Fractional Chief Marketing Officer
amicable · Candidate Pack · B2C Growth & Profitable Scaling
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Redefining How Britain Ends Relationships
Founded in 2015 by relationship counsellor Kate Daly and tech entrepreneur Pip Wilson, amicable emerged from a deeply personal place — Kate's own £80,000 "train-wreck" divorce. Their mission was unambiguous: transform the way people end relationships by replacing the adversarial, solicitor-led process with something kinder, faster, and more humane.
By fusing psychology with consumer-focused technology, amicable pioneered a lawyer-free alternative that places families — not fees — at the centre. In 2020, the company made legal history by winning a landmark High Court ruling that formally validated their couple-led, conflict-free model. That precedent cemented amicable's position as the defining force in the fast-growing lawtech sector.
Most recently, the Octopus Group acquired a majority stake in the business — a significant vote of confidence and a signal that amicable's next chapter will be written at genuine scale.
The North Star: Relationship Health
amicable's ambition now reaches well beyond divorce. The company is evolving into a holistic "relationship health" brand — supporting people through all significant relationship transitions.
- Prenuptial agreements
- Cohabitation agreements
- Late-life partnership planning
- Separation & divorce support
The goal is to become the big, all-encompassing brand for positive relationship support in the UK.
Commercial Challenge
From Growth at Any Cost to Profitable Growth
amicable built a strong brand and created an entirely new category — and for a time, that novelty translated into cheap, plentiful PPC leads. The market has since matured. Competition has intensified, lead costs have risen sharply, and the economics that once worked no longer do.
£3M Annual Budget
Marketing spend currently represents approximately 50% of total turnover — a ratio that is structurally unsustainable and must be decisively addressed.
LTV vs. CAC Squeeze
amicable's customer lifetime value is inherently lower than a traditional law firm's, yet the business competes for leads at the same high market rates. The gap must close.
~1.8:1 Marketing ROI
Current blended marketing ROI sits at approximately 1.8:1 — well short of the 3:1 target required to underpin a sustainably profitable business model.
18–24 Month Mandate
The incoming Fractional CMO must execute a clear profitability pathway, shifting the entire marketing function from volume-led acquisition to disciplined, unit-economics-led growth.
The Role
A Hands-On Operator, Not a Delegator
This is a fractional, hybrid role (typically 2–3 days per week, London/Home), reporting directly to Co-founder and Marketing Director Kate Daly. The business does not need a figurehead CMO — it needs a highly analytical, commercially ruthless B2C operator willing to roll up their sleeves, interrogate the data, and make difficult decisions with speed and conviction.
1
Commercial Strategy
Set an operating plan focused entirely on profitable growth. Translate top-level targets into channel-level plans and establish clear, recurring decision-making rhythms across the team.
2
Budget Reallocation
Rigorously optimise the £3M budget — aggressively defunding inefficient activities and reallocating capital towards channels that demonstrably meet strict unit-economic thresholds.
3
Unit Economics & Measurement
Establish a practical "commercial cockpit" tracking CAC by channel, payback period, contribution margin, and blended ROI — cutting through dashboard theatre to deliver real insight.
4
Scalable Distribution
Reduce dependency on paid acquisition by systematically strengthening organic distribution — brand equity, content, strategic partnerships, and a practical referral and word-of-mouth engine.
5
Lifecycle Marketing
Shift focus towards growing customer LTV through intelligent cross-selling and the launch of new go-to-market services, fully aligned with the evolving "relationship health" vision.
Team & Leadership
Inheriting a Dual-Team Challenge
The Fractional CMO will step into a nuanced leadership environment requiring both the ability to coach junior talent and the commercial judgement to make difficult personnel decisions quickly. Working closely with Co-founder Kate Daly — who openly acknowledges she is a non-marketeer — the role also demands sophisticated upward management skills.
Head of Marketing — Coach & Develop
The current Head of Marketing has grown organically with the business and is highly coachable. She requires structured mentoring to reach the next level — particularly in growth marketing mechanics and LTV-led thinking. A significant developmental opportunity for the right CMO.
Head of Growth — Assess & Decide
A critical early deliverable is an honest assessment of the Head of Growth. Is current underperformance structural, process-related, or a fundamental personnel issue? The incoming CMO must make this call with clarity and decisiveness within the first 90 days.
Kate Daly, Co-Founder — Manage Up
Kate is transitioning her focus toward internal partnerships and openly notes she is not a marketing specialist. The CMO must build a trusted working relationship, translating commercial complexity into clear narratives and managing how the founder engages with the marketing function.
Success Measures
Guardrails, Milestones & Hard Targets
First 90 Days
Deliver a clear profitability pathway plan aligned with the 18–24 month goal
Implement a working unit-economics dashboard with monthly reporting cadence
Make immediate stop / scale / fix decisions channel-by-channel
Launch referral/WOM growth plan and initiate first lifecycle cross-sell experiments
2026/27 Hard Targets
3:1 Marketing ROI
Blended ROI must reach 3:1 by year-end, up from the current ~1.8:1 baseline
≥ 2:1 LTV:CAC
Every individual paid channel must achieve a minimum LTV to CAC ratio of 2:1
≤ 35% Brand Spend
Brand investment must be strictly disciplined, capped at 35% of the total budget
Ideal Candidate
Who We Are Looking For
amicable is not seeking a generalist or a brand-led CMO from a large corporate. The role demands a rare combination: analytical rigour and emotional intelligence, commercial ruthlessness and genuine human empathy. Customers navigating separation are experiencing some of the most distressing moments of their lives — the marketing must never lose sight of that.
B2C Scaling Expert
Proven track record of unit-economics accountability within visible, category-creating start-up or scale-up brands. Experience in dating apps (Hinge, Bumble) is highly relevant given comparable scaling dynamics. Legal sector experience is not required.
Data-Driven & Experimental
Capable of building pragmatic measurement frameworks — avoiding "dashboard theatre" — and extracting genuinely actionable insights from HubSpot and Google data sets rather than producing reams of unused reporting.
Empathetic Commercial Edge
Must possess a "slightly commercial ruthless streak" to make tough financial calls, balanced with deep empathy and kindness. amicable's core values — Kind, Trust & Professionalism, Customer Focus, Pioneering — are non-negotiable, not aspirational.
Hands-On Operator
A self-directed contributor who will dive into spreadsheets, generate their own insights, and operate without a large corporate support structure. Comfortable working at pace in a high-trust, founder-led environment where decisions move quickly.
Ready to Help Shape the Future of Relationship Health?
This is a rare opportunity to join a genuinely mission-driven business at a pivotal commercial inflection point — backed by the Octopus Group, led by a passionate founder, and poised to redefine an entire sector. If you have the analytical credentials, the human depth, and the commercial conviction to drive this transformation, we want to hear from you.
Commitment
Fractional / Interim
2-3 days per week
2-3 days per week
Recruitment Partner
Connect with Our Recruitment Partner
For a confidential discussion about this unique opportunity to drive commercial growth and redefine an entire sector, please reach out to our recruitment partner at Practicus:
Michael Gater
Practicus specialises in executive search and interim management, connecting exceptional talent with mission-driven organisations like amicable.