Director of Strategic Marketing

Ayres; Eau Claire (WI); On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Disability insurance

Life insurance

ESOP

401(k) with company match

PTO

Floating holidays

Flexible schedule

Job summary

Ayres is seeking a Director of Strategic Marketing to lead the marketing function and align activities with long-term strategic growth. You will guide marketing operations, brand positioning, pursuit support, and communications while partnering with Business Development and operations to drive growth across services and regions.

The role emphasizes market intelligence, client insights, growth planning, and collaboration with technical professionals to connect marketing to business outcomes.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required in marketing, comms, business or related field.
• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible marketing, business development, or growth leadership experience.
• Experience in architectural, engineering, construction, professional services, or consulting industries.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the Marketing team with a culture of collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and client service.
• Oversee proposals, pursuit support, brand management, communications, digital marketing, events, and industry visibility activities.
• Establish priorities and allocate resources to support firmwide and divisional growth objectives.
• Ensure consistency in messaging, positioning, visuals, and client-facing communications.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Collaboration

Pursuit support

Strategic thinking

Team development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing/Communications/Business/PR or related field

Tools

CRM systems

Marketing automation

Market analytics tools

Job description

When you join Ayres as our next Director of Strategic Marketing, you'll lead the firm's marketing function while helping strengthen the capabilities that support long-term strategic growth.

In this role, you will provide leadership for marketing operations, brand positioning, pursuit support, and communications while partnering with Business Development and operational leaders to support strategic growth initiatives, market expansion, client development, and companywide collaboration.

At Ayres, we believe growth is built through strong client relationships, market awareness, technical excellence, and collaboration across disciplines. We're seeking a leader who can preserve the strong marketing foundation already in place while helping the organization evolve its capabilities in market intelligence, client insights, growth planning, and business development support.

Through your leadership, you will help connect marketing activities to business outcomes while supporting the execution of Ayres' strategic priorities.

On Any Given Day, You'll

• Lead and develop the Marketing team while promoting a culture of collaboration, accountability, continuous improvement, and client service.


• Provide oversight for proposals, pursuit support, brand management, communications, digital marketing, events, and industry visibility activities.


• Establish priorities and allocate resources to support firmwide and divisional growth objectives.


• Ensure consistency in messaging, positioning, visual identity, and client-facing communications.

Growth Enablement

• Partner with operational leaders and Business Development professionals to support strategic growth initiatives.


• Help identify and evaluate market opportunities, emerging trends, client needs, and competitive positioning.


• Support market expansion initiatives and strategic growth priorities.


• Facilitate collaboration across service lines, divisions, and regions to strengthen companywide execution.


• Support development of client-focused messaging, account strategies, and market positioning efforts.

Business Development Partnership

• Partner with Business Development professionals to support strategic pursuits, capture planning, and client development activities.


• Help strengthen the connection between Marketing and Business Development through shared planning, priorities, and processes.


• Support effective utilization of CRM systems, client intelligence, and pursuit analytics.


• Provide insight and recommendations that improve growth decision-making and pursuit effectiveness.


• Support development of thought leadership, market visibility, and reputation-building initiatives.

Strategic Planning & Operations

• Contribute to strategic planning discussions related to growth, markets, clients, and positioning.


• Establish and monitor marketing performance measures and growth-related metrics.


• Evaluate marketing investments and activities to ensure alignment with strategic priorities.


• Develop annual marketing plans, budgets, and resource recommendations.


• Assist with recruitment, onboarding, mentoring, and career development of marketing professionals.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, Public Relations, or professional services related field.


• Minimum 10 years of progressively responsible marketing, business development, or growth leadership experience.


• Experience within the architectural, engineering, construction, professional services, or consulting industry.


• Demonstrated success leading teams and developing talent.


• Experience supporting proposals, pursuits, and client development initiatives.


• Strong communication, facilitation, and relationship-building skills.


• Ability to collaborate effectively with technical professionals, operational leaders, and business developers.


• Experience developing and implementing strategic marketing initiatives.


• Strong organizational and project management skills.


• Solid understanding of business development.


• Ability to lead through change.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience leading Marketing within a multidiscipline A/E/C consulting environment.


• Experience supporting market expansion, service diversification, or strategic growth initiatives.


• Experience with CRM strategy, client intelligence, and pursuit analytics.


• Knowledge of account planning, capture planning, and business development processes.


• Experience supporting cross‑selling and enterprise client development efforts.


• Experience utilizing market research and competitive intelligence to inform business decisions.


• Demonstrated ability to align marketing activities with organizational strategy and growth goals.


• Experience supporting thought leadership, industry positioning, and market visibility initiatives.


• Active participation in industry organizations and professional associations.

Benefits of being part of the Ayres team:

• Health, dental, and vision Insurance.


• Short and long-term disability and life insurance.


• Employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) and 401K with company match.


• PTO, paid holidays including two floating holidays, and a flexible work schedule.

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
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