Marketing Transformation Lead

WorldStrides; Vienna (VA); Hybrid; USD 115,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Tuition reimbursement

Flexible schedule

Paid time off & holidays

Travel opportunities

Job summary

WorldStrides, a global educational travel leader, seeks a Marketing Transformation Lead to embed in high-impact growth initiatives. You will drive the marketing stack, data pipelines, and always-on experimentation across channels, focusing on lead quality and registrations.

You will partner with IT and Product, manage agencies, and leverage AI tools to ship scalable automations and playbooks. This role blends analytics, creative testing, and technical execution.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, IS or related field (or equivalent).
• 5+ years in digital, growth or performance marketing, or marketing ops.
• Hands-on ownership of an ad-to-CRM data pipeline (tagging, conversion tracking, UTMs, offline conversions).
• Track record running an always-on website testing program.
• Paid media agency management with budget and performance accountability.
• Cross-functional delivery with Product and IT, including requirements and QA.
• Everyday use of AI tools to build (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, n8n).
• Working knowledge of GA4, GTM, UTM governance and HubSpot or similar CRM.
• Comfortable with ambiguity; you frame problems and ship.
• Clear writer who can explain technical issues to vendors, developers and VPs.

Responsibilities

• Serve as end-to-end owner of the marketing process across channels, reducing time to insight and time to market.
• Own the marketing stack and funnel data pipeline, from ad platforms and tag management through forms, CRM and registration (GA4, GTM, conversion APIs, UTMs, HubSpot).
• Ensure every lead traces from source, campaign and creative to registration; feed offline/CRM conversions to ad platforms to optimize for registrations.
• Define the future-state marketing experience, maintain the funnel map and align stakeholders on how it evolves.
• Monitor the pipeline and fix broken tags, dropped fields and routing errors before they reach reporting.
• Own form-to-CRM workflows (field mapping, lead routing, nurture triggers); set clear acceptance criteria for IT or build it directly.
• Run website experimentation as an always-on program.
• Develop and prioritize hypotheses from analytics, research and performance data.
• Launch, measure and scale winning tests, tied to lead quality and registrations, not just clicks.
• Instrument every test before launch and keep a shared test log.

Skills

Digital marketing

Ad-to-CRM data pipeline

Website testing

Agency management

Cross-functional delivery

AI tooling

Technical writing

GA4/GTM/UTM governance

HubSpot or similar CRM

Ambiguity tolerance

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, IS

Tools

GA4

GTM

UTM governance

HubSpot

Claude Code

Cursor

n8n

HTML/CSS/JS

SQL

Python

Job description

Company Introduction

WorldStridesis the global leader in educational travel and experiential learning. The company was founded in 1967 to provide middle school travel programs to Washington, D.C. and has grown to provide a wide range of programs for more than half a million students annually to over 100 countries around the world. WorldStrides offers experiential learning programs in educational travel, performing arts, language immersion, career exploration, service-learning, study abroad, and sports. Each of these experiences helps students to see beyond the classroom and to see the world – and themselves – in new ways.

Job Description

WorldStrides' K12 Individual business is moving from direct mail to a digital-first growth engine. The most important work sits between teams: program launches, website tests and lead data reaching the CRM.

The Marketing Transformation Lead serves as a forward-deployed marketer, embedding in the highest-impact growth, customer experience and marketing effectiveness initiatives. Hands-on and leading across teams, this leader ensures solutions are built, launched and measured, often using AI tools and code, and turns what works into reusable playbooks.

Reporting to the Director, Transformation & Performance, this role owns the stack and funnel and drives always-on experimentation.

