Director, Performance Marketing

Job description

The role ZRG is looking for a Director of Performance Marketing to lead and scale our demand generation engine. This is a senior, strategic role - but one that stays close to the data and the work. You'll own paid media strategy and execution across all channels, build and optimize lead generation and nurture programs, and play a pivotal role in driving cross-sell and post-hire engagement across ZRG's full portfolio of services. You'll partner closely with our Business Unit Marketing Directors and commercial teams across executive search, embedded recruiting, consulting, and interim to ensure marketing is accelerating pipeline and revenue at every stage. You'll also lead and grow a team, including a Manager of Performance Marketing, agency partners, and external contractors, and build the systems, processes, and culture that allow this function to scale. What you'll do Paid media and lead generation Own ZRG's paid media strategy and execution across all channels - paid search (PPC/SEM), paid social (LinkedIn, programmatic), content syndication, intent-based targeting, and display - with a relentless focus on cost-efficient lead and pipeline generation. Set channel strategy, be accountable to budgets set by the Director, GTM Operations, and hold agencies and platforms accountable to performance against UQL, MQL, meeting, cost-per-lead, cost-per-meeting, and pipeline contribution targets. Build and continuously optimize full-funnel paid programs that drive both awareness and direct response, ensuring every dollar works harder over time. Oversee landing page strategy, conversion rate optimization, and A/B testing frameworks to maximize the yield from paid investment. Leverage new techniques around AI-driven market signals – UQLs – and generating nurture strategies to convert those into qualified leads. Cross-sell and post-hire engagement Execute against ZRG's post-hire engagement marketing strategy – starting with our Role Call program - ensuring that clients who hire through one ZRG service line are exposed to, educated on, and converted to others. Build nurture programs and campaigns that keep ZRG visible and relevant to existing clients across the full lifecycle, from placement through retention and expansion. Partner with client success, delivery, and account teams to identify cross-sell moments and turn them into scalable, repeatable marketing programs. Define and track metrics that connect engagement marketing activity to expanded client relationships and incremental revenue. Business unit Marketing partnership Serve as the performance marketing lead for ZRG's four business units - executive search, embedded recruiting, consulting, and interim - partnering with each Business Unit Marketing Director to align demand generation strategy with commercial priorities. Translate business unit goals into channel-specific paid and owned media plans, ensuring each line of business has the pipeline coverage it needs. Own the goals on behalf of each of these BUs. Bring a consistent performance marketing framework across business units while allowing for the nuance each segment requires. Own and drive the end-to-end SEO strategy, including keyword research, search intent mapping, and optimization to align organic search initiatives with business and marketing goals Lead execution across technical, on-page, and content SEO, partnering cross-functionally to embed best practices across digital channels Owned channels and marketing automation Lead the strategy and optimization of ZRG's owned channels - email, marketing automation, website, and organic social - as demand generation and lead nurture assets. Own the roadmap for ZRG's marketing automation platform (Pardot/Salesforce Marketing Cloud), including lead scoring, segmentation, nurture flows, and CRM integration. Ensure owned channels are working in concert with paid investment to deliver qualified leads and booked meetings efficiently. Partner with content and brand teams to ensure owned channel messaging is powerful, differentiated, and conversion-oriented. Analytics, reporting, and optimization Build and maintain the performance marketing measurement framework, defining the KPIs, dashboards, and reporting cadences that connect marketing activity to pipeline and revenue outcomes. Lead weekly, monthly, and quarterly performance reviews with clear attribution, insights, and optimization actions. Drive a culture of testing and iteration, across creative, copy, audience, channel, and offer, with disciplined experimentation and clear learning agendas. Manage, report and be accountable to budget across media, agencies, tools and vendor support Partner with revenue operations and sales leadership to ensure lead handoff, attribution, and funnel visibility are accurate and actionable. Team and agency leadership Directly manage the Manager of Performance Marketing and provide leadership, development, and clear direction as the team grows. Own the relationships with agency partners, media buyers, and external contractors, setting expectations, managing performance, and ensuring alignment with ZRG's strategy and standards. Leverage technology and AI to drive results, with human oversight and analysis at every touchpoint In partnership with GTM Operations, build the team structure, hiring plan, and operating model to support ZRG's growth trajectory. Foster a high-performance, test-and-learn culture where accountability and creativity coexist. Who you are A senior performance marketer with 8+ years of experience across paid media, demand generation, and marketing operations - ideally in B2B professional services, SaaS, or a similarly complex, consultative sales environment. Proven ability to drive pipeline and revenue through paid and owned channels, with deep fluency in paid search, paid social, programmatic, and marketing automation. You own results. You sweat the details. You earnestly and deeply desire and drive outcomes – not just checklist completion. Experienced in cross-sell and lifecycle marketing - you understand how to use marketing to expand existing relationships, not just acquire new ones. A strong collaborator who can work alongside business unit leaders, sales teams, and commercial partners to align marketing to revenue goals without losing sight of execution. Analytically rigorous - you know your numbers, build your own reports when needed, and use data to make decisions and tell stories. An experienced people leader and agency manager who can develop talent, hold partners accountable, and build a high-functioning team. A trusted advisor who takes the extra time to explain the details and does the right thing for the people and the business. Comfortable with ambiguity and excited by the opportunity to build something - you don't need a fully built playbook to get started. Why ZRG ZRG is at an inflection point. We're growing fast, our service portfolio is expanding, and performance marketing is one of the most important levers we have. This is a rare opportunity to own a function with real commercial impact, build a team from an early stage, and leave a visible mark on how a market-leading talent advisory firm grows. If you want to do meaningful work, lead a function that matters, and be part of a team that moves fast and wins together - this is the role. Compensation is tailored to each individual based on their skills, qualifications, experience, and location. The rates mentioned in this posting represent only the base hourly, monthly, or annual pay and exclude potential bonuses, equity, or sales incentives, where applicable. Beyond base pay, we provide a comprehensive benefits package. ZRG Partners is Mac preferred environment. About ZRG ZRG is a global talent advisory firm rewriting the playbook on how companies hire, retain, and develop leadership talent. We combine AI-driven intelligence with deep human expertise to deliver smarter, faster talent solutions across executive search, embedded recruiting, consulting, and interim solutions. Our performance marketing function is central to how we grow - driving demand, generating qualified leads, and ensuring the market understands and experiences the ZRG difference.