Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Director of Marketing

🎯 Role Definition

The Director of Marketing is a senior leader responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive marketing strategy that drives brand awareness, demand generation, customer acquisition, retention, and revenue growth. This role blends strategic planning, data-driven decision making, creative leadership, and cross-functional collaboration with Sales, Product, Customer Success, and Finance. The Director of Marketing builds, mentors, and scales high-performing teams while owning marketing budgets, performance metrics (CAC, LTV, MQLs, pipeline contribution), and go-to-market execution across paid, owned, and earned channels.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Senior Marketing Manager with proven channel and campaign ownership
Head of Demand Generation or Head of Growth Marketing
Product Marketing Lead with cross-functional GTM experience

Advancement To:

Vice President of Marketing
Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)
Head of Global Marketing / Growth

Lateral Moves:

Director of Product Marketing
Director of Revenue Marketing / Sales Enablement
Head of Customer Marketing / Lifecycle Marketing

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and own a multi-year marketing strategy aligned to company growth objectives and revenue targets, including positioning, messaging, segmentation, and go-to-market plans for new and existing products.
Lead end-to-end demand generation programs that deliver predictable pipeline contribution, using a mix of inbound, outbound, paid performance channels (search, social, display), content marketing, events, and account-based marketing (ABM).
Set measurable goals and KPIs (MQLs, SQLs, conversion rates, CAC, ROI, pipeline influence) and implement dashboards and reporting to ensure transparency and continuous performance optimization.
Manage the annual marketing budget and quarterly forecasts, allocate spend to highest-return channels, negotiate vendor contracts, and ensure efficient media and agency investments with strict ROI accountability.
Build and scale a high-performing marketing organization: hire, coach, develop career paths, conduct performance reviews, and create a culture of experimentation, data-driven learning, and cross-team collaboration.
Define and evolve brand strategy and corporate identity to strengthen brand equity, improve market differentiation, and support sales enablement across target segments and personas.
Lead integrated product launches and go-to-market execution, coordinating messaging, pricing positioning, sales enablement collateral, launch campaigns, and cross-functional readiness checks.
Oversee digital marketing and performance channels (SEO, SEM, paid social, programmatic), optimizing acquisition funnels and landing page experiences to reduce CAC and improve conversion rates.
Drive content strategy and production — from thought leadership and case studies to demand-gen assets and nurture streams — ensuring consistent, SEO-optimized content aligned to buyer journey stages.
Implement and oversee marketing technology (MarTech) stack strategy — CRM, MAP, analytics, tag management, attribution — to support lead management, campaign orchestration, and closed-loop reporting.
Collaborate closely with Sales leadership to build alignment on target accounts, lead qualification criteria, service level agreements (SLAs), pipeline handoffs, and joint ABM programs to accelerate revenue.
Apply customer insights, market research, and competitive analysis to refine segmentation, pricing, and product positioning; translate insights into executable marketing tactics and product feedback loops.
Champion lifecycle and retention marketing strategies to increase customer engagement, expansion, renewals, and advocacy using email automation, in-app messaging, and customer reference programs.
Lead measurement and experimentation frameworks (A/B testing, lift studies, incrementality) to validate channel performance, creative approaches, and promotional tactics, iterating quickly on learnings.
Create and maintain executive-level reporting and narratives that articulate marketing’s impact on pipeline, revenue, brand metrics, and strategic priorities to the C-suite and board.
Oversee PR, analyst relations, influencer partnerships, and corporate communications to amplify thought leadership, manage reputation, and coordinate crisis communications when necessary.
Own pricing communication and promotional strategy in coordination with Product and Finance to optimize margin, conversion, and competitive positioning.
Integrate customer success feedback into marketing programs to highlight case studies, testimonials, and retention levers that support upsell and cross-sell motions.
Drive international marketing expansion plans where applicable: localization strategy, channel selection, regional partner enablement, and compliance with local regulations and data privacy laws.
Ensure governance and compliance for marketing practices, including data privacy (e.g., GDPR/CCPA), email deliverability best practices, and ethical advertising standards.

