Joel David Clark
Startup Operator · Growth, Data & Operations
Chelmsford, Essex (London commutable) jdclark16@live.co.uk joeldavidclark.co.uk linkedin.com/in/joel-clark-9b4306142
Growth Marketing · HubSpot CRM · Marketing Operations · SEO & Content · Customer & Market Insight · Analytics · AI & Automation · B2B Marketing
Profile
Growth and marketing operations professional with startup experience across customer acquisition, content, CRM, analytics and automation, built on 15+ years in financial services, data and customer operations.
Most recently Head of Growth & Operations at Giraffy, an AI money assistant comparing mobile, internet, banking, insurance and finance offers, part of the 20-company venture studio Pinkwhale.Studio, launched in Saudi Arabia and now live in 47 markets. Reported directly to the founder. Took the brand from launch to 10M+ Instagram impressions and 10,000 X followers organically, and owned HubSpot end to end.
Commercially minded and data-led. Works comfortably across marketing, product, sales and operations, and turns insight into practical growth activity.
Experience
Head of Growth & Operations · Giraffy · Pinkwhale.Studio
Aug 2024 – 2026- Giraffy is an AI money assistant comparing mobile, internet, banking, insurance and finance offers, part of the 20-company Pinkwhale.Studio portfolio, launched in Saudi Arabia and now live in 47 markets.
- Built the Saudi launch social presence from scratch, generating 10M+ Instagram impressions and growing X/Twitter to 10,000 followers through organic content and audience development.
- Led day-to-day growth and digital marketing, using customer behaviour, market trends and performance data to identify acquisition opportunities and set priorities.
- Developed SEO, content and social strategies to increase organic visibility, attract new users and build brand awareness.
- Owned HubSpot and marketing operations: customer data, segmentation, pipelines, workflows, lead management and performance reporting.
- Managed structured product and provider data across the website and internal systems, ensuring accuracy and a consistent user experience.
- Led customer, market and competitor research, translating findings into improvements in positioning, messaging, content and acquisition.
- Supported commercial growth through B2B marketing, prospect research, presentations and sales materials.
- Introduced AI tools (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Replit) across research, content and data workflows to increase output and reduce manual work.
Front Office Support Administrator · Charles Stanley
Nov 2023 – Jul 2024- Delivered centralised operational support to Investment and Portfolio Managers across the branch network in a regulated wealth management environment.
- Coordinated activity and communications across teams, balancing multiple priorities with high accuracy and compliance standards.
Customer & Operations Roles · Chelmer Housing Partnership
May 2019 – Oct 2023- Progressed from Planner to Mutual Exchange Advisor to Neighbourhood Advisor, managing customer cases, onboarding, contractors and compliance.
- Maintained accurate CRM and case records and produced management reports and analysis to support service delivery and decision-making.
Funding & Communications Officer · Limbless Association
Feb 2017 – Feb 2019- Managed the charity's social media, website and email communications, creating regular content to build awareness and engage supporters.
- Planned and delivered fundraising campaigns across multiple income streams, and built relationships with donors and partners.
Earlier career
- Account Manager · CJAM Group2019CRM administration, data quality and membership reporting, plus newsletters, social media and events.
- Energy Trader & Analyst · EnDCo2016Customer energy data, forecasting and market analysis; used SQL to extract and validate data for reporting.
- Administrator → Team Leader · International Financial Data Services (IFDS)2009 – 2016Regulated fund administration. Promoted to Team Leader, responsible for quality and productivity targets, coaching, appraisals and process improvement.
Skills
- Growth & marketing
- Customer acquisition · SEO · Content · Organic social · Customer journeys · Market & competitor research · B2B marketing
- CRM & operations
- HubSpot · Workflows & automation · Pipelines · Segmentation · Lead management · Data quality · Testing & UAT
- Data & tools
- Excel · Google Sheets · SQL · Reporting · ChatGPT · Claude · Gemini · Replit
Education & qualifications
Investment Operations Certificate: Introduction to Securities & Investment; UK Financial Regulation (IFDS)
BTEC National Diploma, 3D Design, South East Essex College