Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications

Key ResponsibilitiesMarketing Strategy & ExecutionTranslate SkillUps 2030 vision (10M users, 1M jobs) into clear multi-year marketing strategies and annual operating plans.Align brand, growth, product, communications, and lifecycle marketing around shared goals, metrics, and decision-making frameworks.Partner closely with CEO and internal leadership to ensure marketing initiatives and cross-functional strategies are seamlessly integrated and mutually reinforcing of SkillUps mission and OKRs.Serve as a strategic marketing and communications advisor to executive leadership, partners, and the board on brand, communications, growth, product marketing, and audience strategy.Manage staffing, resourcing, and consulting decisions with high responsiveness to philanthropic funding and budget contingencies.Brand, Communications & Thought LeadershipOwn and steward SkillUps brand, narrative, and voice across all channels and audiences.Lead comprehensive internal and external strategic communications, overseeing PR, brand campaigns, crisis management, executive thought leadership, and high-impact storytelling to elevate SkillUp's mission and visibility.Ensure consistent, compelling impact storytelling and messaging that clearly communicates SkillUps value and outcomes to workers, partners, funders, media, and employers.Growth, Lifecycle, Product and Partnership MarketingLead user acquisition strategies across paid, owned, and earned channels to drive sustainable, cost-effective growth.Oversee lifecycle, CRM, and retention marketing to deepen engagement and improve user outcomes over time.Use experimentation and performance insights to optimize funnels, conversion, and long-term value.Ensure marketing efforts reflect a deep understanding of user behaviors, regional opportunities and barriers, and motivations.Lead product marketing strategy end-to-end, including positioning, messaging, and go-to-market launches for new and evolving SkillUp platform features, in continuous, tight alignment with Product and Engineering teams.Drive partner marketing and product-partner enablement, collaborating closely with Strategic Partnerships and external partners to co-create narratives, joint campaigns, and enablement materials that accelerate adoption, integration, and mutual value.Data, Insights & Marketing OperationsEstablish clear KPIs and dashboards to measure marketing performance, cost-per-acquisition (CPA), user engagement and conversion rates, and contribution to organizational impact.Partner with analytics teams to translate data and insights into actionable marketing strategies.Build scalable marketing operations, tools, and processes that support growth and cross-functional collaboration, including leveraging AI technologies.Ensure responsible stewardship of marketing budgets and resources, including sustainability and succession via SOPs.Drive Growth Through Artificial IntelligenceChampion the adoption of AI and advanced analytics to modernize marketing processes, personalization, and measurement.Serve as the executive sponsor for AI transformation within marketing, focused on upskilling teams, reimagining workflows, and integrating new technologies.Leverage AI and configure marketing agents to generate deeper customer insights, optimize media spend in real-time, and link marketing activities directly to measurable ROIOversee AI-assisted content creation and automated campaign execution, reducing internal manual work while ensuring human creativity remains central.Develop and manage frameworks to measure the performance and ROI of AI initiatives, including cross-functionally with product and analytics team members.Ensure balance of AI and human connection within the SkillUp user journey and product experience, while also reinforcing ethical AI usage and governance.Partnership & Brand EnablementCollaborate with Partnerships and Fundraising teams to develop compelling narratives, assets, and campaigns that support revenue and partnership deliverables.Ensure marketing insights inform partner value propositions and go-to-market strategies.Support funder and stakeholder communications with clear, credible impact storytelling.Team Leadership & CultureBuild and manage a high-performing team, fostering a culture of collaboration, innovation, and inclusivity.Foster a culture of collaboration, innovation, learning, and results, encouraging teams to test, iterate, and continuously improve.Coach and develop senior marketing leaders and emerging talent, building a strong leadership bench and succession pathways.Represent SkillUp externally as a thought leader in strategic marketing and communications, career navigation, and workforce development. Champion SkillUps core values and ensure alignment across internal and external stakeholders. Core values include: Champion Worker-First, Empower Impact, Embrace Collaboration, Exemplify Curiosity, and Embody AccountabilityQualifications 15+ years of progressive leadership experience in marketing, brand, product, or growth roles, including executive-level responsibility across internal and external stakeholders.Proven success building and scaling marketing functions in mission-driven, technology-enabled, or high-growth organizations.Marketing experience in education technology, workforce technology, or adjacent ed-tech platforms serving learners, workers, or employers.Deep expertise across both B2B and B2C marketing strategiesStrong analytical orientation with experience using data and insights to drive team and executive-level decision-making.Demonstrable experience with or deep knowledge of AI's application in marketing. Demonstrable experience with enterprise AI stacks, automation workflows, MarTech integrations, and prompt/agentic strategies.Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional marketing initiatives and collaborate seamlessly with Product, Engineering, Operations, Development and Partnerships executives.Experience managing teams, agencies or vendor partners, including remotely.Deep commitment to worker-first outcomes, equity, and social impact.Excellent communication skills and executive presence.And while all of the above qualifications are important, there are three demonstrated capabilities most important for this job, and they are (blatantly borrowed from Jeff Weiner of LinkedIn):Dream BigGet Sh*t DoneKnow How to Have FunCompensation & Benefits Target salary for this position is $170,000-$225,000, depending on experience, geography, and internal equity.SkillUp offers a generous compensation package which includes employer-sponsored healthcare, vision and dental, 401K employer match, 25 days of office closure, PTO, education stipend, and annual salary increases based on performance.Our Commitment to Diversity At SkillUp, our mission is to help workers get hired for in-demand jobs in high-growth industries. Success in this mission requires that we dont just accept differences, but that we celebrate and embrace the diverse community and backgrounds individuals come from. We stay true to our mission by ensuring that our place can be anyones place, and we embrace diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. The more inclusive we are, the better our work will be. As a proud equal opportunity employer, SkillUp does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion or religious creed, mental or physical disability, medical condition, genetic information, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, military or veteran status, citizenship, or other characteristics protected by state or federal law or local ordinance.
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