Director of Marketing Strategy & Operations

Job description

Zearn is hiring a Director of Marketing Strategy & Operations to partner closely with the Chief Marketing Officer at a pivotal moment of growth.  In this role, you will drive transformative marketing initiatives—including the adoption of AI tools and practices—while advancing strategies that increase brand awareness, deepen student engagement, and create measurable impact on math achievement. In addition to consistent exposure to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT), this leader will join with an opportunity to shape Zearn’s mission-driven work at an inflection point in our organization. This position is ideal for a candidate with a top-tier management consulting background looking to transition into a dynamic marketing leadership role, where your expertise will directly influence Zearn’s strategic direction and growth.

This is a high-visibility, high-impact leadership role for someone eager to shape how Zearn engages the education market—and helps all kids love learning math.

Key Responsibilities

Develop and Drive the Marketing Strategy & Roadmap

• Lead the development of marketing goals and quarterly milestones in collaboration with the CMO, ensuring alignment with enterprise strategy and organizational priorities.
• Lead end-to-end marketing roadmap planning, performance tracking, and budget allocation—prioritizing the highest-impact opportunities.
• Collaborate with the VP of Strategy & Finance to ensure marketing goals align with broader enterprise strategy and budget parameters.
• Synthesize market research, awareness data, and policy trends to inform decision-making and maintain a forward-looking view of Zearn’s marketing strategy.
• Represent Zearn at key education, policy, and research events to gather intelligence and shape go-to-market strategy.
• Serve as a strategic thought partner to the CMO, surfacing insights and supporting executive-level planning and stakeholder updates.

Lead Strategic GTM Marketing Initiatives

• Oversee go-to-market planning for major state-level initiatives, coordinating across strategy, marketing, product, and sales to align on goals, strategies, timelines, and campaign architecture.
• Act as the marketing point person for high-impact external partnerships, building strong relationships with partner marketing leads —driving joint GTM strategy, campaign execution, and measurable outcomes.
• Provide strategic oversight of regional association partnerships and sponsorships, leading a small team to ensure strong activation, audience alignment, and impact.
• Lead cross-functional pilots and special projects that don’t naturally sit within one marketing function—helping them scale or sunset as we test and learn.
• Prepare materials and briefings for senior stakeholders, including funders, partners, and the Board.

Oversee Marketing Activation & Channel Performance

• Manage the marketing investment portfolio across external channels, recommending budget allocation and channel mix that align with strategic priorities, brand positioning, and sales goals—driving visibility, thought leadership, and market engagement.
• Lead Zearn’s field marketing strategy and event operations, guiding our presence at national and regional events—including conferences, summits, and convenings.
• Oversee Zearn’s paid media strategy (digital ads, sponsored content, SEM), ensuring investment aligns to growth priorities and performs against key KPIs.
• Ensure integrated execution across activations—paid media, field events, sponsorships—working cross-functionally to maintain brand alignment and audience focus.
• Track, report, and iterate on performance metrics such as reach, brand lift, and cost-per-opportunity to drive continuous improvement.
• Manage a small, high-performing team (1–2 FTEs) and key external vendors, ensuring strong execution across sponsorships, field activations, paid media, and marketing operations.

Accelerate Innovation & AI-Enabled Marketing

• Spearhead the adoption and integration of AI-based tools to optimize campaign targeting, personalization, marketing automation, and analytics.
• Identify and implement AI solutions to drive efficiency, improve ROI on marketing spend, and deepen engagement with Zearn’s user base.
• Champion a play-based AI culture within the marketing team, building fluency in AI capabilities to accelerate both internal workflows and external-facing strategies.

The Next Problems for This Role to Solve

• How should Zearn define and tailor its go-to-market strategy across states and local regions to drive scalable impact on awareness, adoption, and student outcomes?
• What new go-to-market strategies or marketing initiatives can meaningfully expand Zearn’s reach and help more students access high-quality math learning?
• How should we invest our marketing resources—across paid media, events, and regional partnerships—to maximize reach, relevance, and long-term impact?
• How can we drive continuous improvement in our marketing strategy and operations—ensuring efficiency, cross-functional alignment, and the ability to scale effectively?
• What AI tools and emerging technologies should we adopt to make our work more effective—and help our team focus on creativity, relationships, and impact?

The Skills You Will Use in this Role

• Strategic Planning & Execution

You have a proven ability to set a clear vision, map out strategies, and execute effectively across multiple workstreams. You balance creativity with a structured approach to deliver high-impact marketing initiatives.

• Cross-functional Leadership & Coaching

You are adept at leading and motivating teams, both direct reports and cross-functional partners. You excel at mentorship and can coach workstream leads to think strategically, manage priorities, and produce high-quality outputs.

• Effective Communication & Stakeholder Management

You transform complex data and ideas into clear narratives that resonate with a variety of audiences, from Board members to external partners. You navigate stakeholder needs with poise and influence.

• Data Analysis & AI Fluency

You excel at using data to drive decisions, with experience leveraging AI-driven insights for campaign optimization, targeting, and personalization. You ensure analytics are used to inform strategy, not just measure outputs.

• Change Management & Adaptability

You thrive in a dynamic environment, quickly pivoting when priorities shift. You guide teams through change, ensuring new processes and tools (such as AI) are adopted smoothly and effectively.

Potential Markers of these Skills

• 7-10+ years of experience in top-tier management consulting or similar strategic roles, with a preference for education or nonprofit sector experience.
• Proven record of managing multiple complex workstreams with autonomy and delivering measurable impact.
• Experience leading teams and providing coaching and feedback on strategic projects, priorities, and execution.
• Proven facility with data(analytics, KPIs) and comfort with AI-driven tools to refine marketing strategies.
• Exceptional communication skills, with the ability to engage senior stakeholders—both internal and external—and drive cross-functional alignment.
• Passion for Zearn’s mission to help all kids love and learn math, matched with the drive to use marketing as a lever for social impact.

Location

This role is remote and can performed in any of the following states/locations:

CA, CT, FL, IL, LA, MA, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TN, TX, VA, WA, WI and Washington D.C.

Compensation and Benefits

The compensation range for this role is $130,000-$180,000 per year. We offer a competitive benefits package, including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision plans, short- and long-term disability, life insurance, 401K matching, parental leave, a generous Holiday policy, and a flexible PTO policy. We also offer a collegial and passionate culture and the potential to positively impact the lives of millions of children.

TO APPLY: https://apply.workable.com/j/6CFD999254

Zearn is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.