Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for a Marketing Programs Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Marketing Programs Manager is the strategic engine behind our demand generation efforts. This individual is responsible for the end-to-end design, execution, and optimization of integrated marketing campaigns that build brand awareness, generate a qualified sales pipeline, and ultimately drive revenue. They act as a central hub, collaborating across sales, product marketing, content, and digital teams to ensure a cohesive and impactful go-to-market execution. This role requires a perfect blend of strategic thinking, creative execution, and analytical rigor to measure and continuously improve marketing's contribution to the business.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Marketing Campaign Specialist
Demand Generation Specialist
Digital Marketing Manager

Advancement To:

Senior Marketing Programs Manager
Director of Demand Generation
Head of Marketing Campaigns

Lateral Moves:

Product Marketing Manager
Marketing Operations Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Conceive, develop, and execute end-to-end integrated marketing programs and campaigns across multiple channels (digital, email, social media, events, webinars) to drive brand awareness and generate a robust pipeline.
Meticulously manage and optimize the marketing program budget, ensuring efficient allocation of resources to maximize return on investment (ROI) and achieve key performance indicators (KPIs).
Foster a strong, collaborative partnership with the sales team to ensure tight alignment on campaign strategy, lead qualification criteria, and follow-up processes, creating a seamless lead-to-revenue funnel.
Orchestrate and manage marketing automation platforms (e.g., Marketo, HubSpot, Pardot) to build, deploy, and monitor sophisticated lead nurturing sequences, scoring models, and segmentation strategies.
Establish, track, and analyze key campaign metrics and KPIs, delivering regular performance reports and actionable insights to stakeholders to demonstrate marketing's contribution to pipeline and revenue.
Collaborate with content, product marketing, and design teams to develop and manage a comprehensive content calendar that supports campaign themes and buyer journey stages.
Contribute directly to the development and execution of go-to-market (GTM) strategies for new product launches, feature releases, and market expansions.
Implement a rigorous A/B testing and experimentation framework for landing pages, email copy, and ad creatives to continuously improve conversion rates and overall campaign effectiveness.
Identify, negotiate with, and manage relationships with external agencies, technology vendors, and partners to support campaign execution and expand marketing reach.
Define and oversee the entire lead lifecycle management process, from capture and scoring to routing and sales handoff, ensuring data integrity and process efficiency within the CRM.
Act as a central point of contact and lead cross-functional project teams, including product marketing, sales, creative, and web development, to ensure cohesive and timely campaign delivery.
Conduct ongoing market and competitive analysis to identify new opportunities, understand target audience pain points, and inform campaign messaging and positioning.
Plan, promote, and execute a full calendar of virtual and in-person events, such as webinars, trade shows, and user conferences, to engage prospects and customers at scale.
Design and implement targeted Account-Based Marketing (ABM) programs in partnership with sales to penetrate key accounts and drive deep engagement with high-value prospects.
Collaborate with the digital marketing team to ensure campaign messaging and assets are aligned with and support broader SEO and SEM strategies for maximum impact.
Develop and deliver compelling sales enablement materials, such as battle cards, campaign briefs, and talk tracks, to equip the sales team to effectively follow up on marketing-generated leads.
Oversee marketing database health and segmentation, developing strategies for data enrichment, cleansing, and audience growth to improve campaign targeting and personalization.
Utilize project management tools (e.g., Asana, Monday.com) to meticulously plan campaign timelines, allocate resources, and manage dependencies for on-time, on-budget execution.
Develop and execute customer marketing programs, including newsletters, upsell/cross-sell campaigns, and advocacy initiatives, to increase customer retention and lifetime value.
Build and maintain comprehensive marketing dashboards in CRM (e.g., Salesforce) and marketing automation platforms to provide real-time visibility into campaign performance and funnel metrics.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc marketing data requests and exploratory analysis of campaign performance.
Contribute to the evolution of the organization's marketing technology stack and data strategy.
Collaborate with sales operations and business intelligence teams to refine reporting and attribution models.
Participate in agile marketing sprints, quarterly planning, and cross-functional strategy sessions.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Marketing Automation Platforms: Deep proficiency in platforms such as Marketo, HubSpot, or Pardot for campaign building, lead nurturing, and scoring.
CRM Systems: Hands-on experience with Salesforce (SFDC) or similar CRM, particularly in reporting, dashboard creation, and campaign tracking.
Project Management Software: Expertise in using tools like Asana, Trello, Jira, or Monday.com to manage complex projects and timelines.
Data Analysis & Reporting: Ability to analyze campaign data, generate insightful reports, and use tools like Excel/Google Sheets, Google Analytics, and BI platforms (e.g., Tableau).
Budget Management: Experience in planning, tracking, and optimizing marketing campaign budgets to maximize ROI.
ABM Platforms: Familiarity with Account-Based Marketing tools such as Demandbase, 6sense, or Terminus.
Digital Advertising: Working knowledge of paid media channels like Google Ads, LinkedIn Ads, and other social media advertising platforms.

Soft Skills

Strategic Thinking: Ability to see the big picture and translate business goals into a cohesive marketing program strategy.
Exceptional Communication: Superior written and verbal communication skills to articulate campaign plans, results, and ideas to diverse audiences, including executive leadership.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: A natural ability to work with and influence stakeholders across departments (Sales, Product, Creative) to achieve common goals.
Analytical Mindset: A data-driven approach to decision-making, with a curiosity to dig into the numbers to find actionable insights.
Problem-Solving: Proactive and resourceful in identifying and resolving challenges that may impede campaign success.
Adaptability: Thrives in a fast-paced environment and can pivot strategies based on performance data and changing market dynamics.
Project Management: Highly organized with a meticulous attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously without missing deadlines.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor's Degree

Preferred Education:

Master's Degree (MBA) or relevant industry certifications (e.g., Marketo Certified Expert, PCM).

Relevant Fields of Study:

Marketing
Business Administration
Communications

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5-8 years of experience in a B2B marketing role with a demonstrable focus on demand generation, campaign management, or field marketing.

Preferred:

A proven track record of developing and executing successful marketing campaigns that directly contributed to sales pipeline and revenue, preferably within a SaaS, technology, or high-growth company environment.