Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Ziplines Education is a category-leading education company that partners with universities to deliver industry-focused certificate courses. The Director of Product Marketing & Communications will own positioning across active and pipeline programs, lead a voice-of-customer practice, and serve as the strategic direction-setter for marketing copy.
Responsibilities
- Own positioning for all active and pipeline programs — develop defensible, specific positioning that reflects a real POV on why a program wins in market, not a summary of what it covers
- For each new launch, develop a clear target audience definition, core message, and expected learner profile that give Growth a strategic foundation before campaign planning begins
- Own company-wide ICP clarity across the existing portfolio — maintain a living, data-informed view of who our learners are, what drives them, and how that is evolving
- Monitor positioning health for existing programs. Flag when enrollment demographics, NPS signals, or performance patterns suggest positioning has drifted and a refresh is needed
- Own the VoC program — design and run a regular cadence of interviews with prospective learners, active learners, rejecters, and alumni
- Synthesize findings into clear positioning inputs and share them with Growth and Product on a defined cadence. Interviews that don't change something aren't worth running
- Partner with our data team to connect qualitative VoC findings with quantitative signals — enrollment demographics, NPS, ad performance — to build a complete picture of whether our positioning is working
- Run quarterly persona reviews to assess whether the learners we are reaching match the learners we are targeting
- Serve as the primary strategic point of contact for our copywriter — provide clear positioning direction before he writes, and precise editorial direction when his output needs refinement. You are not writing everything yourself; you are making sure what he produces is right
- When VoC work or feedback loops from Growth signal that positioning has shifted, drive that change through the messaging framework and brief the copywriter on what needs to be updated in the messaging bank. You own the signal; he owns the pen
- Own the quarterly messaging bank review cycle: assess whether copy in market has drifted from current positioning and determine what, if anything, needs to be refreshed
- Escalate to Product and LXD when signals suggest the course itself needs to change — not just the copy or the positioning
- Partner with the Growth team on performance feedback loops — understand what the data is saying about whether our positioning is reaching the right people, and bring that back to your positioning work
- Coordinate with Product Operations who handles project management and logistics on your behalf so you can focus on the work that only you can do
- Build trust with Sara and Megan as a credible, decisive voice on positioning and messaging — someone they will defer to rather than second-guess
Skills
- 7+ years in product marketing or marketing communications, with meaningful time in a B2C or direct-to-consumer context
- Strong copy editing instincts. You do not need to write everything, but you need to be able to evaluate and improve what others produce
- A systems thinker. You operate in terms of frameworks and scalable processes before defaulting to manual execution
- Decisive and direct. You make positioning calls and drive alignment without waiting for consensus. You are comfortable owning a point of view and defending it
- A clear communicator who can translate complex positioning into a brief a growth marketer or copywriter can actually act on
- Data-oriented. You can read performance signals, work with demographic and NPS data, and integrate quantitative inputs into your positioning thinking
- Actively use AI to scale your own output. Not conversant — you have demonstrably changed how you work because of AI
- Experience working in a startup or growth-stage environment where priorities shift and systems are being built, not inherited
Benefits
- Equity: Ownership is a core value, and each full-time employee can invest in Ziplines Education via a stock option (equity) grant, which will vest across four years.
- Time off: We offer a flexible paid time off policy, in addition to 10 paid holidays.
- Flexible, remote work environment: We are a fully distributed team with folks all over the U.S. We meet as a full team at least one time per week and have in-person gatherings or team offsites one or more times per year.
- Family health and wellness: Choose from a range of medical, dental, and vision insurance plans (premiums start at $0/month) for yourself or your family.
- 401K: We know your future self will thank you when you start contributing to your company-sponsored 401k.
- Plus, additional benefits we’d be happy to share with you during the hiring process.
Company Overview