Director of Marketing

The Director of Marketing leads Klett World Languages’ U.S. marketing strategy and ensures that marketing activities are aligned with commercial priorities, customer needs, and company growth goals.

This role is responsible for commercial marketing, Sales  Enablement, pricing coordination, competitive intelligence, events, partnerships and sponsorships, Ecommerce, and the KWL website. Initially, this will be a hands-on role with direct oversight of the Ecommerce function. As the U.S. Marketing team grows, the Director will help define its structure and develop additional capabilities based on company priorities.

Key Responsibilities

Marketing Strategy and Execution

• Define and execute the overall U.S. marketing strategy in alignment with company objectives, commercial priorities, and customer needs.
• Develop annual marketing plans, budgets, calendars, and measurable objectives.
• Develop marketing strategies that reflect the needs of state adoption markets, open territories, and Higher Education.
• Prioritize initiatives based on revenue goals, market opportunities, product priorities, and available resources.
• Take a hands-on role in the development and execution of key marketing initiatives.
• Monitor marketing performance and use the results to improve priorities, campaigns, and resource allocation.
• Recommend future team structure and resource needs as the U.S. Marketing function grows.
• Manage agencies, vendors, and other external partners as needed.

Commercial Marketing and Sales Enablement

• Develop and execute integrated campaigns across email, webinars, conferences, social media, customer communications, and digital channels.
• Develop product positioning, messaging, and value propositions for the U.S. market.
• Coordinate product launches with Sales, Product, Editorial, Implementation, and other relevant teams.
• Lead demand-generation and lead-nurturing activities and establish clear processes for lead capture, qualification, and follow-up.
• Develop customer stories, testimonials, educator interviews, and district success stories that support purchasing decisions.
• Ensure Sales Consultants and sales leaders have current, consistent, and ready-to-use resources.
• Develop or coordinate sales presentations, proposal templates, product comparisons, demo materials, playbooks, portfolio guides, and competitive resources.
• Partner with Sales and Strategic Opportunities to identify gaps in sales materials and prioritize the resources with the greatest commercial impact.
• Develop materials and internal communications that prepare Sales to present new products, digital platforms, and updates.
• Measure the use and effectiveness of marketing and Sales Enablement resources and improve them based on field feedback and commercial results.
• Plan and oversee the development and maintenance of U.S. marketing collateral, including catalogs, program brochures, samplers, one-pagers, standards correlations, event materials, and product- and adoption-specific landing pages.

Pricing and Market Intelligence

• Lead the annual pricing process for the U.S. portfolio in coordination with Sales, Finance, Operations, Product, Editorial, Ecommerce, and Grupo Difusión leadership.
• Develop and present pricing recommendations based on market conditions, customer feedback, competitive pricing, costs, margins, and commercial priorities.
• Coordinate pricing decisions for current products, new products, digital offerings, bundles, and other commercial initiatives.
• Ensure approved pricing is implemented consistently across internal systems, the website, sales materials, price lists, and customer communications.
• Partner with the Strategic Research Data Associate to monitor competitor products, positioning, pricing, features, adoption activity, and other relevant market developments.
• Establish a consistent process for collecting, organizing, updating, and sharing competitive intelligence.
• Translate competitive and market findings into recommendations for leadership, product positioning, sales resources, and commercial planning.

Ecommerce, Website, Events and Partnerships

• Manage the Ecommerce function and provide strategic direction for promotional priorities, product visibility, customer experience, and commercial performance.
• Ensure the Ecommerce function maintains accurate, up-to-date website content, product information, pricing, merchandising, and customer communications.
• Coordinate Ecommerce priorities with Marketing, Sales, Orders, Operations, Finance, and other relevant teams.
• Monitor website and Ecommerce performance and identify opportunities to improve customer experience, conversion, and revenue.
• Ensure Ecommerce and website activities are integrated with broader marketing campaigns and product launches.
• Lead event strategy and coordinate the planning and execution of conferences, webinars, and company events with internal teams and external partners.
• Establish participation goals, planning standards, lead-capture processes, follow-up expectations, and performance measures for events.
• Develop and maintain strategic relationships with professional associations, educational organizations, industry partners, and other key stakeholders.
• Identify and coordinate partnership and sponsorship opportunities that support brand visibility, educator engagement, lead generation, and commercial goals.
• Represent Klett World Languages at conferences, association meetings, and other industry events, building relationships that strengthen the company’s presence in the U.S. market.
• Evaluate the results of events, partnerships, and sponsorships to guide future participation and investment decisions.

What We’re Looking For

Required Qualifications

• Proven marketing leadership experience, preferably in education, publishing, educational technology, or B2B markets.
• Experience developing marketing strategies, annual plans, budgets, campaigns, and performance reporting.
• Strong understanding of product marketing, demand generation, customer communications, and Sales Enablement.
• Strong commercial mindset and ability to connect customer and market insights and marketing activities to revenue, growth, and measurable business results.
• Experience managing teams, agencies, vendors, events, and cross-functional projects.
• Demonstrated ability to work effectively in an international, matrixed organization and align stakeholders across functions, countries, and time zones.
• Excellent writing, messaging, presentation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Professional fluency in English and Spanish, with strong written and verbal communication skills in both languages.
• Experience with CRM, marketing automation, analytics, and digital marketing tools.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience.
• Ability and willingness to travel within the United States and internationally as needed for conferences, meetings, and company activities.
• Must be based in the Chicago area or willing to relocate and able to work regularly from the Chicago office as part of a hybrid schedule.

Preferred Experience

• Experience marketing K–12 curriculum, including state and district adoption markets.
• Experience with Higher Education, world language programs, educational publishing, or educational technology.
• Experience coordinating creative and production work across international teams.
• Experience with Ecommerce strategy, website management, and customer lifecycle marketing.
• Experience supporting product launches across print and digital portfolios.
• Experience managing print and digital collateral production, from brief to delivery.

Benefits

To apply, submit your cover letter and resume to [email protected].  Only serious candidates who submit a cover letter will be considered. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer.