every touchpoint to enhance satisfaction and conversion
• Solid understanding of user-centered design principles, with the ability to collaborate with designers to create optimised user journeys
• Experience working with eCommerce platforms and CMS systems and familiarity with eCommerce KPIs (AOV, CLV, cart abandonment rate)
• Proven experience working with senior leadership, product teams, and marketing teams to align optimisation strategies with business goals
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain complex testing results and optimisation strategies to non-technical stakeholders
• Strong project management skills and the ability to prioritise multiple tasks in a fast-paced environment

What we offer in return for your hard work and commitment...

• Free Bus & Coach travel for yourself on the National Express network
• Complimentary coach travel for a Nominated Person or complimentary bus travel for a Spouse or Partner on the National Express network
• Life Assurance
• Company pension
• Employee Assistance programme
• Private online GP service

National Express is committed to creating an inclusive workplace that reflects the diverse communities we serve and we positively encourage applications from all sectors of the community. 

We are a Disability Confident Committed employer and should you require any adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process please let us know.

We reserve the right to close this advert early if we receive a high volume of applications before the advertised closed date.

Things to Note...

At National Express, we are really proud of our health and safety record and as a result, we operate a Drugs and Alcohol Policy which is applicable to all employees.

As part of your initial assessment, we will complete Drug and Alcohol testing and you may be subject to random tests during your employment.