Responsibilities

Marketing Funnel & Technology

• Serve as end-to-end owner of the marketing process across channels, reducing time to insight and time to market.
• Own the marketing stack and funnel data pipeline, from ad platforms and tag management through forms, CRM and registration (GA4, GTM, conversion APIs, UTMs, HubSpot).
• Ensure every lead traces from source, campaign and creative to registration.
  Feed offline/CRM conversions to ad platforms to optimize for registrations.
• Define the future-state marketing experience, maintain the funnel map and align stakeholders on how it evolves.
• Monitor the pipeline and fix broken tags, dropped fields and routing errors before they reach reporting.
• Own form-to-CRM workflows (field mapping, lead routing, nurture triggers); set clear acceptance criteria for IT or build it directly.
• Run website experimentation as an always-on program.
• Develop and prioritize hypotheses from analytics, research and performance data.
• Launch, measure and scale winning tests, tied to lead quality and registrations, not just clicks.
• Instrument every test before launch and keep a shared test log.

Agency & Partner Management

• Hold paid media, SEO and marketing agencies to cost-per-registration and lead-quality goals; audit their work.
• Own SEO recommendations through to live changes, measured on organic and AI search visibility.

AI & Automation

• Use AI agents and coding tools (e.g., Claude Code) to ship automations, API data pulls, audits, mockups and internal tools.
• Build agents and workflows for research, briefs, content operations, internal linking, technical checks, refreshes, reporting and opportunity discovery.
• Replace manual, repetitive work with documented workflows the team can use, audit and improve.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, IS or related field (or equivalent).
• 5+ years in digital, growth or performance marketing, or marketing ops.
• Hands-on ownership of an ad-to-CRM data pipeline (tagging, conversion tracking, UTMs, offline conversions).
• Track record running an always-on website testing program.
• Paid media agency management with budget and performance accountability.
• Cross-functional delivery with Product and IT, including requirements and QA.
• Everyday use of AI tools to build (e.g., Claude Code, Cursor, n8n).
• Working knowledge of GA4, GTM, UTM governance and HubSpot or similar CRM.
• Comfortable with ambiguity; you frame problems and ship.
• Clear writer who can explain technical issues to vendors, developers and VPs.

Preferred

• HTML/CSS/JS, SQL or Python, or platform API experience (Meta, Google, HubSpot).
• CMS experience (WordPress, Sitecore, HubSpot).
• Testing and behavior tools (VWO, Optimizely, Clarity, Hotjar).
• Background in high-consideration purchases (e.g., education).
• An AI workflow or automation you personally shipped and maintained, plus one quantified result.
• Comprehensive health benefits: medical, dental, vision, life, AD&D, accident, critical illness, disability insurance, FSA/HSA options with employer HSA contributions, and a generous 401(k) match.
• Generous paid time off including 11 paid company holidays, 25 PTO days the first year (prorated), 1 paid volunteer day, 4 mental health days, and bereavement
• Professional development support, including up to $5,250 annually for tuition reimbursement and up to $1,000 for certifications annually
• Opportunities for paid and discounted travel
• Flexible work schedule providing on-site, remote, and hybrid office opportunities
• Encouraged participation in a wide variety of Employee Resource Groups
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) and wellness resources, including fitness centers at select locations
• Paid parental, caregiver, and disability leave
• Team Member Discount Program
• Engaging, collaborative, and fun work environment

The salary range listed for this position represents WorldStrides’ good-faith estimate of the base compensation for the role at the time of posting. Actual compensation will be determined based on factors such as relevant experience, skills and qualifications, geographic location, internal equity, and market conditions. The range does not include other forms of compensation or benefits that may be offered as part of the total rewards package.

Compensation Range

$115,000 - $130,000 USD

WorldStrides, a global organization, is committed to educate and serve communities worldwide. Our commitment is fueled by the passion of our team members and partners to make experiential learning accessible, while also being socially, environmentally, and ethically responsible. Together, we accomplish this by investing in initiatives to promote inclusion, diversity, and sustainability.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, WorldStrides is committed to building a diverse workforce, supported by an environment that promotes inclusion and belonging. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws.

WorldStrides will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States. This is not a position for which sponsorship will be provided. Individuals with temporary visas such as E, F-1, J-1, H-1, H-2, L, B, J or TN, or who need sponsorship for work authorization now or in the future, are not eligible for hire. Select seasonal roles may consider students on J-1 or F-1 visas.