We are the UK's leading premium publisher, home to iconic and influential media brands including Esquire, Men's & Women's Health, ELLE, Good Housekeeping, Harper's Bazaar, Digital Spy, Cosmopolitan, Red and more. At Hearst UK, we don't just create content – we shape culture.
Our workplace is driven by passion, shaped by authenticity and powered by creativity. We back bold ideas, act with an entrepreneurial mindset and continually evolve to meet the moment - while respecting the legacy that's brought us here. We believe in each other's potential and push boundaries together to create meaningful impact, both across the media landscape and in people's lives.
We're proud of our heritage - but even more excited about making history.
Hearst UK operates an in office policy with flexible Friday's. Our office is based at House of Hearst, 30 Panton Street, St James's, London, SW1Y 4AJ, where teams collaborate in person and connect across brands and functions.
Salary - £67,500 - £72,500 - Salary is dependent on experience and will be assessed in line with the candidate’s skills, knowledge, and relevant expertise.
Head of Customer Value
About the Role...
As the Head of Customer Value, you will lead the strategy that maximises the long-term value of Hearst UK's member and subscribers. Sitting within the Customer Growth team and reporting to the Net Growth Director, you'll own how we engage with members throughout their lifecycle - from their very first interaction through to renewal, retention and win-back.
You'll be responsible for developing a market-leading customer value strategy that grows lifetime value, increases customer engagement with our membership propositions, and creates lasting relationships between our iconic brands and our members. Leading a team of four, you'll work closely with Customer, Data, Technology, Product, Editorial, Marketing and Commercial teams to ensure every customer interaction strengthens loyalty and supports Hearst UK's ambitious membership growth plans over the next five years.
Main Duties...
- Own Hearst UK's customer value strategy across our portfolio of 13 brands, driving customer lifetime value through best-in-class onboarding, in-life engagement, retention, renewal and win-back programmes.
- Develop and continuously optimise the customer lifecycle, ensuring communications are personalised, consistent with each brand, and designed to deepen member engagement, increase product usage and reduce churn.
- Lead the commercial strategy for retention and win-back, using customer insight, segmentation and propensity modelling to deliver the right intervention, to the right customer, at the right time, maximising long-term value rather than short-term saves.
- Partner with Memberships & Rewards, Product and Customer teams to increase awareness and adoption of membership benefits, identifying which features and behaviours drive retention and using these insights to shape future propositions.
- Provide strategic and operational leadership for the customer contact centre, owning partner performance, operational effectiveness, save rate, quality standards, commercial offer strategy and continuous improvement.
- Lead, coach and develop the Customer Value team, creating a high-performing culture that balances commercial performance with exceptional customer experience.
- Build a robust measurement framework across the customer lifecycle, working closely with Data and Insight teams to identify opportunities, test new approaches, evaluate performance and continually improve customer value.
What We Are Looking For...
- Significant experience leading customer lifecycle, retention or customer value strategies within a subscription, membership or recurring revenue business.
- A strong commercial mindset with a proven track record of growing customer lifetime value through data-led engagement, retention and customer experience initiatives.
- Experience developing sophisticated lifecycle strategies using customer segmentation, behavioural insights, propensity modelling and test-and-learn methodologies.
- Strong leadership experience with the ability to inspire, develop and coach high-performing teams while influencing senior stakeholders across multiple business functions.
- Experience managing customer service or contact centre operations, with accountability for operational performance, customer satisfaction and commercial outcomes.
- Highly analytical with confidence interpreting complex customer data and translating insight into clear commercial actions.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills with the ability to align multiple teams around a shared customer strategy.
- Passionate about delivering exceptional customer experiences and building meaningful relationships that turn subscribers into loyal members.
Success Measures
Success in this role will be measured through:
- Growth in customer lifetime value (LTV)
- Reduction in voluntary churn
- Membership engagement and feature adoption
- Win-back effectiveness and long-term customer value
- Contact centre save rate and operational performance
- Customer satisfaction and advocacy
- Delivery of Hearst UK's membership growth ambitions
Benefits…
(Your benefits at Hearst UK are more than just extras—they are tools to help you thrive in every part of life.)
