Head of Mobile Acquisition
A leader responsible for acquiring users for mobile apps: budgets, channels, traffic buying, and the payback of installs and registrations.
What a Head of Mobile Acquisition does
The Head of Mobile Acquisition is responsible for how a mobile app gets new users. In dating, these are installs and registrations, which later turn into paying users. The role covers the full cycle: from choosing channels and buying traffic to assessing how much a user costs and when that user pays back.
In high-risk verticals, and dating in particular, traffic channels change quickly. Platforms restrict ads, app stores change their rules, and the cost of an install depends on geo and season. That is why companies appoint a dedicated leader who keeps the budget, new traffic source testing, and traffic quality under control, rather than simply launching campaigns.
The role usually reports to the CMO or marketing director, or to the head of product if acquisition is closely tied to onboarding. Performance marketers, partner managers, and analysts work under the Head of Mobile Acquisition, along with external contractors such as networks, media buying agencies, and freelancers.
Responsibilities
- Approves the acquisition strategy and the budget split across channels: paid UA, networks, creative tests, and influencers.
- Monitors payback by cohort: cost per install, cost per registration, and cost per paying user relative to LTV.
- Negotiates and agrees budgets with ad networks, SDK partners, and media buying agencies.
- Organizes creative and landing screen testing together with designers and the product team.
- Monitors traffic quality: fraud, non-target installs, attribution, and discrepancies between trackers.
- Coordinates ad materials and geos with the legal and compliance team, taking into account platform and app store restrictions.
- Builds analytics and reporting for leadership, including weekly decisions on scaling or stopping campaigns.
- Hires and develops a team of UA managers and analysts, and defines areas of responsibility and processes.
- Owns collaboration with product on the registration funnel and first sessions, so that traffic converts into activity.
Skills
- Deep understanding of mobile acquisition unit economics: CPI, CPA, ROAS, LTV, and cohort payback.
- Experience managing large ad budgets and making decisions on scaling and stopping campaigns.
- Knowledge of ad network mechanics and auctions, including work with bidding strategies and optimization for events.
- Understanding of mobile attribution: SKAdNetwork, postback models, MMPs, and privacy limitations.
- Data skills: building cohort analysis, audience segmentation, and interpreting A/B tests.
- Ability to manage teams and contractors, set metrics, and analyze deviations objectively.
- Understanding of creative production: what works in video and static formats, and how to build hypotheses for tests.
- Communication with finance and legal teams, and the ability to justify spending and risks to the board of directors.
- Knowledge of dating specifics: user behavior, seasonality, geos, and restrictions on advertising content.
Tools
- MMP attribution systems (AppsFlyer, Adjust, Singular)
- Network ad accounts and DSPs (Google Ads, Meta Ads Manager, Unity Ads, Apple Search Ads)
- Google Analytics and Firebase for product analytics and events
- Looker Studio, Tableau, or Power BI for dashboards and reporting
- SQL and BI exports for cohort analysis and data reconciliation
- Spreadsheets and task management systems (Google Sheets, Jira, Asana)
- A/B testing and experiment management tools (Firebase A/B Testing, Optimizely)
How performance is measured
- Cost per install (CPI) and cost per registration by channel and geo
- Return on ad spend (ROAS) by cohort over set time horizons
- LTV to CAC ratio by channel and overall acquisition unit economics
- Share of target traffic and fraud rate in purchased traffic
- Volume of installs and registrations within budget and geo plans
- Speed of launching new creatives and hypotheses into tests
By vertical
Dating
In dating, the key metric is often tied to registrations and first active actions, not just installs. The Head of Mobile Acquisition closely monitors user quality, because fraud and non-target traffic quickly damage conversion, and platform restrictions on explicit creatives require constant adjustment of ads to the rules.
Levels
Head of / Director
At the Head or Director level, the role is responsible for the overall acquisition result and the budget, not for individual campaigns. The leader approves the strategy, distributes budgets across channels and geos, makes decisions on entering new markets, and is accountable to financial leadership for payback. They also build the team and processes that allow the company to manage the risk of account blocks and changes to platform rules.
How to get there
People usually move into the Head of Mobile Acquisition role from positions as a UA manager or performance marketer on mobile products. The role requires experience independently managing budgets, real cases of scaling and stopping campaigns, and an understanding of cohort analytics. The path often starts with buying traffic in one channel, then expands to several channels and geos, and later to a team.
It is important to master unit economics and attribution: how CPI, ROAS, and LTV are calculated, why attribution changes after privacy restrictions, and how to read discrepancies between MMPs and ad accounts. It is also useful to understand product analytics, so you know what happens after the install and can speak the same language as the product team.
Growth comes from expanding scope: from individual channels to a portfolio, from one app to several products, and from execution to managing budget and team. At the leadership level, it is important to defend decisions with numbers in front of management and to have experience working within the constraints of high-risk verticals.
Next steps: Director of User Acquisition, VP Marketing, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), Head of Growth, Head of Performance Marketing
FAQ
How does a Head of Mobile Acquisition differ from a UA manager?
A UA manager launches and optimizes campaigns in one or several channels and is responsible for the results of specific campaign setups. The Head of Mobile Acquisition is responsible for the entire acquisition strategy: budgets, distribution across channels and geos, the team, and the overall payback. The focus shifts from execution to decisions and management.
What knowledge is needed for this role in dating?
You need deep experience with mobile acquisition unit economics, attribution, and cohort analysis. It is important to understand dating specifics: how users behave, how seasonality works, and what restrictions platforms place on advertising. Without this, it is hard to balance traffic volume and quality.
What determines income in this role?
Income usually depends on the size of the company and its acquisition budget, the maturity of products and markets, and responsibility for overall payback. Experience in dating and other high-risk verticals matters, as does the ability to manage a team. Specific levels depend on the market and the company.
Is a technical degree required?
There is usually no direct requirement, but confidence in analytics, working with data, and understanding mobile development at the level of SDKs and events is important. Many people come from marketing or analytics backgrounds. The key skill is the ability to calculate economics and make data-driven decisions.
What does a typical week look like for a Head of Mobile Acquisition?
A week usually includes reviewing channel and cohort performance, meetings with the UA team and product, reviewing tests and budget decisions. There are calls with partners and networks, creative approvals with lawyers, and preparing reports for leadership. Part of the time goes to hiring and developing the team.
What are the risks of this role in high-risk verticals?
The main risks are account blocks, changes to app store and ad network rules, and traffic fraud. The leader must plan backup channels in advance and coordinate creatives with compliance so that volume is not lost suddenly.
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