Director, Product Marketing

Title; Director, Product Marketing

Location: Boston United States

Job Description:

THE ROLE: Director, Product Marketing

American Student Assistance (ASA) is national nonprofit that is changing the way kids learn about careers and prepare for their futures through access to career-readiness information and experiences.

ASA fulfills its mission through free digital-first direct experiences, philanthropy, advocacy, thought leadership, groundbreaking research, and impact investing. We believe that exploring career possibilities, as early as middle school, and providing access to education-to-career pathways aligned with one's passions and goals will result in greater confidence and long-term success for all students.

We are looking for a Director, Product Marketing -- reporting to the VP of Marketing--and working in close partnership with the SVP of Marketing and Communications and the Senior Director of Product Program Management. The Director, Product Marketing should have extensive experience in both educational and consumer product marketing, specifically in marketing to learners aged 13-24.

What You'll Do:

Product Marketing:

• Bring the voice of the customer to the product development team via focus groups, research, etc. Collaborate closely with the product development team to incorporate customer insights and feedback into the design and improvement of products. Facilitate regular communication between marketing and development teams to ensure alignment on product features and enhancements that meet customer expectations.
• Audience Segmentation: Perform research and divide the market into sub-groups of consumers based on shared characteristics to effectively target marketing strategies and efforts. Identify specific needs, behaviors, and preferences of different segments to tailor product messaging and positioning accurately
• Product Positioning: Develop a deep understanding of consumer needs and behaviors in order to align product messaging with current market trends and maintain a competitive edge. This involves crafting clear, compelling value propositions and product messages that resonate with targeted audiences, highlighting unique features and benefits that set the product apart from competitors. Regularly review and adjust positioning strategies to ensure they remain relevant and effective in meeting the dynamic demands of the marketplace.
• Product Labeling/Language: Steer the research and ultimately labeling and in-system messaging within the product and along the digital journey for targeted audiences. This includes translating B2B labels and language to "teen speak" to ensure that the product resonates with younger users. Additionally, manage the user acceptance testing (UAT) for each audience as it relates to in-system messaging, ensuring clarity and relevance. This involves working closely with the product development team to fine-tune the language and labels used within the product, making sure they are engaging and understandable for the target demographic.

Product Launch Plan

• Marketing Plan: Develop product marketing plans that incorporate audience research, customer feedback, and competitive analysis. These plans should detail specific strategies for positioning, messaging, and labeling, ensuring that all marketing efforts are aligned with the overall business goals. Marketing plan should include fostering state-wide system adoption as well as adoption of guidance/advisory personnel within district/school systems, community/partner youth-serving organizations, and students themselves. In addition, plans should contain nurturing/drip campaigns to increase engagement from the top of the funnel through the product experience. Continuously monitor and adjust these plans based on market dynamics and performance data to ensure maximum effectiveness and adaptation to the evolving needs of the target audience.
• Go-to-Market Plan: Lead the execution of go-to-market strategies for all product launches across various audiences. This includes developing comprehensive launch plans that detail marketing activities, timelines, and budgets. Conduct market research to identify target demographics and develop tailored marketing strategies. Collaborate with the Digital Marketing team to ensure alignment with broader marketing goals. Engage with Product Development to ensure product features meet customer needs and expectations. Facilitate regular meetings to ensure all departments are aligned with product launch goals. Develop and execute marketing campaigns, including national awareness campaigns, audience acquisition campaigns, nurturing or drip campaigns, state and district system campaigns, partners distribution campaigns. Monitor campaign performance and make necessary adjustments to optimize reach and engagement. Ensure all marketing materials are consistent with brand messaging and positioning.
• Audience Acquisition/Digital Marketing: Working with Creative Services, paid social media campaigns, paid search initiatives, and other digital marketing efforts designed to attract and retain customers and meet company impact measurement goals. Manage a $10 million marketing budget across various platforms, including B2C social media and Google search. Oversee the allocation and management of marketing budgets to maximize ROI, ensuring every dollar spent is strategically aimed at enhancing visibility and engagement. Guide the development and execution of paid social media campaigns, paid search initiatives, and other digital marketing efforts designed to attract and retain customers. Plan and implement retargeting strategies and other innovative techniques to drive deeper impact and engagement with the audience. Establish a partner distribution strategy that leverages our network to expand awareness, reach, acquisition. This may include direct outreach, the creation of marketing materials, or engaging our business development team.
• Performance Monitoring: Track the performance of product launches and nurturing campaigns using key performance indicators (KPIs). Analyze data to measure the success of marketing strategies and identify areas for improvement. Provide detailed reports to stakeholders, highlighting successes, challenges, and recommendations for future launches. Monitor post-launch performance to ensure sustained growth. Implement strategies to maintain customer engagement, Collect and analyze customer feedback to provide valuable insights to the product development team for future enhancements.