Hearst Exclusives - Only for You!
- Get adventurous with Good Housekeeping Taste and Beauty Testing Panels - yes, you could be trying the next big thing in beauty, food & drink.
- Snag luxe beauty steals at our legendary office sample sales - score big on top brands without breaking the bank!
Inclusion, Health & Wellbeing: Feel Your Best
- Stay healthy with Specsavers eye care, a company-funded Health Cash Plan, and access to mental health support.
- Get active and stress-free with discounted gym memberships and the Cycle to Work scheme.
- Embrace flexibility with a Location Flex and Holiday Exchange to take time when you need it.
- Take time to give back with a Charity Day and access wellbeing resources whenever you need them.
- Join one of our Hearst ERG Groups.
Financial Wellness - Boost Your Budget
- Plan ahead with a generous Workplace Pension, Income Protection, Life Assurance and Season Ticket Loan for easier commuting.
- Make smarter money moves using Salary Finance tools, Financial Wellbeing sessions, and Home Tech benefits to spread costs.
- Treat yourself with major discounts across London plus everyday savings via the HAPI at Hearst app
Hearst UK is deeply committed to using our influential brands to reflect the world we want to live in – one that respects, protects, represents and uplifts the voices and opinions of all people. As a business, we recognise the significant benefits of creativity, collaboration and innovation that comes with diverse teams. Not only is diversifying the voices in our organization the right thing to do, but it also helps us to make powerful and exciting content that can be enjoyed by many more people. This is why we’re working to build a sense of true belonging within our business and foster a culture in which everyone feels heard.
Skills Required
- Significant experience leading customer lifecycle, retention or customer value strategies within a subscription, membership or recurring revenue business.
- Proven track record of growing customer lifetime value through data-led engagement, retention and customer experience initiatives.
- Experience developing lifecycle strategies using customer segmentation, behavioural insights, propensity modelling and test-and-learn methodologies.
- Strong leadership experience with ability to inspire, develop and coach high-performing teams and influence senior stakeholders.
- Experience managing customer service or contact centre operations with accountability for operational performance and commercial outcomes.
- Highly analytical with confidence interpreting complex customer data and translating insight into commercial actions.
- Excellent stakeholder management skills to align multiple teams around a shared customer strategy.
- Passion for delivering exceptional customer experiences and building relationships that turn subscribers into loyal members.
Hearst Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Hearst and has not been reviewed or approved by Hearst.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, including medical plan choice, full in-network preventive coverage, dental and vision, telemedicine, prescription coverage, and fertility resources. Mental-health resources and other wellbeing services (e.g., therapy sessions, crisis support, virtual physical therapy, and chronic-condition programs) further strengthen the health offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement support is positioned as meaningful through a 401(k) plan with company matching and Hearst covering plan administration fees. Performance bonuses are also noted as available in some roles, adding an additional rewards component beyond base pay.
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Leave & Time Off Breadth — Time-off benefits include paid holidays, paid sick days, and vacation time with a commonly cited annual range, alongside paid parental leave and family medical leave. A remote work program and flexibility signals are also included as part of the overall rewards experience.
Hearst Insights
What We Do
Hearst is a leading global, diversified media, information and services company with more than 360 businesses. Its major interests include ownership in cable television networks such as A&E, HISTORY, Lifetime and ESPN; global financial services leader Fitch Group; Hearst Health, a group of medical information and services businesses; transportation assets including CAMP Systems International, a major provider of software-as-a-service solutions for managing maintenance of jets and helicopters; 33 television stations such as WCVB-TV in Boston and KCRA-TV in Sacramento, California, which reach a combined 19 percent of U.S. viewers; newspapers such as the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle and Times Union (Albany, New York); more than 300 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Men's Health and Car and Driver, and digital services businesses such as iCrossing and KUBRA; and investments in emerging digital entertainment companies such as Complex Networks.