Secondary Functions

Serve as a strategic partner to Product and Sales on roadmap prioritization and input on features that improve acquisition, retention, and upsell potential.
Support ad-hoc executive requests for market insights, win-loss analyses, competitive landscape assessments, and revenue-impact modeling.
Mentor cross-functional teams on customer-centric messaging, buyer persona development, and data-informed creative decision making.
Contribute to the organization’s marketing technology roadmap and vendor evaluation, driving integrations and automation that reduce manual work and improve data quality.
Oversee seasonal and promotional campaigns, coordinating creative, channel delivery, and measurement to maximize short-term revenue while protecting brand health.
Facilitate regular sprint planning, campaign retrospectives, and agile workflows within marketing to prioritize high-impact initiatives and continuously improve executional efficiency.
Collaborate with People & HR on recruiting, performance calibration, and organizational design to scale the marketing department sustainably.
Lead internal training sessions for sales on new campaigns, product messaging, objection handling, and how to leverage marketing assets effectively.
Act as a liaison with external agencies, creative studios, research firms, and media partners to extend internal capabilities and ensure consistent delivery against goals.
Participate in investor, board, and analyst briefings to articulate market strategy, performance metrics, and future plans when requested.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strategic Marketing Leadership: Proven ability to create and operationalize marketing strategy tied to revenue and growth metrics across channels.
Demand Generation & Growth: Expertise in building multi-channel demand engines, lead funnels, and ABM programs that drive pipeline and sales-ready leads.
Digital Advertising & Performance Marketing: Deep knowledge of paid search (Google Ads), paid social (LinkedIn, Facebook, X), programmatic, and conversion rate optimization.
SEO & Content Strategy: Experience developing and executing SEO-driven content programs, editorial calendars, and on-page/off-page optimization to drive organic acquisition.
Marketing Automation & CRM: Hands-on experience with marketing automation platforms (Marketo, HubSpot, Pardot) and CRM systems (Salesforce) for lead lifecycle orchestration and attribution.
Analytics & Attribution: Proficiency in marketing analytics, multi-touch attribution models, cohort analysis, and tools such as Google Analytics, Tableau, Looker, or equivalent.
Budget & P&L Management: Demonstrated ability managing sizable marketing budgets, forecasting, cost optimization, and measuring ROI across campaigns and channels.
Product Launch & GTM Execution: Experience leading product launches, packaging, pricing, and cross-functional go-to-market coordination.
Martech Stack Architecture: Knowledge of tag management, data layers, CDPs, tracking, and integration best practices for a scalable marketing stack.
ABM & Account-Based Strategies: Practical experience planning and executing account-specific campaigns, orchestration of content, and sales enablement at the account level.
Conversion Optimization & UX Collaboration: Familiarity with A/B testing tools (Optimizely, VWO), landing page optimization, and working with design/engineers to improve funnel metrics.
Customer Lifecycle & Retention Marketing: Ability to plan cross-sell, upsell, onboarding, churn reduction, and advocacy programs to increase customer lifetime value.

Soft Skills

Strategic Thinking: Ability to set long-term vision while prioritizing short-term, high-impact activities.
Leadership & Team Development: Proven track record building, coaching, and retaining diverse marketing teams.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Skilled at aligning Sales, Product, Finance, and Executive stakeholders to achieve shared goals.
Communication & Storytelling: Strong written and verbal skills for crafting compelling narratives for customers, executives, and external audiences.
Data-Driven Decision Making: Comfort using analytics to inform strategy, test hypotheses, and iterate on campaigns.
Problem Solving & Adaptability: Resourceful in addressing ambiguous problems and changing market conditions with creativity and resilience.
Influencing & Negotiation: Ability to influence senior stakeholders, negotiate agency/vendor contracts, and drive consensus.
Project Management: Strong organizational skills, deadline orientation, and ability to manage simultaneous, complex initiatives.
Coaching & Mentorship: Dedication to developing direct reports, conducting effective performance conversations, and fostering career growth.
Cultural Leadership: Commitment to building inclusive teams, promoting psychological safety, and modeling company values.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Business Administration, Communications, or related field (or equivalent practical experience).

Preferred Education:

MBA, Master’s in Marketing, or relevant advanced degree preferred for highly strategic or enterprise roles.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Marketing
Business Administration / Management
Communications / Journalism
Data Analytics or Information Systems

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

8–15+ years in marketing roles with progressive responsibility; typically 5+ years in people leadership at the manager/director level.

Preferred:

10+ years of combined B2B and/or B2C experience with proven success in demand generation, digital marketing, brand building, and cross-functional GTM leadership. Experience with enterprise sales cycles, ABM, SaaS/technology products, and international expansion is a strong plus.