Executive Director, Marketing Strategy & Partnerships

Job description

**This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for an Executive Director, Marketing Strategy & Partnerships based in the United States.** The Executive Director, Marketing Strategy & Partnerships will lead enterprise marketing, market development, and strategic partnership initiatives to accelerate growth across defense, government, and commercial markets. This senior leadership role combines corporate marketing, brand positioning, demand generation, and ecosystem development to strengthen market presence and drive measurable business results. The successful candidate will shape go-to-market strategies for AI-enabled decision-support technologies, translating complex technical capabilities into compelling value propositions for customers and partners. A key priority will be building strategic relationships with industry leaders, technology providers, and systems integrators to expand market access and create new business opportunities. Working closely with executive leadership, product management, business development, and capture teams, the role will connect market intelligence with commercialization strategies and growth priorities. The Executive Director will also lead thought leadership, customer engagement, and industry representation while developing a high-performing marketing and partnerships function. This opportunity is ideal for a strategic, commercially minded leader who thrives in a collaborative, mission-driven environment and can turn ambitious growth objectives into measurable impact. ### Accountabilities - **Strategic Growth and Market Development** - Develop and execute annual and multi-year marketing strategies aligned with enterprise growth objectives, pipeline generation, and revenue targets. - Lead market intelligence initiatives to assess competitive positioning, customer needs, emerging technologies, and industry trends. - Identify market-entry and expansion opportunities, defining priority segments, target customers, programs, and distribution channels. - Provide executive leadership with data-driven recommendations on market opportunities, competitive strategy, and investment priorities. - Collaborate with product management to inform product roadmaps, pricing, packaging, and go-to-market readiness. - **Brand Strategy and Corporate Marketing** - Develop and implement corporate marketing strategies that strengthen brand awareness, market positioning, and competitive differentiation. - Establish compelling positioning for AI-enabled decision-support solutions and help define the broader decision-support technology category. - Lead executive thought leadership initiatives, including conference presentations, articles, white papers, podcasts, and media engagement. - Oversee public relations, strategic communications, analyst and influencer relations, and reputation management. - Direct website strategy, digital presence, and content development to reflect organizational capabilities and business priorities. - **Demand Generation and Growth Enablement** - Plan and execute integrated marketing campaigns across digital channels, events, content, and direct customer engagement to generate qualified pipeline. - Align marketing activities with capture and business development strategies to influence requirements and accelerate opportunity creation. - Develop sales and capture enablement materials, including customer profiles, competitive analyses, battle cards, demonstration narratives, and proposal-ready content. - Own trade show and event strategy, from selection and messaging through execution and post-event follow-up. - Gather customer feedback and win/loss insights to inform marketing positioning, product development, and growth planning. - **Strategic Partnerships and Ecosystem Development** - Define and execute a partnership strategy spanning prime contractors, systems integrators, sensor and effector providers, technology companies, platform providers, academic institutions, and industry associations. - Identify, negotiate, and manage strategic alliances, teaming agreements, channel partnerships, and co-marketing relationships. - Develop joint go-to-market plans with partners, including shared messaging, demonstrations, and business development pursuits. - Collaborate with capture and contracts teams to structure partnership arrangements that strengthen positioning in priority opportunities. - Monitor partner performance and partner-generated pipeline, prioritizing relationships that deliver measurable business value. - **Industry Leadership and Corporate Representation** - Represent the organization at industry conferences, trade shows, executive meetings, and professional forums. - Build relationships with customers, government leaders, industry influencers, investors, and media representatives. - Expand participation in industry associations, working groups, and innovation networks. - **Team Leadership and Operational Excellence** - Lead, develop, and scale the marketing and partnerships team, including external agencies and contractors. - Manage the marketing and partnerships budget, allocating resources to the initiatives with the greatest expected return. - Establish performance indicators, dashboards, and reporting processes, reviewing results with growth leadership quarterly and adjusting strategies as needed. - Ensure marketing content and partner activities comply with contractual obligations, export controls, and public-release requirements. - Foster a collaborative, accountable team culture focused on shared goals, continuous learning, resilience, and measurable outcomes. ## Requirements - U.S. citizenship is required. - Bachelor’s degree in marketing, business, communications, or a relevant technical discipline; a master’s degree or MBA is preferred. - At least 10 years of progressive experience in marketing, growth strategy, business development, or strategic partnerships, including a minimum of five years in leadership positions. - Demonstrated success building and scaling marketing, brand, and partnership functions within defense, aerospace, national security, government technology, or related markets. - Proven ability to develop and execute marketing strategies, brand-positioning initiatives, demand-generation campaigns, and thought leadership programs that produce measurable pipeline and business growth. - Experience negotiating teaming agreements, strategic alliances, or partnership frameworks with prime contractors and technology partners. - Familiarity with AI and machine learning, command and control, integrated air and missile defense, counter-unmanned aircraft systems (counter-UAS), or related technology markets is preferred. - Understanding of product development lifecycles, defense acquisition processes, and the commercialization of complex technical solutions. - Strong strategic thinking, market analysis, brand development, campaign management, and lead-generation capabilities. - Ability to translate sophisticated technical concepts into clear, persuasive value propositions for operational users, acquisition leaders, senior executives, and external partners. - Exceptional relationship-building, negotiation, and influencing skills, including the ability to engage C-suite executives, senior government officials, and senior military leaders. - Strong executive presence, written communication, presentation, organizational, and time-management skills, with a demonstrated ability to meet deadlines. - Ability to balance long-term strategy with hands-on execution in a fast-paced, collaborative environment. - Proficiency with Microsoft Office, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and marketing automation tools. - An active U.S. Secret security clearance, or the ability to obtain and maintain one. - A strong work ethic, persistence, adaptability, willingness to learn, and commitment to shared team success. ## Benefits - Competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package; specific compensation figures and individual benefit details are not provided. - Opportunities for professional development, career growth, and expanded leadership responsibilities. - A collaborative, team-oriented work environment centered on a shared mission and mutual accountability. - The opportunity to influence growth strategy, develop strategic industry relationships, and contribute to the adoption of advanced AI-enabled technologies. - Remote position, with the ability to attend an on-site interview in Huntsville, Alabama, or Starkville, Mississippi, if selected.