Build and Lead

• Analyze company needs, build out a world-class product marketing function, and lead our dynamic digital marketing team.

About You:

• 7-10 years of experience in educational, EdTech and consumer product marketing. Experience marketing directly to learners aged 13-24 a must.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement go-to-market strategies and audience acquisition/audience nurturing campaigns.
• Must have a proven track record of making data-informed marketing decisions including reviewing and analyzing campaign performance data, creating performance reports, and optimizing campaigns with determination to exceed KPIs and expectations.
• Proven leadership skills with the ability to lead and grow highly effective teams: Demonstrate unwavering commitment to teamwork, collaborate effectively, mentor peers, and support team development. Exhibit high emotional intelligence, adaptability, accountability, influence, and visionary thinking. Foster an inclusive environment where all perspectives are valued and integrated into strategic initiatives. Show resilience in the face of challenges and maintain a solution-oriented approach to problem-solving. Have a proactive mindset to anticipate potential issues and devise strategies to mitigate risks. Inspire and motivate teams to achieve collective goals and uphold the company's vision and values.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills: Superior communication skills are mandatory. Must be able to communicate both verbally and in writing with all levels of management including senior leaders. Outstanding presentation and negotiation skills: superior success influencing up, down and across an organization; influencing without authority. Superior writing skills; including synthesizing multiple business priorities into coherent, relevant and impactful communications/presentations. Must be able to distill large amounts of information into easily digestible pieces for consumption and have a keen ability to adapt messages for audience relevance.
• Strong business acumen, strategic/critical thinking and decision-making skills Must possess a strong business acumen with the ability to quickly understand the company's diverse landscape of people, systems, and processes. Must have a demonstrated business savviness, business sense and business understanding with a keenness and quickness in understanding and dealing with a business situation (risks and opportunities) in a manner that is likely to lead to a good outcome. Much be self-sufficient and possess the ability to select between two or more alternatives to reach the best outcome in the shortest time. Must be able to evaluate risks and opportunities and make the best decisions to achieve the company's goals. Must demonstrate a strong ability to analyze problems, showing logical reasoning skills, and an ability to communicate solutions.
• Strong interpersonal skills: Ability to quickly establish a good rapport with all contacts. Ability to motivate others in order to accomplish objectives and build consensus. Must be able to work with all levels of the organization as well as with content contributors and organizational partners. Must be able to fluently and confidently converse with all levels of the business. Having great facilitation skills and experience leading teams is a must.
• Excellent organizational ability: Must be a detail-oriented, process-driven leader who is able to prioritize own work, set and meet deadlines, and manage multiple projects simultaneously. Must have the ability to handle a high volume of work in a short period of time and be able to organize and assimilate information across multiple business units in a succinct manner. Ability to effectively prioritize and execute tasks in a high-pressure environment is crucial. History of successfully developing/delivering programs that support company vision and build thought leadership brand awareness/sentiment. Outstanding track record of managing large scale projects as evidenced by working with large cross-functional groups/managing multiple vendors and completing projects on time/on budget. Must be able to create and present project briefs, proposals & playbooks and develop detailed project plans for execution.

Why ASA?

ASA offers a wide range of perks and benefits to Team Members, including comprehensive medical, dental, and vision healthcare plans, a retirement plan (plus match), weekly lunches, commuter benefits, and tuition reimbursement.

We also heavily prioritize a healthy work/life balance, which is why we offer all full-time Team Members generous PTO options, Summer Fridays (every Friday off between Memorial Day and Labor Day), and a company holiday break between December 25th and January 1st.

ASA works in a Hybrid schedule (2) two days a week in our Boston HQ. We prioritize strategic thinkers, collaborators, and work/life pros who are looking to help make a difference in kid's education and career goals.

#LI-Hybrid